- Israel’s military announced start of new “extensive wave” of strikes on Iran’s capital Tehran as Israel issued forced evacuation orders amid new attacks on Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
- Two people have been killed in Oman after the downing of a drone in Sohar province, Oman’s state news agency is reporting.
- Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issues first statement since replacing assassinated father, Ali Khamenei, calling for bases hosting US forces in region to close or attacks will continue.
- Saudi Arabia says air defences have shot down eight more drones in the central and eastern regions of the country, including Riyadh.
- US CENTCOM says four out of six crew onboard a refuelling aircraft that crashed in Iraq have died.
- Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.
Hegseth claims Iran’s supreme leader is ‘wounded, likely disfigured’
Hegseth says Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is “wounded” and “likely disfigured” (as our international editor wrote earlier, we do not have proof this is the case).
Referring to a written statement from Mojtaba read aloud on Iranian state TV yesterday, Hegseth questions why there was no footage or audio of him.
“I think you know why,” he adds.
The defence secretary says Motjaba is “scared” and “injured”, claiming he is “on the run” and “lacks legitimacy”.
Key points from Caine’s briefing
Here’s are the key points that US Air Force General Dan Caine, chair of the joint chiefs of staff, had to say at the briefing alongside Hegseth:
- Iran still has the capacity to harm commercial shipping and US-allied forces
- US forces are continuing to target Iran’s mine-laying capabilities
- The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is continuing to develop and is a tactically complex environment
- Asked about US casualties, he said the “large majority who have gone in for medical treatment” had returned to duty
US agencies ‘across all potential threats to keep Americans safe’
A journalist brings up reporting from Thursday that Iran was targeting the US state of California, which the White House later said wasn’t true.
Hegseth is asked if Iran has the capability to conduct such a strike.
He says that US agencies remain across all potential threats to keep Americans safe, and that the reports “had no impact on us”.
Iran has said they can do many things over time, including “engaging their proxies and getting them involved in the fight”, which they haven’t been able to do, Hegseth adds.
We must prevent ‘profiteering’ over energy price rises, says Starmer
Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says “everything” should be done to prevent “profiteering”, in light of fears energy costs will soar due to the conflict in the Middle East.
He adds that the Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband will meet with petrol retailers and energy firms in Downing Street later today to discuss what they are doing to keep prices down.
He also shared that last night RAF Typhoons “extended their action to Bahrain”.
Hegseth’s irritation felt like a sign the US is feeling the pressure
I’ve just left the Pentagon after Hegseth and Caine’s news conference.
It felt like Hegseth was trying to sell the war in the face of growing scrutiny from parts of the US media.
This, of course, is being driven by the spiralling oil prices, the apparent resilience of the Iranian regime and news of US military casualties.
Hegseth confronted the media from the start, saying the press needed to “admit” that the US and Israel were “decimating” the Iranian military.
The regime, he said, now looked up to the skies and saw the “stars and stripes and the Star of David”, which he called “the evil regime’s worst nightmare”.
He said its conventional weapons, arsenals and production were being wiped out, and the regime was cowering underground like “rats”.
He also called for a more “patriotic press”.
But on two key questions of strategy – how to secure the Strait of Hormuz and how to get rid of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile – the answers were largely evasive.
His irritation felt like a sign the administration is feeling the pressure.
Why is US not escorting ships through key oil trade route?
A reporter cites Hegseth as saying the US military has aerial and naval superiority over Iran – “yet you’re not escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Why did you not plan for this?”
“We planned for it. We recognise it. Because ultimately we want to do… sequentially in a way that makes the most sense… and ensure we’re sending the right signals to the world.”
The key lines from the Pentagon news conference
We can now bring you a quick recap of news conference which took place in the Pentagon a short while ago (scroll back through our posts from 12:06 GMT for our full coverage).
- Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US would launch its highest volume of strikes over Iran, as it continued “decimating” Iran’s military
- He said Iran has functioning air force, air defence or navy, that its missile volume is down 90%. He later said Iran would be incapable of building more weapons as soon all of their defence companies “will be destroyed”
- On the Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth accused Iran of “sheer desperation” – but claimed the US was “dealing with” it
- He said Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was “wounded” and “likely disfigured”
- Military chief General Dan Caine said the US priority was targeting Iran’s mine laying enterprise in the Strait of Hormuz
- Asked about the fatal strike on a girls’ primary school in Iran, Hegseth said the US had designated an investigating to establish what happened
US launching ‘highest volume of strikes over Iran’ today
Hegseth says Iran’s leadership is hiding and America’s will is “unshakeable, our options maximised and our capabilities still building
President Trump holds the cards, he says. “He’ll determine the pace, the tempo and the timing of this conflict.”
He says today, the US will launch “yet again, the highest volume of strikes that America has put over the skies of Iran”.
Asked about strike on school, Hegseth says US and Israel ‘never target civilians’
Hegseth is asked about a fatal strike on a girls’ primary school in Minab, Iran.
- Iran has accused the US and Israel of hitting the school. Following the attack, US Central Command (Centcom) said it was looking into reports of the incident, while Israel’s military said it was “not aware” of any operations in the area
Hegseth says Centcom has designated an investigating officer from outside the force, who “will take as long as necessary” to establish what happened in this incident.
He says US-Israel operation “never target[s] civilians” in the war with Iran.
Hegseth asked when Strait of Hormuz will become fully operational
Hegseth is asked by one reporter when the Strait of Hormuz may become fully operational again.
He emphasises the only thing disrupting traffic in the Strait is Iran.
He says that is why one of the US’s primary objectives was to destroy Iran’s navy, and that the US is working to make sure “energy flows”.
Turning his attention to Iran’s nuclear position, he says taking out Iran’s ability to fire ballistic missiles will help ensure Iran is denied their nuclear capabilities.
US military chief also pays tribute to killed refuelling craft crew
General Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, takes over.
He also pays tribute to the four crew killed in the KC-135 crash over western Iraq, and thanks all service members for their “dedication”.
Caine says there has been a fire on board an aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R Ford, but that he believes the crew on board will “be okay”.
The US continues to attack ballistic missile and drone capabilities, and “destroying” the Iranian navy and its ability to “attack commercial vessels”, he adds.