A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
In the Middle East, Israel and the U.S. continue striking targets across Iran as Iran widens its retaliatory strikes in the region.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The U.S. military's Central Command says it has destroyed Iran's navy. And in Iran, preparations for the funeral of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed by Israel, were set to begin tonight but have been postponed. The widespread fighting continues to disrupt air travel and shipping channels in the region.
MARTÍNEZ: For more, we go to NPR's Carrie Kahn in Tel Aviv. Carrie, Israel and the U.S. have continued their air campaign today. What's the situation now?
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: The airstrikes continue in cities throughout Iran. On state TV, you see ruins of buildings in the capital, Tehran. Many of the targets are symbols of the regime, including the Basij command centers. That's Iran's state-run paramilitary force that was crucial to the protester crackdown earlier this year. U.S. military CENTCOM said today that it has obliterated Iran's navy, and they say not a single Iranian ship is left in the waterways off Iran. And joint U.S. and Israeli military strikes are focusing on western Iran's Kurdish areas, and these have long been anti-regime strongholds. According to Iran's Red Crescent Society, the death toll is now more than 1,000, and that's with at least 175 of those killed from the bombing of an elementary school at the start of the war.
MARTÍNEZ: And all this is happening as Iran is planning a state funeral and a succession process for a new supreme leader.
KAHN: Iranian officials have announced three days of mourning for the supreme leader, who Israel killed last weekend. Officials had called for mourners to come out in large numbers as his body lie in state. And the funeral was set to begin actually this evening, but this morning they postponed the official mourning rituals, stating that they need more time to prepare for what they say will be millions of mourners expected. They have not set a new date.
A new assembly of experts and another committee are convening to pick the next leader, and that's according to state media. Yesterday, Israel struck a site in the city of Qom, where the assembly was to be convening. They were not there at the time, though, and that's according to Iran's Fars state news agency. In a statement today, Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, reiterated his country's pledge to kill any new leader picked who threatens to destroy Israel. He said that person, quote, "will be an unequivocal target for elimination."
MARTÍNEZ: And this is all spreading to - into Gulf states, I mean, not just only Israel. I mean, where is all this headed, possibly?
KAHN: Yes. We've seen Iranian drones and missiles hit targets in the Gulf. Yesterday, the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia was hit, and a drone sparked a fire at the U.S. Consulate in Dubai last night. The U.S. State Department is advising U.S. citizens to leave more than a dozen countries throughout the Middle East. The Strait of Hormuz is still mostly closed to traffic. Israel's pounding sites, too, in Lebanon after Hezbollah fired at Israel. Yesterday, Hezbollah was able to shoot missiles into central Israel. Israel's defense minister says there is a plan ready for further advance of troops into Lebanon.
While many fronts in the war appear to be opening up, we've actually seen a number of missiles and drones coming into Israel and the Gulf drop significantly in the last 24 hours. And so far, Gulf states have not retaliated. But for how long that will last, that's still an unknown, A.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Carrie Kahn in Tel Aviv. Carrie, thank you.
KAHN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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