First in war: IDF attacks Iranian ships in the Caspian Sea

A source familiar with the details reported Wednesday evening to i24NEWS that Israel struck vessels of the Iranian navy in the Caspian Sea for the first time since the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion.

The attack was carried out at Bandar Anzali port in Gilan Province, northern Iran. In addition to serving as the base of operations for the Iranian Navy in the western sector of the Caspian Sea, the port city of Bandar Anzali is also used by Russia and Iran for maritime shipments, as well as for weapons smuggling since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.

The attack in the Caspian Sea comes after Defense Minister Israel Katz's statement about the elimination of the Iranian Intelligence Minister, Esmail Khatib. In his statement, Minister Katz promised that "during this day, significant surprises are expected in all arenas, which will raise the level of the war we are waging against Iran."

Israel carried out a series of unprecedented actions in Iran over the past 24 hours. According to the IDF spokesperson, more than 200 regime targets were attacked in central and western Iran, including sites for storing and manufacturing ballistic missiles and UAVs, defense systems, missile launchers, and weapons manufacturing sites. In addition, a central gas facility in Bushehr in southern Iran was attacked.

Meanwhile, Iran attacked gas fields in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday evening after evacuation notices were issued for the relevant areas. In Qatar, a facility in the city of Ras Laffan, the largest liquefied natural gas export facility in the world, was attacked. In Saudi Arabia, gas installations near the capital, Riyadh, were attacked. Additionally, Iranian media reported that gas facilities in Bahrain were attacked, as well as the bridge connecting Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.