Israel’s special forces are engaging in “extraordinary missions that can spark one’s imagination” during the ongoing conflict with Iran, according to the nation’s Air Force chief.

In a statement released on Wednesday, marking the fifth day of the escalating Middle East conflict, Major General Tomer Bar praised his forces for their efforts. He noted that “hundreds of targets” have been struck by missiles and hinted at the possibility of Israeli ground operations within Iran.

This statement coincides with reports of an airdrop by four to seven US-Israeli helicopters in Iraq’s Najaf desert. While the exact purpose of the operation remains unspecified, there is speculation that the helicopters might have been delivering supplies to groups opposed to Iran.

Following the airdrop, an Iraqi convoy dispatched to investigate was reportedly targeted by airstrikes, resulting in the death of one soldier and injuries to two others, as reported by Independent Arabia.

The purpose of the drop remains unclear, though it has been speculated that the helicopters could have been supplying equipment to anti-Iran regimes.

An Iraqi convoy sent to investigate the helicopters was hit by airstrikes, killing one soldier and leaving two wounded, according to Independent Arabia. 

Major General Bar’s statement this evening read: ‘On this Shabbat morning, over 200 Israeli Air Force aircraft are attacking targets in Iran.

‘This is not a drill. This is a real operation to defend the State of Israel. We have been fighting for about 100 hours alongside ground and naval forces. We have already struck hundreds of targets of the Iranian regime and its proxies. 

Israeli special forces are carrying out ‘extraordinary missions’ in their fight against Iran, the country’s Air Force chief said on Wednesday (Pictured: A car destroyed in Tehran, the Iranian capital)

Major General Tomer Bar said ‘hundreds of targets of the Iranian regime’ have been struck by missiles – and also appeared to suggest that Israeli troops have been deployed on the ground in Iran

The country’s capital city has been battered by airstrikes since the conflict broke out on Saturday

‘Iranian aggression against Israel has crossed a red line. We are precisely striking the Iranian nuclear program, missile production facilities, and other strategic sites. We will continue with full determination to protect Israel’s citizens.’ 

The Iranian capital of Tehran has been battered by missiles sent by the US and Israel since the conflict broke out on Saturday when the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed. 

A funeral ceremony for the late leader scheduled to begin this evening was cancelled as airstrikes on the city continued. 

A member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts said on Wednesday that they are ‘close’ to choosing a successor to Khamenei, whose reign lasted four decades. 

Reports yesterday claimed that the former Supreme Leader’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is in line to succeed him.

Mojtaba, 56, Ali Khamenei’s second eldest, has strong links to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who are thought to be putting pressure on the Assembly of Experts to make an appointment.

As strikes on Iran continued on Wednesday, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that an enemy warship was sunk by American torpedoes off the coast of Sri Lanka. 

At least 80 sailors are confirmed to have died and a further 78 wounded in the Indian Ocean after an ‘explosion’ hit an 180-crew Iranian frigate IRIS Dena. 

Video footage released by the US showed the moment that a torpedo struck the vessel, causing a huge explosion that sent water soaring high into the air.

A funeral ceremony for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was cancelled on Wednesday (Pictured: A banner of the leader in Tehran)

Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is reportedly in line to become the country’s new Supreme Leader

In later images, the bow of the stricken warship was seen pointing skywards, with more than half the boat already having disappeared underneath the waves.

The War Secretary said it was the ‘first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two’.

However, he overlooked the British sinking of the Argentinian cruiser Belgrano by submarine HMS Conqueror on 2 May, 1982 during the Falklands War.

Hegseth said at a press conference: ‘In the Indian Ocean – an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship, that thought it was safe in international waters,’ he said.

‘Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo – quiet death.

‘The first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two. Like in that war – back when we were still the War Department – we are fighting to win.’ 

In addition to striking Tehran on the fifth day of the conflict, Israel hit the Iranianbacked Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, while Iran fired on Bahrain, Kuwait and Israel. As the conflict spiraled, Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey’s airspace.

The war has killed more than 1,000 people in Iran and dozens in Lebanon, according to officials. It has subsequently disrupted the supply of the world’s oil and gas, snarled international shipping, and stranded hundreds of thousands of travelers in the Middle East.

Israel said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s Basij, the all-volunteer force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard that conducted a bloody crackdown on protesters in January that killed thousands and saw tens of thousands detained in the country.

The Israeli military also said it hit buildings associated with Iran’s internal security command, which also has suppressed demonstrations in the past. It also pounded towns near Beirut.

Israel and the US have said they want to see the Iranian public overthrow the country’s theocracy, and strikes against counterprotest forces are likely part of that effort.

Iranian state television showed the ruins of buildings in the center of the capital of Tehran, with interviewees saying the attacks damaged their homes. Strikes have also been reported in the holy Shiite seminary city of Qom, targeting a building associated with a clerical panel set to pick Iran’s next supreme leader. Iranian media said it was empty at the time. 

State TV has begun calling the conflict the ‘Ramadan war,’ a reference to the holy Muslim fasting month currently taking place. But that term also suggested leaders are trying to prepare the public for a protracted conflict.

Adm. Brad Cooper, the top US military commander in the Middle East, echoed that sentiment, saying: ‘We’ve just begun.’

Cooper said American forces have damaged Iran’s air defenses and taken out ballistic missiles, launchers and drones. Israeli military spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said such damage has led to a decline in launches from Iran.

Still, explosions echoed in the skies over Jerusalem on Wednesday. Israel’s military said Iran launched missiles toward the country, and Hezbollah sent rockets.

Iran has also struck around the region, and air sirens sounded Wednesday across Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.

At least 1,045 people have been killed in Iran, the country’s Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs said on Wednesday. A further 50 have died in Lebanon, according to its health ministry.

Eleven people have been killed in Israel, as have six US troops.

Elsewhere today Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard issued its most-intense threat yet, saying the strikes against it would ‘cost of the complete destruction of the region’s military and economic infrastructure.’

A container ship was attacked on Wednesday afternoon while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped. The ship was hit by an unknown projectile, the UK’s Maritime Trade Operations said.

With Iranian attacks traffic through the strait, oil prices soared. Global stock markets have been hammered over worries that the spike in oil prices may grind down the world economy and sap corporate profits.