Iran war: What is happening on day seven of US-Israel attacks? | Israel-Iran conflict News

EXPLAINER

After six days of US-Israeli attacks on Iran, the conflict is escalating as regional tensions rise.

The war between the United States, Israel and Iran has entered its seventh day, with attacks continuing across Iran and other countries in the Middle East.

Iran continues its missile and drone attacks across the Gulf as Washington and Tel Aviv claim their campaign – codenamed Operation Epic Fury – is crippling Iran’s military.

Estimates released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Thursday put the cost of the first 100 hours of Operation Epic Fury at $3.7bn, or about $891m per day. Most of this cost – $3.5bn – has not been budgeted for, CSIS reported.

Here is what has happened in the past day:

In Iran

• Ongoing US and Israeli military campaign: The US and Israel are continuing their military strikes on Iran, marking the seventh day of the conflict. At least 1,332 people have been killed in Iran since the attacks started on Saturday.
• The Israeli military claims to have achieved “near-complete air superiority”, stating it has carried out 2,500 strikes and destroyed 80 percent of Iran’s air defence systems.
• Targeting western Iran: Israel claims to have struck more than 400 targets in western Iran on Friday alone, destroying ballistic missile launchers and drone storage facilities.
• Missiles fired at Israel: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the start of its 23rd wave of strikes, and the Israeli military confirmed that defence systems were intercepting missiles launched from Iran.
• Leadership succession and US interference: Following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli strike on Tehran on Saturday, the question over his succession remains, with reports circling that his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, could take over.
• However, on Thursday, US President Donald Trump said he intends to play a direct role in selecting Iran’s next leader, explicitly calling Mojtaba an “unacceptable” choice.
• Invasion warnings: Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that Iranian forces are “waiting” for a potential US ground invasion and threatened to kill and capture thousands of US troops.
• Iran strikes: The US says Iran’s ballistic missile attacks have fallen by 90 percent since the first day of the conflict, while drone attacks have dropped by 83 percent over the same period.

In Gulf nations

• Kuwait: The US suspended operations at its embassy in Kuwait City following retaliatory Iranian strikes, as Kuwait’s air defence systems intercepted missiles and drones.
• Bahrain: An Iranian missile hit a state-run oil refinery in a Bahraini industrial town, but the resulting fire was contained.
• UAE and Qatar: The UAE said its air defences intercepted multiple Iranian missiles and more than 120 drones. Qatar also reported being targeted by a barrage of Iranian missiles and drones on Thursday after loud explosions were heard in the capital, Doha.
• About 20,000 Americans have left the Middle East: The State Department reported that thousands have already left the region, primarily unassisted, but the government is arranging charter flights for private citizens still looking to evacuate.
• Evacuation disruption: A French evacuation flight charted by the government to rescue citizens stranded in the United Arab Emirates was forced to turn back mid-flight due to missile fire in the region.
• Military redeployments: Germany has already withdrawn troops stationed in Bahrain back to Germany and is actively preparing to withdraw its forces from Kuwait.
• Satellite imagery delayed: Planet Labs, a major provider of high-resolution space imagery, announced a mandatory 96-hour delay on all new images collected over the Gulf states. This measure is intended to prevent adversarial actors from using the images to endanger allied, NATO, and civilian personnel in the region.
• CENTCOM warnings: Brad Cooper, the head of the US military’s Middle East-based Central Command (CENTCOM), accused Iran of deliberately firing seven attack drones at civilian neighbourhoods in Bahrain. He warned that Iran’s actions are “unacceptable and will not go unanswered”.

In Israel

• Tel Aviv targeted: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced it had launched a combined drone and missile attack on Tel Aviv and central areas of Israel.
• Domestic closures and West Bank violence: Amid the security threats, Israel’s Civil Administration has closed all holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City and cancelled Friday prayers.
• Rhetoric from officials: Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich warned that the Dahiyeh area of Lebanon’s capital would soon look “like Khan Younis,” referring to the city in southern Gaza that was decimated during Israel’s war against Palestinians.

In the US

• Military strikes: US Central Command reported striking approximately 200 targets in Iran over the past 72 hours, including ballistic missile launchers and naval vessels.
• Trump’s claims: Trump said Iran is being “demolished”, “ahead of schedule and at levels people have never seen before”, claiming the country now has “no air force, no air defence”. The air force is “gone”, he said.
• Congressional backing: The Republican-led US House of Representatives voted 219 to 212 against an effort to halt the war and require congressional authorisation for hostilities against Iran.
• Instability denied: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed back against criticism, denying that the US and Israel have caused regional instability.
• Economic impact: The ongoing war has rattled US financial markets. Earlier in the week, the Dow Jones plummeted by more than 1,000 points (2.2 percent) as oil prices climbed due to the war.

In Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt

• Iraq military base: Iraqi forces shot down a drone targeting a military base with US assets near Baghdad International Airport. The drone approached Victoria airbase overnight on Wednesday but was intercepted before reaching its target, according to reports.
• Iran attacks Kurdish groups: Iranian Press TV, reported early on Thursday that Tehran was striking “anti-Iran separatist forces”, referring to Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish groups believed to be based in mountainous, hard-to-reach areas near the Iran-Iraq border. It is understood that US President Donald Trump has been in talks with some of these groups with a view to their joining attacks against Iran.

• Escalating offensive in Lebanon: Israel is heavily bombarding Lebanon and has issued evacuation warnings for Beirut’s southern suburbs and parts of the Bekaa Valley.
• Israel has also said it carried out strikes on more than 500 targets this week, including a strike in Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb targeting a command centre used by the Revolutionary Guard’s navy unit.
• Egypt’s economic warning: Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has warned that the country is economically in a “state of near-emergency,” as the ongoing Middle East war threatens to drive up prices.

In Europe

• Europe under pressure: European governments are divided over how to respond to the escalating conflict in the Middle East, with some deploying defensive military assets while others emphasise diplomacy.
• The United Kingdom and France have moved naval and air-defence resources to the eastern Mediterranean to help protect allied interests. A drone attack hit the British Royal Air Force base at Akrotiri on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Monday. Other European countries, including Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, have so far focused on diplomatic responses and have not announced direct combat deployments.
• Azerbaijan: The country halted cross-border truck traffic with Iran and is preparing “retaliatory measures” after an Iranian drone attack injured four civilians in its Nakhchivan exclave.