President Donald Trump took to social media Friday with a chilling message of triumphalism, urging followers to “watch what happens” as American and Israeli forces rained bombs down on Iran. He described killing Iranian leaders as a “great honor” and labeled them “deranged scumbags” who had, in his words, spent 47 years killing innocent people around the world. The message came as warplanes from both nations carried out successive strikes on Tehran and elsewhere across the country.
The Iranian capital has been under assault since the war began with an Israeli strike that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, ending his 37-year grip on power. Ordinary Iranians now find themselves trapped in a city under siege, with explosions, power cuts, rubble, and fuel shortages making survival increasingly difficult. One resident described buildings shaking from the force of the blasts, while another said she had counted six explosions in the span of a single hour.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei had been wounded and likely disfigured in one of the strikes, noting his only communication had been a written statement, devoid of any voice or image. US and Israeli forces have together struck more than 15,000 targets since the beginning of the conflict, with Israel alone confirming over 200 strikes in the most recent 24-hour period. Late Friday, Trump announced that Kharg Island, Iran’s crucial oil export hub, had been “obliterated” of its military assets.
The war has drawn in nations across the region, with Hezbollah attacking northern Israel with rockets and injuring nearly 60 people. Lebanese health authorities reported over 600 deaths and more than 800,000 displaced since the latest fighting began. In the Gulf, Saudi Arabia intercepted close to 50 Iranian drones, while debris from an intercepted projectile caused damage to a building at the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Global energy markets remained on edge as Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz threatened supplies accounting for about one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade. Trump warned Iran against any further interference with shipping, threatening to immediately order strikes on Kharg Island’s oil infrastructure if provoked. Six American service members died when a refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq, adding to a US death toll of at least 13 service members killed since fighting began.