Iran launched missiles at Israel early Thursday as aerial attacks in the Middle East commenced for a sixth day after an American submarine sank an Iranian warship and Iran threatened the destruction of military and economic infrastructure across the region.Israel announced the incoming attack shortly after its military said it had begun new strikes in Lebanon targeting the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Beirut’s southern suburbs.The fighting continued after the US and Israel intensified their bombardment on Wednesday of Iran’s security forces and other symbols of power.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 US and Israel launched the war 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, signalling an open-ended conflict.President Donald Trump praised the US military on Wednesday for “doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly.” Fellow Republicans in the US Senate stood with Trump on Iran as they voted down a resolution seeking to halt the war.Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel as the conflict spiralled. Turkey said NATO defences 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 travellers in the Middle East.Energy supplies in the crosshairsMarch 5, 2026 9:30 amIran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued its most-intense threat yet, saying the strikes against it would result in “the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.” A Maltese-flagged container ship was attacked on 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 per cent compared to prewar levels, shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com said on Wednesday.Threats expanding across the Middle EastMarch 5, 2026 9:10 amNeighbouring countries braced for potential dangers on Thursday, a day after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard threatened “the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.” Qatar’s Interior Ministry said authorities were evacuating residents near the US Embassy in Doha as a temporary precaution, without providing further details. Fighter jets could be heard overhead Thursday morning in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. And a new attack off the coast of Kuwait appeared to expand the area where commercial shipping was in danger. Prior attacks since fighting began Saturday have happened in the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped.Explosion reported off tanker near Kuwait, crew safe, UKMTO saysMarch 5, 2026 8:33 amA tanker at anchor off Kuwait reported seeing a large explosion on its port side and was taking on water, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. “There is oil in the water coming from a cargo tank which could have some environmental impact, the vessel has taken on water, there are no fires reported and the crew are safe,” it said in an advisory note. Kuwait’s interior ministry said in a later statement that the incident occurred outside the country’s territorial waters, at least 60 km (37 miles) from Mubarak Al Kabeer port.Kurdish dissident groups preparing to join fight against Iran with US supportMarch 5, 2026 8:32 amKurdish Iranian dissident groups based in northern Iraq are preparing for a potential cross-border military operation in Iran, and the US has asked Iraqi Kurds to support them, Kurdish officials told The Associated Press. The Kurdish groups are widely seen as the most well-organised segment of the fragmented Iranian opposition and are believed to have thousands of trained fighters. Their entry into the war could pose a significant challenge to the embattled authorities in Tehran and could also risk pulling Iraq further into the conflict.