ADRIAN MA, HOST:
The bodies of American service members killed in the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran are back on American soil. President Trump was at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today for a ceremony marking their return.
Meanwhile, drones and missiles continued to crisscross much of the Middle East as the war entered its second week. Israeli fighter jets pounded targets in Iran's capital and also in Lebanon, where the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah is based. The death toll continues to rise with more than 1,300 killed in Iran, according to the Red Crescent Society, and nearly 300 dead in Lebanon, according to state officials there. And Iran has continued to attack multiple Gulf states.
We'll hear more from inside Lebanon in just a moment. But first, we go to NPR's Carrie Kahn, who's in Tel Aviv, Israel. Carrie, what's the situation where you are today?
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Israel's military says it has dealt serious blows to Iran's air missile and drone system. They say they've been hitting targets throughout the country and particularly in the capital, Tehran. We have seen a decrease in the number of air raid sirens in Israel signaling incoming missiles or drones from Iran. But I have to tell you, overnight and throughout the day, there was still more than a handful of sirens sending residents into the bomb shelter, and that's where I am right now.
MA: Yeah, you were getting ready to file this report, and the sirens went off, and you had to duck into the shelter.
KAHN: Yes, that's been happening a lot today. Yes.
MA: Can you tell us about what we know about what's happening inside Iran?
KAHN: It was another day, now the eighth, of continual airstrikes. The Israeli military says it sent more than 80 jets into Iranian airspace today, hitting multiple targets, including Tehran's airport and a military university. Now, the internet is extremely faulty there these days, but NPR did exchange voice messages with a 23-year-old who lives with her parents in the Southern city of Bushehr. We're only using her first name, Parisa (ph), as she fears reprisals from the government.
PARISA: (Speaking Farsi).
KAHN: "It's hard for everyone, really hard," she says. "You think in your heart that you are in a residential area and you're not a target, but you worry about loved ones in other areas." And she said, "especially when you hear the sounds of blasts and bombardments." She says that quietly and very quickly in those voice notes.
MA: So zooming out for a second, throughout the day, we have seen Iran send a barrage of drones and missiles into various Gulf states, which shows just how much this war is expanding. And these attacks came after Iran's president apologized to Iran's neighbors. So what's happening there now?
KAHN: A lot of interesting messaging coming from Iran's high leaders. Early this morning, President Masoud Pezeshkian put out a recorded address. It was a short one, and he was apologizing for previous attacks on Gulf neighbors.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT MASOUD PEZESHKIAN: (Speaking Farsi).
KAHN: "I find it necessary here to apologize on my own behalf to the neighboring countries," he said. But then there was a series of muddled and mixed messaging throughout the day from military leaders. Ultimately, the military said Iran will continue hitting any targets that house U.S. or Israeli, quote, "military bases or interests."
President Trump jumped on the Iranian president's words. He was characterizing the statement that he made as submission to U.S. demands. And all this back and forth was happening as multiple air raid sirens went off in countries throughout the Gulf, including the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
And Israel continued its airstrikes in Lebanon, where it says it was going after Hezbollah militants. That campaign has been devastating, displacing more than 110,000 people so far.
MA: That's NPR's Carrie Kahn in Tel Aviv. Thanks for your reporting, Carrie.
KAHN: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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