The Iran conflict escalated dramatically on its fifth and sixth days as a US Navy submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the first confirmed submarine torpedo kill since World War II. Approximately 130 sailors were aboard the vessel when it went down, according to US military officials. The strike came as US Joint Chiefs Chair General Dan Caine declared that American and Israeli forces had effectively neutralized Iran's naval capacity, with more than 20 Iranian ships sunk or destroyed since operations began on February 28.
In a parallel political upheaval, Iran's Assembly of Experts secretly convened in Qom on March 4 and elected Mojtaba Khamenei, the 55-year-old son of the slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as his successor. The vote took place under extraordinary circumstances, as US and Israeli airstrikes flattened the Assembly of Experts building shortly after the session concluded. The funeral of the elder Khamenei has been postponed, with burial now planned for the holy city of Mashhad rather than Tehran.
Israeli forces launched their tenth wave of strikes against Tehran, while also targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut. The Natanz nuclear enrichment facility sustained confirmed damage from strikes, with the International Atomic Energy Agency verifying the impact but reporting no radioactive leaks. Iran's retaliatory capability has declined sharply, with Pentagon officials reporting an 86 percent drop in Iranian missile launches and a 73 percent drop in drone deployments compared to the first day of conflict. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the US was just getting started and was accelerating, not decelerating.
The conflict continued to draw in regional actors. Qatar's Air Force shot down two Iranian Su-24 bomber aircraft using Eurofighter Typhoons in what marked the Gulf state's first-ever air combat engagement. An Iranian ballistic missile was intercepted over Turkish airspace by NATO air defense systems, while a drone struck the US consulate in Dubai. Iraq experienced a total national blackout after Iran cut gas supplies that powered much of the country's electricity grid. The US Senate voted 47 to 53 to reject a war powers resolution that would have required the president to withdraw forces, with Senator John Fetterman the only Democrat voting against the measure and Senator Rand Paul the only Republican supporting it.
The humanitarian toll mounted rapidly, with the Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw reporting more than 2,400 killed in Iran, while the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency documented 912 confirmed civilian fatalities including 181 children under the age of ten. In Israel, at least 11 people have died from Iranian missile strikes, including eight in a single attack on Beit Shemesh. Six US service members have been killed since operations began. Global financial markets reeled from the conflict, with South Korea's KOSPI index plunging 12.06 percent in its largest single-day decline in history. Oil prices hovered between 81 and 85 dollars per barrel, while major marine insurers announced they would withdraw coverage for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz effective March 5. Anti-war demonstrations took place in approximately 50 US cities, with organizers planning a nationwide day of protest for March 8. At the United Nations, Russia and China blocked the US presidency's proposed programme of work for the Security Council over objections related to the Iran crisis.
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