President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen on Sunday to succeed him.
Iran is responding to the operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
Iran claims 2 strikes on ships in Strait of Hormuz
The Islamic Republic Guard Corps navy conducted strikes on two vessels in Strait of Hormuz since morning Wednesday, the IRGC public relations said in a statement.
The statement says that the ships "Express Room," and "Mayuree Naree" were targeted by fire from Iranian combatants "after ignoring alerts and warnings from the IRGC Navy."
Smoke rises from the Thai bulk carrier 'Mayuree Naree' near the Strait of Hormuz after an attack, March 11, 2026.
Royal Thai Navy/AFP via Getty Images
IRGC naval commander Adm. Alireza Tangsiri also said in a post in Persian on social media that "every vessel intending to pass must obtain permission from Iran."
-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian and Maryam Moqaddam
Mar 11, 2026, 8:48 AM EDT
3 crew members missing after Thai carrier struck in Strait of Hormuz
A Thai carrier was one of at least three ships struck by "unknown" projectiles in separate incidents as they traveled through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, according to Thailand, Oman and the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations, a monitoring agency.
One ship was struck about 25 nautical miles northwest of Ra's al Khaymah in the United Arab Emirates, another was about 50 nautical miles northwest of Dubai, also in the UAE, and a third was about 11 nautical miles north of Oman, the UKMTO said on social media.
The Thailand-flagged cargo ship Mayuree Naree engulfed in black smoke in the Strait of Hormuz, March 11, 2026.
Royal Thai Navy/via Reuters
Oman’s Maritime Security Center said that the ship struck nearest Oman was the "Mayuree Naree," a bulk carrier sailing under the Thai flag. Photos released by the Royal Thai Navy showed the carrier engulfed in heavy smoke.
"The attack ignited a fire within the main engine room," the Oman News Agency, an official state media, said in an update. "In response, a vessel from the Royal Navy of Oman successfully evacuated 20 crew members, all of Thai nationality, who sustained injuries of varying severity."
This handout photo taken on March 11, 2026, and released by the Royal Thai Navy shows smoke rising from the Thai bulk carrier "Mayuree Naree" near the Strait of Hormuz after an attack. A Thai bulk carrier travelling in the crucial Strait of Hormuz was attacked March 11, with 20 crew members rescued so far, the Thai navy said.
ROYAL THAI NAVY/AFP via Getty Images
The carrier's route was altered significantly at about 7:30 a.m. local time, when the ship slowed and veered off course about 11 nautical miles from Kumzar Port in Oman, according to Marine Traffic, a site that tracks vessels.
An "explosion occurred at the stern of the ship, resulting in a fire in the engine room," the Thai Marine Department said in an update. "The captain decided to abandon ship and evacuate the crew to lifeboats."
Twenty-three crew members had been onboard the ship when it departed the UAE, the department said, adding that a search-and-rescue operation was underway for three missing crew members, who were believed to have been in the engine room at the time of the strike.
-ABC News' Helena Skinner and Kevin Shalvey
Mar 11, 2026, 7:27 AM EDT
Thousands gather in Tehran square for funerals
Thousands of people gathered on Wednesday in Tehran’s Enqelab Square, where funerals were being held for several Iranian commanders and others killed amid the U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Video broadcast by Iranian state TV appeared to show floats carrying the photos and coffins of the deceased, including young children, to the square.
Iranians attend the funeral of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps commanders, army commanders and others killed in the early days of the United States and Israeli strikes on Iran, at Enghelab Square in Tehran on March 11, 2026.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
Photos taken by wire services showed huge crowds of people, including many who were holding Iranian flags, swarming the square.
Iranians attend the funeral of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commanders, army commanders and others killed in the early days of the United States and Israeli strikes on Iran, at Enghelab Square in Tehran on March 11, 2026.
Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images
Among those who will be buried are Mohammad Pakpour, who headed the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps; Lt. Gen. Abdolrahim Mousavi, who was chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; Adm. Ali Shamkhani, who led the Supreme National Security Council; the former defense minister, Maj. Gen. Aziz Nasirzadeh; and Mohammad Shirazi, who headed the military bureau.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Helena Skinner
Mar 11, 2026, 6:57 AM EDT
Saudi Arabia intercepts 24 drones, 7 missiles overnight, ministry says
Air defenses in Saudi Arabia intercepted seven ballistic missiles and 24 drones overnight and into Wednesday morning, the country's Ministry of Defense said in a series of posts on social media.
Drone and missile interceptions happened across several regions, the ministry said.
Six ballistic missiles launched toward the Prince Sultan Air Base were intercepted, the ministry said. Seven drones heading towards an oil field in the southeast of the country near the border with the United Arab Emirates were intercepted.
"Two drones heading towards the Shaybah oil field were intercepted and destroyed," the ministry said.
Another five drones were intercepted and destroyed, the ministry said in separate posts.
