US-Iran Conflict Escalates as Washington Claims 2,000 Targets Destroyed, Tehran Strikes Back Across Gulf

The military confrontation between the United States and Iran intensified on Wednesday as Israel launched fresh strikes on Iranian soil while Washington said it had hit close to 2,000 targets since operations began alongside Israel on 28 February, The Hindu reported.

Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, said the forces represented "the largest buildup by the U.S. in the Middle East in a generation," adding that the opening salvo surpassed the "shock and awe" campaign against Iraq in 2003.

The strikes have targeted ballistic missiles and "all the things that can shoot at us," he said.

Iran's Red Crescent put the death toll at 787, a figure AFP could not independently verify.

Tehran responded with drone and missile attacks on US diplomatic and military facilities across the Gulf, including the consulate in Dubai and the Al-Udeid base in Qatar.

Revolutionary Guard General Ebrahim Jabbari warned, "We are saying to the enemy that if it decides to hit our main centres, we will hit all economic centres in the region."

President Trump, meeting German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House, declared that "just about everything's been knocked out" in Iran and that "most of the people we had in mind are dead."

He rejected further diplomacy, saying it was "too late."

The violence spread to Lebanon, where Hezbollah fired drones and rockets at Israel following the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Israel responded with strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs and moved troops across the border.

Oil markets remained on edge as Trump pledged US Navy escorts for tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.

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