Air defenses intercepting hostile aerial targets, Kuwait says

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the United States should “unleash” Israel and be prepared to use military force if Iran does not sign a deal immediately.

"We should unleash Israel and we should use military force ourselves if they do not sign a deal right now. If you told Hitler that people are suffering, he would not care," Graham said on Fox.

"These people in charge are more tied to their ideology and their agenda than they are to the suffering of the Iranian people. These are pretty hard people to deal with. It is not that you cannot get a deal, but clearly what we are doing has not led to a deal yet," he added.

US Central Command said its forces carried out additional self-defense strikes on multiple targets in Iran on Wednesday at the direction of the president.

"The strikes targeted Iranian military surveillance capabilities, communications systems, and air defense sites across the country," CENTCOM said in a statement.

It added that US Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy assets carried out precision strikes against targets it said posed a threat to US forces and commercial shipping in regional waters.

Iran’s official media reported that several sounds resembling explosions were heard in parts of Karaj early Thursday morning, causing concern among residents.

Residents in different areas said sudden blast-like sounds were heard around 4 a.m. local time, with journalists reporting up to five explosions, the report added.

The report said no official authorities have commented on the cause of the sounds, and investigations are ongoing.

Iran will respond with a “decisive military response” to US military actions and will never “submit to threats or military folly,” a source told IRGC affiliated Tasnim News on Wednesday.

The source was reacting to comments attributed to US President Donald Trump suggesting further strikes could follow if Iran does not sign an agreement.

It added that any US aggression would be met with a firm military response, rejecting what it described as attempts at coercion.

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said the United States has stopped attacks on areas in southern Iran due to what it described as a “strong and decisive response” by Iran’s armed forces, according to media outlet Mizan.

The command added that Iran’s military response to US “aggression and provocations” will continue.