BEIRUT - The raging Iran war, which has spread across the Middle East and beyond, entered its seventh day on Friday after Israeli forces announced a "next phase" in the conflict and bombed Beirut's southern suburbs.
The Israeli military had earlier issued an unprecedented evacuation warning for the entire area -- "save your lives and evacuate your residences immediately" -- that sent residents fleeing in panic.
The war has been felt as far away as the Sri Lankan coast, where a US submarine torpedoed an Iranian warship, and Azerbaijan, which threatened retaliation after a drone hit an airport.
On the political front, US President Donald Trump rejected the possibility of Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, replacing his slain father, dismissing him as a "lightweight".
"I have to be involved in the appointment, like with Delcy," Trump told Axios in an interview, drawing a comparison to Venezuela, where interim president Delcy Rodriguez has cooperated with him after the United States ousted her boss Nicolas Maduro in a military raid.
"Khamenei's son is unacceptable to me. We want someone that will bring harmony and peace to Iran," Trump told the publication, threatening more war in the future if a better alternative were not found.
The remarks suggest a willingness to work with someone from within the Islamic republic rather than toppling the government entirely, despite Trump's repeated exhortations for Iranians to rise up and take back their country.
Lebanon was dragged into the widening conflict on Monday, when Hezbollah attacked Israel to avenge the killing of Khamenei.
Israel responded with air strikes and sent ground troops into some Lebanese border villages, and on Thursday it targeted Beirut's southern suburbs, saying it was "striking Hezbollah infrastructure".
The Israeli warning that preceded the strikes sent people fleeing from the area, with massive traffic jams on the outskirts of the suburbs as people fired guns in the air, urging residents to leave as soon as possible.
Lebanese authorities say at least 123 people have been killed since Monday, with 683 wounded and at least 90,000 displaced.