US Middle East allies face short-term disruption for peace, US interior secretary says

The US Department of Justice is investigating Iran’s use of the crypto exchange Binance to evade US sanctions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

The probe focuses on money that moved through the platform to a network that funds Iran-backed groups, including Yemen’s Houthi movement.

Authorities have contacted people with knowledge of the transactions as they gather evidence, the report said.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has been injured but is “safe and sound,” the son of President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Wednesday, offering one of the few official explanations for his absence from public view since being appointed last week.

Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, wrote on Telegram that he had asked contacts about reports of Khamenei’s injury and was told he was safe.

"I heard news that Mr. Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound," he said.

The United States has struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran since the start of its campaign, including more than 60 ships, the commander of US Central Command said on Wednesday.

Adm. Brad Cooper said strike waves were carried out nearly every hour from different directions.

“To date, we have struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, including more than 60 ships, using a variety of precision weapon systems,” Cooper said.

He said US forces had also destroyed the last of Iran’s Soleimani-class warships and recently struck a large ballistic missile manufacturing facility.

Cooper said Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks had “dropped drastically” since the first 24 hours of the campaign.

A missile strike hit the digital security center of Sepah Bank in Tehran early on Wednesday, according to information received by Iran International.

The building, located on Haghani Street, was destroyed in the attack while the bank was processing salary payments for military personnel.

The services at Sepah Bank and Melli Bank Iran remained widely disrupted for a second day, with online banking unavailable and only card-based services operating.

Iran held a mass funeral in Tehran for senior military and defense officials killed in the war with the United States and Israel, state media reported.