Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that if Lebanon does not prevent Hezbollah from attacking Israel, Israel "will take the territory and do it ourselves," and Katz, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, ordered the Israeli military to prepare for an expanded operation, Reuters reported on March 12. Katz's warning comes as U.S.-Israeli attacks continue to target Iranian nuclear sites and, for the first time, security force checkpoints in Tehran, killing several Basij security force members, who are responsible for cracking down on domestic protests.

Meanwhile, Iran has continued to target Gulf Arab countries, including Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to Israel. Additional oil tankers and cargo ships have been targeted near Basra and in the waters around the Strait of Hormuz. As a result of the attack on oil tankers, Iraq suspended all oil terminal operations. In a recorded message, Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said U.S. bases would be targeted unless they closed immediately and that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed, amid mounting speculation that he is gravely injured.