US submarine sank Iranian warship, Hegseth says – as it happened | US-Israel war on Iran

When asked, defence secretary Pete Hegseth said that the US was investigating the deadly strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls school in Minab, but provided no further details.

“All I can say is we’re investigating that,” Hegseth said. “We, of course, never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look and investigating that.”

According to Iranian state media, up to 168 people were killed by the strike and 95 injured – figures that the Guardian has not been able to verify.

Read more about the strike here:

Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, has taken to the podium to provide more details about the conflict with Iran.

He supported the statements made earlier by defence secretary Pete Hegseth about the Iranian navy. “To date, we’ve hit over 2,000 targets. We destroyed more than 20 Iranian naval vessels in addition to the frigate outside of the area,” Caine said adding that the US has “effectively neutralised Iran’s major naval presence and theatre out there”.

“For the first time since 1945, a United States Navy fast-attack submarine has sunk an enemy combatant ship…This is an incredible demonstration of America’s global reach. To hunt, find and kill an out of area deployer is something only the United States can use with this kind of skill,” Caine said.

Read more about the Iranian warship:

Hegseth finished his remarks by praising Israel as a “steadfast partner” and “capable ally”.

“To our steadfast partner, Israel: your mission is being executed with unmatched skill and iron determination. Fighting shoulder to shoulder with such a capable ally is a true force multiplier and a breath of fresh air. We salute your courage and your contribution,” Hegseth said.

“We have only just begun to fight. America fights to win and in Operation Epic Fury, we are.”

Killed in the strikes on Iran is the person who led a plot to assassinate Donald Trump, Pentagon secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed on Wednesday morning.

“The leader of the unit who attempted to assassinate President Trump has been hunted down and killed,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing.

The plot dates back to 2024, when federal prosecutors under the Biden administration charged 51-year-old Iranian national Farhad Shakeri and two New York men with running a murder-for-hire operation on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. The aim, the department of justice said at the time, was revenge for Trump’s killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in 2020.

Shakeri had been personally directed by an IRGC official to assassinate Trump during the presidential campaign, prosecutors said.

Hegseth confirmed that a US submarine sunk an Iranian warship in the Indian ocean as he declared that the Iranian navy “rests at the bottom of the Persian Gulf” and that it was “ineffective, decimated, destroyed…pick your adjective, it is no more.”

He said that on Tuesday, an American submarine in the Indian ocean “sunk an Iranian war ship that thought it was safe in international waters.”

“Instead it was sunk by a torpedo, a quiet death – the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War II. Like in that war, back when we were still the war department, we are fighting to win.”

“We’re playing for keeps,” Hegseth said. “Our war fighters have maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly. Our rules of engagement are bold, precise and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it.

He continued: “This was never meant to be a fair fight and it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they’re down, which is exactly how it should be.”

Hegseth continued his remarks by saying that in under a week, the “two most powerful air forces in the world” – the US and Israel – “will have complete control of Iranian skies, uncontested air space.”

“We will fly all day, all night, day and night, finding, fixing and finishing the missiles and defence industrial base of the Iranian military,” Hegseth said.

“Finding and fixing their leaders and their military leaders. Flying over Tehran, flying over Iran, flying over their capital, flying over the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), Iranian leaders looking up and seeing only US and Israeli air power. Every minute of every day until we decide it’s over. And Iran will be able to do nothing about it.”

• The US and Israel’s strikes towards Iran proceed, with the Israeli navy asserting a “broad wave of strikes” towards Tehran’s safety forces.

• A brand new within the preventing has opened in Lebanon, the place the Israeli navy says it is concentrating on Hezbollah strongholds south of the nation. It issued an “urgent warning” to residents of a big swathe of southern Lebanon urging them to evacuate to the north of the Litani River.

• Iran has upped its retaliatory strikes towards Israel and US targets throughout the area. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait all introduced Iranian assaults right now.

• Nearly 150 folks may very well be lacking after an Iranian warship sank off the coast of Sri Lanka. Authorities mentioned 32 folks had been rescued whereas they seek for different survivors. It was not instantly clear what happened or how many individuals had been on board the 180-crew frigate Iris Dena.

• Clerics in Iran say they’re shut to selecting a successor to supreme chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, based on state media. It is broadly urged that his second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, may substitute him.

• The funeral ceremony for Khamenei that was purported to happen tonight in Tehran has been postponed. State media, citing officers, reported that the funeral was delayed to permit time for expanded infrastructure resulting from “overwhelming demand”. No timeframe was given of when the funeral will happen.

• The loss of life toll in Iran has reached 1,045 folks, based on Iranian officers. Iran’s basis of martyrs and veteran affairs mentioned the loss of life toll represented the variety of our bodies which were recognized and ready for burial, state media reported.

• Turkish authorities mentioned a missile launched from Iran and headed in the direction of Turkey’s air area was shot down by Nato air defence methods. The Turkish defence ministry mentioned there have been no casualties or accidents within the incident.

• Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez has hit again at Donald Trump after he made scathing feedback over Spain’s place that joint navy bases couldn’t be used for assaults on Iran.“The position of the government of Spain can be summed up in four words: no to war [no a la guerra],” Sanchez mentioned in a televised deal with.

Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, has taken to the rostrum on the Pentagon to offer an replace on the battle.

“I stand before you today with one unmistakable message about Operation Epic Fury,” Hegseth mentioned. “America is winning. Decisively, devastatingly and without mercy.”

The IDF simply introduced that it has begun “a wave of attacks in southern Lebanon”.

In an earlier assertion, the IDF mentioned it focused underground weapons depots and headquarters in Beirut belonging to Hezbollah.

“The IDF attacked in Beirut over the past 24 hours, completing another wave of attacks against infrastructure of the terrorist organisation Hezbollah,” it mentioned in a publish on social media.

It comes as the Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee warned folks in southern Lebanon to maneuver north.

In a message posted on social media, he mentioned:

For your security, you should evacuate your houses instantly. Anyone who’s close to Hezbollah operatives, services, or weapons is placing their life in danger.

Any home utilized by Hezbollah for navy functions could also be focused. To the residents of southern Lebanon, you should head instantly north of the Litani river. For your security, you should evacuate your houses instantly and transfer north past the Litani river.