JERUSALEM, Israel – Iran appointed a new leader on Sunday as it continues to launch missiles and drones at Israel, along with Hezbollah in Lebanon, sending Israelis to bomb shelters. At the same time, Israel and the U.S. are targeting Iranian infrastructure and making progress.
Tehran named Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of the former ayatollah, Ali Khamenei, as the next leader of Iran. Analysts say he is more hardline than his father, and his appointment sends a message of defiance and revenge. However, he is not expected to remain in office for long.
President Trump believes that by toppling the Iranian regime, the U.S. will have eliminated a major global problem.
“We will have taken out a cancer,” Trump stated. “You know, don’t forget October 7th. Don’t forget all of the things that have happened over the years, all caused by these people. So what we’re doing is a great thing, not only for our country, not only for Israel, not only for the Middle East but for the world.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his country over the weekend, saluting Israeli pilots, ground crews, and courageous fighters, commending the people for their support.
“In the secure rooms and protected spaces, you are demonstrating a powerful spirit. You tell me, the Government, and our heroic soldiers and commanders: ‘Continue until the end, until victory,'” the prime minister declared.
The Prime Minister’s Office Spokesman, David Mencer, told CBN News that Israelis are holding up under the pressure.
“All of us here in Israel are united in supporting our armed forces and supporting the wisdom and the foresight of our Prime Minister and President Trump for getting this job done and ensuring that Iran can never again be a threat to this country,” Mencer said.
Israel is targeting infrastructure sites in Tehran and elsewhere, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Air Force headquarters, and oil warehouses and depots.
In response, according to an unnamed National Security Council official, Iran is unleashing a stepped-up terror campaign against Israelis abroad, it was reported in The Jerusalem Post.
“We are seeing an Iranian removal of restraints that is almost unprecedented,” the report quoted the NSC official as saying. “No proxies, no filters. Where they can act, they act. Whether with brazen determination or in a ‘dirty’ manner. It is a fundamental change in approach because they feel they have nothing to lose right now, given what they have absorbed.”
In the past, Iran has almost always operated through proxies that allow it to deny involvement. Yet, according to the official, they now believe they have nothing to lose.
Israel is adding new countries to its travel warnings, including several countries bordering or close to Iran: Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
Meanwhile, Iran and its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon continue to launch drones and missiles at Israel. Most of the attacks are directed at northern Israel and the center, near Tel Aviv.
Israel intercepts most of them, but even then, deadly shrapnel can fall. That happened on Monday when at least one foreign worker was killed at a construction site near Tel Aviv.
Some 2,000 Israelis have been treated so far at hospitals across Israel.
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Iran continues to strike targets in Arab nations, including a U.S. base and a national insurance building in Kuwait, and a high-rise building and desalination site in Bahrain.
A U.S. military service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia last week. President Trump and Vice President JD Vance attended the transfer of six other soldiers in Washington, DC, who were also killed.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in an interview that the war is on track and the world has not yet seen the full effect of the U.S. military action.
“This is NOT a fair fight,” Hegseth emphasized. “And that’s ON PURPOSE! Our capabilities are overwhelming compared to what Iran’s are. And frankly, when you combine our air force with the air force of the Israeli Defense Forces, it’s the two most powerful air forces in the world.”
He continued, “The ability for us to be up over the top and hunting with more conventional munitions, gravity bombs, 500-pound, 1,000-pound, 2,000-pound bombs on military targets – we haven’t even really begun to start that effort of the campaign, which is going to showcase even more how we will execute on those objectives.”
Over the weekend, Israel also carried out more than 100 attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Two Israeli soldiers died, including a Druze soldier.
Mencer insists Hezbollah’s decision to join the war will have real consequences.
He told us, “They’ve chosen to open a front against Israel, and it is already paying a heavy price, which is why the IDF is striking Hezbollah commanders, their weapons depots, terror infrastructure throughout Lebanon, while at the same time reinforcing Israel’s northern defenses.”
In a pushback against Hezbollah, Lebanon adopted a decision to ban the terror group’s military and security activities, showing an attempt by the government in Beirut to position itself as a protector of national security.
