The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) released audio on Thursday of a civilian in Tehran describing what it's like on the ground as Operation Epic Fury rocks Iran.

"To us here, the war did not start four days ago. It started when we heard the initial news of a piling up of the forces in the region and preparations for war. Now, with the war going on, we hear constant explosions and there is no respite from this," the unidentified civilian said.

The civilian said that the frequency of explosions has made people so nervous that even everyday noises can cause panic attacks.

"Any moment you can expect a loud noise. This has made us so nervous that any loud noise, including the noise of a car passing by, gives us a panic attack," the civilian said.

Even with the noise of the explosions, what the civilian, who said he was born and raised in Tehran, noticed was that the city has become a ghost town as people have either fled the war or limited movements in order to stay safe from aerial attacks.

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"As a person who was born and lived his whole life in this city, I have never seen the city so quiet," the civilian said. "Some of the people of my city have left, many others stayed in, trying to limit movements to avoid getting caught in the aerial attacks on the city that never seem to come to an end. You don't see people around. My city was a very big city and busy. I'm not used to seeing my city so calm and quiet."

The U.S. and Israel have carried out air and sea attacks on Iran since the operation began on Saturday. The operation has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, according to The Associated Press. Additionally, six U.S. service members in Kuwait were killed in the hostilities.

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The ICRC has expressed concerns about the situation in Iran, with the organization's president saying on day one of Operation Epic Fury that it could lead to "devastating consequences for civilians."

"The military escalation in the Middle East is igniting a dangerous chain reaction across the region, with potentially devastating consequences for civilians," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said.

In a statement issued a few days later, Spoljaric warned that "the scale of major military operations flaring across the Middle East risks embroiling the region – and beyond – into another large-scale armed conflict that will overwhelm any humanitarian response."

"Without urgent steps to de-escalate the situation and respect the rules of war, further civilian lives will be lost," Spoljaric added. "Civilians are already suffering the consequences of war."

According to the civilian, Iranians on the ground are worried about the future and wonder how the war will play out. Another fear among the people is the possibility of supplies running out.

"The supplies are available in the shops that are open and work. But what if the situation gets worse or continues as it is now? Will the supplies being stocked be of any help, or they will be meaningless in the face of what can happen?" the civilian wondered. "It is especially more worrying for people like me, who have to take care of people with medical complications that require special care. We are now under a lot of stress, worried to see what can come next." 

Fox News Digital reached out to ICRC for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: As U.S. and Israeli military pressure on Iran intensifies, and President Donald Trump signals support for Kurdish forces, Kurdish opposition groups along the country’s western frontier tell Fox News Digital they are watching closely for an opportunity to strike back against the Islamic Republic, which they have fought for decades.

Kako Aliyar, a member of the leadership committee of the Kurdish opposition party Komala, told Fox News Digital that Kurdish movements are ready to act if conditions allow. 

"Kurds have been waiting for a moment to do something," Aliyar said. "We believe that those moments are not far from us."

But Aliyar said Kurdish forces cannot yet move against the regime because Iran still retains the ability to launch missile and drone attacks, which opposition fighters would struggle to defend against.

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Aliyar said Iranian forces continue to target Kurdish opposition bases across the border in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Trump signaled support for Kurdish fighters launching an offensive against Iran, saying in a telephone interview with Reuters Thursday that he would back such a move. 

"I think it's wonderful that they want to do that — I'd be all for it," Trump said. 

Asked whether the United States would provide air cover for a Kurdish offensive, Trump declined to elaborate. 

"I can't tell you that," he said.

Aliyar said Kurdish groups remain under pressure from Iran and continue to face attacks on their bases across the border in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. 

"Our camps, the Kurdish political parties, are still under attack by the Iranian regime, and we can’t go into detail," he said. 

Still, he indicated that if the opportunity arises, Kurdish fighters would attempt to return to Iranian territory. 

"If we get an opportunity to go back to our own country, we will use it," he said.

The comments come as Iranian Kurdish opposition groups attempt to present a united front against Iran.  

In February, several factions formed the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, bringing together parties including Komala, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), PJAK and the Kurdistan Freedom Party.

Aliyar said the coalition is still organizing itself but carries an important political message.

"Politically, it’s a huge message for the Kurdish people inside the country and the international community that Kurds are united," he said. "We are working together, and we are trying to reach our goals together."

