The Latest: US submarine sinks Iranian navy ship as war expands

Oil prices have soared following Iranian attacks on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and global stock markets have been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy. U.S. stocks appeared steadier at Wednesday’s opening.

Here is the latest:

Iranians use brief internet access to send messages of hope and fear

Internet access in Iran is almost entirely shut down, meaning residents use the brief windows of connectivity to send messages to the outside world.

A 23-year-old in Tehran told The Associated Press on Wednesday he hopes U.S. and Israeli strikes topple the Islamic Republic.

“It has to fall or they will take their revenge on us,” he wrote. He said that in January, he had joined anti-government protests in which security forces shot thousands of demonstrators and arrested tens of thousands more.

Another resident in the capital’s Velenjak neighborhood told the AP that “conditions in Tehran are falling apart fast” under the air campaign. As she spoke, ambulance sirens wailed and pro-government slogans blared from nearby mosque loudspeakers.

“The possibility of moving around isn’t as much as before,” she said, adding: “I hope whatever is good for Iran, happens.”

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By Amir-Hussein Radjy in Cairo.

More on the container ship struck off Oman

Merchant ship MV Safeen Prestige, which flies the Maltese flag and owned by an Egyptian company, was hit by two missiles Wednesday afternoon while passing through the Strait of Hormuz. That’s according to Malta’s minister for transport, infrastructure and public works, Chris Bonett, speaking in Parliament.

He said that the ship caught fire, primarily in the engine room, and that the vessel suffered relatively heavy damage. However, the 24 seafarers aboard — 21 Egyptians and 3 Ukrainians — did not suffer injuries and were rescued by Oman’s navy, he said.

Earlier Wednesday, a British military agency, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, announced that the vessel was heading east through the Strait of Hormuz when it was hit by an unknown projectile, and that the ship had a fire in its engine room.

More than 70 killed in Lebanon by Israel since Hezbollah joined the war

Lebanon’s health ministry said Wednesday that 72 people have been killed and 437 wounded in Israeli strikes since the latest escalation with Hezbollah began three days ago.

More than 83,000 people have been displaced, Social Affairs Minister Haneed Sayed said.

Iran-allied Hezbollah entered the conflict Monday, firing missiles and drones into Israel for the first time in more than a year. Israel has responded with widespread strikes and warned residents to evacuate parts of southern Lebanon.

State Department says it has assisted nearly 6,500 Americans in Mideast

The U.S. State Department said Wednesday it has offered them assistance or information about leaving the region.

The department is trying to arrange charter flights and other transportation despite embassy closures and Iranian missile and drone strikes that have shut airports and airspace across the region. It was not immediately clear whether any U.S.-arranged flights have departed.

More than 17,500 Americans have returned to the United States since Saturday, including over 8,500 on Tuesday. Most traveled on commercial flights without government assistance.

Sirens sound again across large parts of Israel in another day of near-constant alerts

The military issued more warnings Wednesday evening about incoming missiles from Iran, sending millions of Israelis into shelters.

The strikes from Iran and Lebanon have targeted Israel throughout the day, with most of the projectiles intercepted or falling in open areas.

Turkey says it issued warnings after a missile headed toward its airspace

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Turkey is issuing “warnings” to prevent further incidents after NATO defenses intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile.

Erdogan made the comment at a Ramadan meal after Turkey summoned Iran’s ambassador to protest the incident.

Israeli strikes kill 7 more kids in Lebanon, medics say

Lebanon’s health ministry, cited by U.N. children’s agency, said Wednesday that seven children were killed and 38 injured in Israeli airstrikes across the country in the past 24 hours.

Nearly 60,000 people, including about 18,000 children, were displaced in the last 24 hours, UNICEF said, adding to tens of thousands already uprooted.

“No child should ever be killed or left to bear the lifelong physical and emotional scars of violence,” UNICEF’s Lebanon representative Marcoluigi Corsi said.

Power outage hits all of Iraq

The electricity ministry said Wednesday the national power grid has “completely shut down across all Iraqi provinces.”

The cause was not immediately clear. Officials said crews were working to restore power stations and transmission lines.

Outages had already hit the semi-autonomous Kurdish region after a key gas field halted operations over security concerns. Iraq’s oil ministry also said Tuesday it stopped production at a major field near Basra, citing a tanker shortage in the Persian Gulf amid the conflict.

