US sinks Iranian warship as Iran warns of widespread destruction in the Middle East

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, as Washington and Israel intensified their bombardment Wednesday of Iran's security forces and other symbols of power. Iran launched more missiles and drones as it warned of the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the Middle East.

The tempo of the strikes on Iran was so intense that state television announced the mourning ceremony for Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the conflict, would be postponed. Millions attended the funeral of his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

The U.S. and Israel launched the war on Saturday, targeting Iran’s leadership, missile arsenal and nuclear program while suggesting that toppling the government is a goal. But the exact aims and timelines have repeatedly shifted, signaling an open-ended conflict.

Israel was also trading fire with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, while Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel. As the conflict spiraled, Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey’s airspace.

The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran, more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries. It has disrupted the supply of the world’s oil and gas, snarled international shipping, and stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean Tuesday night.

Sri Lankan authorities said 32 people were rescued from the ship, which they said had 180 people on board and sank outside Sri Lanka’s territorial waters. The country's navy said it had recovered 87 bodies.

Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran's Basij, the all-volunteer force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted a bloody crackdown on protesters in January. Thousands of people were killed and tens of thousands detained as Iranian authorities suppressed those demonstrations.

The Israeli military also said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s internal security command. Israel and the U.S. have said they want to see Iranians overthrow the country's theocracy, and strikes against Iran's internal security forces may be aimed at hastening that.

However, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said over the weekend that its forces have decentralized leadership, with units acting largely on their own according to general orders, which could blunt the effect of attacks on top command and control hubs.

Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in Tehran, with interviewees saying the attacks damaged their homes. Strikes have also been reported in the Shiite seminary city of Qom targeting a building associated with a clerical panel set to pick Iran’s next supreme leader. Iranian media said it was empty at the time.

During his Pentagon briefing, Hegseth didn't give a definitive timeline for U.S. operations.

“You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three,” he said. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo. The enemy is off balance, and we’re going to keep them off balance.”

Adm. Brad Cooper, the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East, said American forces have damaged Iran’s air defenses and taken out ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said such damage has led to a decline in launches from Iran.

Still, air raid sirens and explosions could be heard across central and northern Israel on Wednesday. Israel’s military said Iran launched missiles toward the country. Hezbollah also fired rockets, as Israel pounded targets in the suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Iran has also struck around the region, and air sirens sounded Wednesday across Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet.

At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country's Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said Wednesday. Eleven people have been killed in Israel and more than 70 in Lebanon. Six U.S. troops have been killed.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the offensive against Iran was originally planned for mid-2026, but “the need arose to bring everything forward to February.”

He listed events inside Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump's positions “and the whole possibility of creating a combined operation here,” as reasons.

The protests in Iran put unprecedented pressure on its leadership. Trump threatened military action in response to the crackdown before shifting his attention to Iran's disputed nuclear program.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued its most-intense threat yet, saying the strikes against it would "cost of the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.”

A Maltese-flagged container ship was attacked Wednesday while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped. The ship was hit by two missiles, sparking a fire, according to Malta's transport minister, Chris Bonett. Its 24 crew members were rescued.

Tanker traffic through the strait has fallen by around 90% compared to prewar levels, shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com said Wednesday.

Oil prices have soared as Iranian attacks have disrupted traffic through the strait, and global stock markets have been hammered over worries the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy.

Iran’s leaders are scrambling to replace Khamenei, who ruled the country for 37 years. It’s only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that a new supreme leader is being chosen.

Potential candidates range from hard-liners committed to confrontation with the West to reformists who seek diplomatic engagement. Mojtaba Khamenei, Khamenei’s son, has long been considered among them — despite the fact he’s has never been elected or appointed to a government position.

In a sign that Iran’s leadership will only seek to consolidate its power as it faces its biggest crisis in decades, the head of the judiciary warned that “those who cooperate with the enemy in any way will be considered an enemy.”

Israel’s defense minister, meanwhile, threatened whoever Iran picks to be the country’s next supreme leader.

“Every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime to continue and lead the plan to destroy Israel, to threaten the United States and the free world and the countries of the region, and to suppress the Iranian people — will be a target for elimination,” Israel Katz wrote on X.

It’s not clear how Washington will respond if a new leader in the mold of Khamenei is chosen. Trump said Tuesday that the “worst case would be do this, and then somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person.”

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Becatoros contributed from Athens, Greece, and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press writers David Rising in Bangkok; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; Bassem Mroue in Beirut; Elaine Kurtenbach in Bangkok; Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan; Bharatha Mallawarachi in Colombo, Sri Lanka; Giovanna Dell'Orto in Miami and Kevin Schembri Orland in Valletta, Malta, contributed to this report.