Kurdish groups have long fought the Iranian government. Armed clashes between Kurdish militants and Iranian forces date back to the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when Kurdish factions sought autonomy and were violently suppressed by Tehran.

Today, many Kurdish opposition groups operate from neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan, where they maintain political offices and limited military forces.

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Aliyar suggested Kurdish forces would only be able to move if Iran’s military capabilities are significantly degraded. 

"I believe those missile and drone abilities have to be more weakened or totally removed because we are not able to defend ourselves against them," he said.

Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones remains one of the regime’s strongest deterrents against internal or external challengers. 

"They can still launch missiles and they can still kill people," Aliyar said.

If those capabilities were reduced, he believes Kurdish forces could attempt to exploit the moment. 

"I think everyone has the capacity to do so because Kurdish political parties have huge legitimacy among the people," he said. "People support them, people support us."

However, Aliyar cautioned that no one can predict how events will unfold. 

"When a war starts, you are trying to find a way to use it in your best way, but you cannot predict what happens tomorrow," he said.

Kurds in Iran represent one of the country’s largest ethnic minorities and have historically maintained organized opposition movements. 

Kurdish parties developed armed wings and political networks decades ago, giving them a level of organizational structure that many other Iranian opposition movements lack.

Jino Victoria Doabi, an international political analyst focused on Iran and Kurdistan, told Fox News Digital that "Kurds inside Iran have their own history and tradition of struggle and resistance with political parties and armed forces."

Doabi said that Kurdish forces are unlikely to move without clear backing from Washington.

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"For that to happen, they need assurance from America, both politically but also security-wise," Doabi said.

"Kurds have learned that they cannot just do it for the good cause anymore, because that's going to cause civilians a lot of pain and destruction and killings."

Discussions about the idea of Kurdish involvement may have been underway long before the recent escalation, according to Doabi. 

"I don't think this has happened overnight," she said. "I think this has been discussed for a long time."

Despite the growing attention on Kurdish groups, Aliyar emphasized that Iraqi Kurdish authorities are not directly involved in any potential campaign. 

"Iraqi Kurds are not part of it," he said. "I am not Iraqi, so I cannot comment on that."

Analysts say Kurdish insurgents alone are unlikely to topple the Iranian regime. But if internal unrest spreads and Kurdish forces coordinate with broader opposition movements, Iran’s western frontier could become a serious pressure point for Iran. 

For Aliyar and other Kurdish leaders, however, the goal remains clear after decades of opposition to the Islamic Republic.

"We have had this desire for 47 years," he said. "If we get an opportunity, we will use it."

The sinking of the Iranian warship IRIS Dena by a single Mk 48 torpedo has put renewed focus on the U.S. Navy’s primary undersea weapon, a heavyweight torpedo that first entered operational service in 1972 and has been steadily upgraded for modern naval warfare.

The strike on the IRIS Dena marked the first time since World War II that a U.S. submarine used a torpedo to sink an enemy ship.

"In the Indian Ocean, an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo. Quiet Death," War Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The Navy says the Mk 48 has long served as its principal undersea weapon, designed to "defeat all threat surface ships and submarines in all ocean environments."

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The Mk 48 is a submarine-launched torpedo that uses information from the launching submarine and its own sensors to find and strike submarines or surface ships.

Physically, the weapon is built for destructive power. According to Navy specifications, the torpedo measures 21 inches in diameter, weighs about 3,744 pounds and carries a 650-pound high-explosive warhead.

According to the Department of the Navy's fiscal year 2025 budget estimates, a single Mk 48 torpedo costs approximately $4.2 million.

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Lockheed Martin, one of the Mk 48 torpedo program’s primary contractors, says it can be guided in real time by wire from the launching submarine, allowing operators to update targeting information and adjust its course after launch. 

If the wire connection is lost, the torpedo can switch to autonomous homing, relying on digital guidance systems and onboard signal processing to continue its pursuit independently.

Over time, the torpedo has evolved through hardware variants known as "Mods," each integrating upgraded sensors, guidance and control systems, and propulsion improvements. 

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The current fleet includes the Mod 7 configuration, developed in partnership with the Royal Australian Navy, while Mod 8 is in development and Mod 9 is being pursued as a rapid prototyping effort, according to the Department of War’s Fiscal Year 2024 Annual Report by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation.

In addition to hardware upgrades, the Mk 48 undergoes recurring software updates known as Advanced Processor Builds, or APBs, which modify tactics, classification algorithms and operator interfaces to improve performance in increasingly complex undersea environments.