Iran tells neighbors self-defense was last resort after failed diplomacy

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday his government pursued diplomacy to avoid war but was forced to defend itself after U.S. and Israeli attacks.

“We respect your sovereignty,” Pezeshkian said on X in a message to neighboring countries and allies, “and believe the region’s security and stability has to be achieved through the collective efforts of its states.”

Iran has fired missiles and drones at Israel and U.S. bases in the Gulf, although many munitions and debris from interceptions have hit civilian areas.

Israel says 100 warplanes struck Iranian command centers at a military compound

The Israeli military said it attacked a compound in eastern Tehran housing the headquarters for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the elite Quds Force, the intelligence directorate, Basij paramilitary force, Iran’s cyber unit, and a “unit in Internal Security responsible for suppressing protests.”

More than 250 bombs were dropped by over 100 fighter jets in the “wide-scale” strike, according to an Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.

Iraq’s World Cup qualifying is impacted by Iran war

Iraq’s hopes of World Cup qualification are being impacted by the Iran war because embassy and airspace closures are preventing players from getting visas for the playoff tournament in Mexico.

The Iraqi soccer federation says it’s communicating with FIFA about its match against Bolivia or Suriname in Monterrey, Mexico, on March 31.

The federation wrote in a social media post that its coach, Graham Arnold, is unable to leave the United Arab Emirates, and several players and staff members are experiencing trouble obtaining visas.

Iraq and the UAE have been floated as potential replacements for Iran’s team — which has already qualified — should the Iranians not participate in the World Cup.

Rising energy prices could help Russia pay for fighting in Ukraine

The Iran war’s disruption of Middle East oil and gas supplies and soaring prices are strengthening Russia’s ability to profit from its energy exports. That’s a pillar of the Kremlin’s budget and a key to paying for its own war in Ukraine.

Lebanon arrests 27 people in crackdown on armed groups

The Lebanese military says they were “illegally possessing weapons and munitions.” It did not say whether the 26 Lebanese and one Palestinian were affiliated with Hezbollah or any other militant group.

Lebanon’s political authorities have criticized Hezbollah’s rocket attack on northern Israel that sparked this week’s pounding by Israeli jets of southern Lebanon and areas near Beirut.

Qatar rejects Iran’s claim it only targeted US interests there

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, made the claim during a phone call Wednesday.

Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, “categorically rejected” it, according to a readout released by the foreign ministry. The minister said attacks also have targeted residential areas and critical infrastructure, including near the main airport and liquefied natural gas facilities.

This is the first engagement between Iran and Qatar made public since the war started over the weekend.

Israel says the Iran offensive was originally planned for mid-2026

Defense Minister Israel Katz has told military intelligence officers that the operation was moved up because of “developments and circumstances” including events inside Iran and “the position of the President of the United States, and the whole possibility of creating a combined operation here.” The comments were provided by his office.

US says Iran is firing fewer ballistic missiles and drones

The chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says the number of ballistic missiles fired by Iran is down by 86% from Saturday, with a 23% drop in missiles fired in the last 24 hours.

“And their one-way-attack drone shots are down 73% from the opening days,” Caine said.

But some experts have said Iran may be holding some weapons in reserve to prolong the conflict.

On Israel-Lebanon border, few expected more fighting so soon

Some 60,000 Israelis had evacuated towns and cities along the border for over a year during the previous fighting with Hezbollah.

There are no current plans to evacuate Israelis this time. That’s according to Igor Abramovich, who is part of the emergency team for Kibbutz Manara.

He said there can be over 10 explosions in an hour at times. “There are people that’s really bringing up trauma for them, it’s really difficult right now,” he said.

Sinking of Iranian warship was the first by a U.S. torpedo since World War II

Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, says the U.S. Navy fast-attack submarine used “a single Mark 48 torpedo.”

A U.S. official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the Iranian ship was the Dena.

The sinking of the Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean illustrates how the U.S. military operation against Iran is stretching far beyond the Islamic Republic’s borders. Trump has said that one of the U.S. military’s main objectives in the campaign is to wipe out its Navy.

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By Konstantin Toropin and Ben Finley

Turkey summons Iran’s ambassador over missile

Turkey’s foreign ministry has summoned Iran’s ambassador in protest over the firing of a ballistic missile that was intercepted before entering Turkish airspace, a Turkish official says.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations.

