JERUSALEM, Israel – The war with Iran is intensifying across the Middle East as the conflict’s ripples are being felt in the United States. Israel and the U.S. have expanded strikes inside Iran, and Iranian missiles are targeting Israeli cities. The newest terror-related attacks in America are raising alarm about the conflict’s globat reach.
The Iran conflict has entered its thirteenth day, with all sides escalating military operations.
Israeli and American forces struck targets across Iran on Thursday, and Israel’s military confirms that its airstrikes have focused on Iran’s drone operations and leaders of the Basij paramilitary force.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, more than 250 Iranian drones and dozens of launchers have been destroyed since the fighting began. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) indicates that U.S. forces have struck roughly 6,000 targets, including more than 90 Iranian naval vessels, among them, about 60 ships and 30 minelayers.
Iran launched at least six missile barrages toward Israel throughout the day on Thursday, sending millions of Israelis, from Eilat in the south to Kiryat Shmona in the north, running for bomb shelters.
Overnight, Israel also faced rocket fire from the north. The Iranian proxy Hezbollah launched rockets into Israel, striking the Arab town of Zarzir near the Lebanese border.
Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service says about 30 people were injured in the attack.
In Iran, the newly declared Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to appear publicly since taking power after the death of his father. In a statement read on Iranian State Television, he vowed retaliation for the strikes.
“I assure everyone that we will not neglect avenging the blood of your martyrs,” Khamenei is quoted as saying.
However, reports from Tehran point out that the message contained errors and may have been dictated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), raising questions about Khamenei’s condition.
President Donald Trump also weighed in on Khamenei’s status. When asked in a Fox News Radio interview whether he is still alive, the president said, “I think he is damaged, but I think he is probably alive in some form.”
U.S. officials reported on Friday that four of six American crew members on board a refueling aircraft were killed when it crashed in Iraq on Thursday. The crash is being investigated, but apparently it wasn’t caused by enemy or friendly fire.
In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the war during a press conference on Thursday. He warned Israel’s enemies that the region is undergoing a dramatic shift.
“This is no longer the same Iran, this is no longer the same Middle East, and this is also not the same Israel. We initiate and attack with force,” Netanyahu declared.
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While the war continues overseas, U.S. authorities are also confronting violence tied to the broader conflict at home.
In Michigan, an armed man rammed his vehicle into Temple Israel, one of the nation’s largest synagogues. Federal officials say the suspect, 41-year-old Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon. Security officers shot and killed him after the vehicle crashed into the building and caught fire.
The F.B.I. is now heading the investigation into the attack. Special Agent Jennifer Runyan stated, “I can confirm that we are leading the investigation, right now, as a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”
In a separate incident in Virginia, investigators indicated that a deadly shooting at Old Dominion in Norfolk is also being treated as a terror-related attack.
Authorities said 36-year-old Mhamed Bailor Jalloh opened fire inside a classroom during an R.O.T.C. session, killing a retired military officer and wounding two others.
Jalloh is a former Virginia National Guardsman who previously pleaded guilty in 2016 to attempting to provide material support to ISIS.
Officials noted that the suspect shouted “Allahu Akhbar” before carrying out the attack.
CBN News was on the scene and spoke with students who described the event.
Jaden Harris said, “I was in my chemistry lab when all of a sudden, I hear people running and screaming outside at the end of the shooting. So I’m looking around to see how everybody’s processing what’s going on. This is real. And my team is like, okay, we all need to gather up against the back room and hide. Hide behind the little lab area where we get our materials.”
Harris said the experience has left many students shaken.
He remarked, “I really don’t want to go back to class. … I’m hoping that they cancel tomorrow’s classes too. This is a pretty traumatic experience for, in general, students.”
As the war between Israel and Iran continues to intensify, the conflict is no longer confined to the Middle East, with Security concerns now stretching from the Persian Gulf to American cities.
