Iran retaliates after Israel strikes Beirut and Tehran as war enters Day 7

Iran fired missiles toward Israel Friday, Israeli officials said, after Israel launched fresh strikes on Tehran and hit Beirut's southern suburbs overnight. Iran retaliates after Israel strikes Beirut and Tehran as war enters Day 7 March 6, 20265:22 AM ET By NPR Staff The damaged 12,000-seat Azadi indoor stadium is seen after being struck during ongoing U.S.–Israeli military strikes in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 5, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption toggle caption Vahid Salemi/AP Israel's military said it launched a "broad wave" of strikes on Tehran targeting regime infrastructure, with additional strikes in Beirut's southern suburbs. Iran responded early Friday with retaliatory strikes on Israel. Since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, more than 1,300 people there have been killed, according to the humanitarian organization Iranian Red Crescent, including Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and more than 160 people in a strike on a girls' school. In retaliation, Iran has attacked Israel and launched missiles and drones in countries that host U.S. military bases, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. Sponsor Message Here are more of the key updates NPR is reporting on. Iran retaliates after Israel launches fresh strikes Israel's military said Friday it detected missiles launched from Iran toward Israel, and that its air defense systems were operating to intercept them. The launches came after Israel said it began a new "broad-scale wave" of strikes aimed at regime infrastructure in Tehran. U.S. Central Command said overnight the U.S. struck what it described as an Iranian "drone carrier" at sea and that the vessel was on fire. Israel also carried out heavy strikes overnight on Beirut's southern suburbs, known as Dahiyeah, a stronghold of the militant group Hezbollah. Israel had issued evacuation orders ahead of the strikes, warning residents to "save your lives and leave." Roads out of Dahiyeah were gridlocked on Thursday as families fled in cars and on foot carrying children and whatever belongings they could manage. Lebanese officials say more than more than 95,000 people have been displaced by Israeli strikes since the Iran war began. Lebanon's Health Ministry said Israeli strikes have killed 123 people and wounded more than 600 others since the start of the war. The Israeli military said the Beirut strikes targeted Hezbollah infrastructure, after the group fired rockets into northern Israel earlier this week. The air force hit what it described as a headquarters used by the group's leadership and a warehouse for drones used in attacks on Israel. Sponsor Message The Israeli military also said it killed a Hezbollah commander, Zaid Ali Jumaa, in Beirut, describing him as a senior figure in Hezbollah's rocket and drone operations. It also said Israel's navy killed a Hamas commander responsible for training operatives in Lebanon, in a strike near Tripoli – the first reported strike in that area since the war broke out. The Lebanese army said it had pulled back from some border positions as Israeli operations expanded into southern Lebanon. -Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Rebecca Rosman Trump touts Iran losses and offers 'immunity' for surrender President Trump on Thursday claimed Iran's military had suffered significant losses, telling reporters that much of Iran's navy, air defenses and missile-launch capability had been destroyed. He also urged Iranian leaders to surrender, saying they could "accept immunity." Speaking ahead of a White House event honoring Major League Soccer 2025 champions Major League Soccer 2025 champions Inter Miami CF, Trump said: "We'll give you immunity, and we'll be giving you really the right side of history, because that's what it is." Trump also said he wants to be involved in selecting the next leader of Iran. "We're going to have to choose that person along with Iran. We're going to have to choose that person," Trump told Reuters on Thursday. Trump said he saw the effort in Iran as similar to the U.S. role in replacing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January. One potential successor to the former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in Israeli strikes, is his son, Mojtaba Khamenei. But Trump firmly opposes that choice, telling Axios, "They are wasting their time. Khamenei's son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy in Venezuela." Delcy Rodríguez served as vice president under Maduro and is now the country's acting president. Sponsor Message "We want to be involved in the process of choosing the person who is going to lead Iran into the future, so we don't have to go back every five years and do this again and again. We want somebody that's going to be great for the people, great for the country," Trump told Reuters. Iran's foreign minister says Iran is prepared for a U.S. ground invasion Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, struck a defiant tone in an interview with NBC News on Thursday, saying Iran was prepared for the possibility of a U.S. ground invasion. Asked if he feared U.S. ground troops, Araghchi said: "No, we are waiting