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By Suzan Fraser

Western officials say Iran has several days’ worth of ballistic missiles if it fires at current rates

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.

One senior official said the rate of Iranian missile strikes is declining due to U.S. and Israeli success at taking out launch sites, but said Iran may be holding back some of its stocks.

A second official said it’s “definitely an issue” that countries targeted by Iran are going through their defensive missiles, and they will have to carefully manage their own stocks.

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By Jill Lawless

Monitor says Iran has been without internet connectivity for about 4 days

Internet monitoring group NetBlocks says Iran has been offline now for 100 hours. This is the second such blackout this year imposed by Iranian authorities. The first was for nationwide protests in January.

NetBlocks says metrics show internet connectivity at 1% of normal levels.

NetBlocks during the previous shutdown in Iran estimated that it cost the country over $37 million.

Sri Lanka’s navy recovered 87 bodies from the sea where an Iranian warship sank

Navy spokesman Commander Buddhika Sampath says that by the time naval ships reached the location of the Iranian ship’s sinking, “there were only some oil patches and life rafts. We found people floating on the water.”

The U.S. military has said a torpedo from a U.S. submarine sank the ship.

US stock market looks steadier at its open

The S&P 500 rose 0.4% in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 197 points. The Nasdaq composite added 0.7%.

War has affected tens of thousands of flights

Over 20,000 of the more than 36,000 flights scheduled to fly to or from the Middle East between Saturday’s start of the war and today have been canceled. That’s according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is down by about 90%

Shipping tracker MarineTraffic.com reports the sharp trend.

The disruption is costly for the global oil trade. A fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait.

Major shipping firms have routed vessels away from the area over security concerns.

More on the Iranian warship

The Iranian warship sunk by a U.S. submarine was in the Indian Ocean. Hegseth called the strike the first such attack on an enemy since World War II.

Sri Lankan authorities said 32 people were rescued from the ship, which sank off their country’s coast. They said others died, without giving a number.

More alerts in Israel

Sirens warning of incoming drones and projectiles have been going off almost nonstop for the past hour and a half in different parts of northern Israel. The Israeli military said that at least some of the fire came from Lebanon.

For the third time Wednesday, there are new sirens in central Jerusalem announcing incoming fire. One loud boom could be heard. Sirens also went off in Tel Aviv.

Israel’s rescue services said there were no immediate casualties from latest barrage.

US military is helping Americans leave the Middle East

“We’ve also opened up space available, seats, as C-17s and other airplanes come in to try to help folks get out,” the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says, referring to the large C-17 military transport planes.

Caine gave no details how many Americans are being helped. The U.S. State Department has urged citizens to leave more than a dozen countries.

Sirens in Bahrain

The country’s interior ministry has just announced them.

Israel says military coordination with the US means thousands of calls a day

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity under military protocol, estimates there are 4,000 to 5,000 calls daily to coordinate between Israel and the U.S. across the chain of command.

The official also says top U.S. and Israeli commanders began planning the war’s opening strike three weeks ago.

Hegseth says war with Iran could last 8 weeks

The defense secretary says the timeline could go further than previously speculated.

“You can say four weeks, but it could be six, it could be eight, it could be three,” he says. “Ultimately, we set the pace and the tempo.”

Analyst says some areas in Iran now resemble Gaza’s ruins

Stephane Cohen of Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies Data Analytics Center says that based on Israel’s announced targets and satellite imagery, the campaign resembles a dentist’s “root canal” — dismantling Iran’s defense infrastructure and preventing rapid reconstruction.

Targets have included missile sites, Revolutionary Guard stations, naval bases and air defense systems.

The volume of munitions and scale of visible damage far exceed last year’s 12-day war, Cohen said. In some places, the ash, dust and rubble resemble strikes on Gaza.

Cohen says it’s “everything related to the regime.”

Hegseth acknowledges that the US can’t fend off all Iranian drone attacks

“We have pushed every counter-UAS system possible forward, sparing no expense or capability,” Hegseth says, referencing drones. “Like I said, this does not mean we stop everything.”

On Sunday, six American soldiers were killed at an operations center targeted by an Iranian drone strike in the heart of a civilian port in Kuwait.