- 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.
Germany says US wrong to ease Russian oil sanctions
Germany has criticised the United States for easing some sanctions on Russian oil, warning the move could help finance Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Speaking during a visit to Norway, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Washington had taken the wrong approach as energy prices rise due to the war waged by the US and Israel against Iran.
“Easing sanctions now, for whatever reason, is wrong. We believe that is the wrong course of action,” Merz said.
He added that European leaders want to prevent Moscow from using the war involving Iran to weaken Ukraine.
Germany’s economy minister, Katherina Reiche, warned earlier that relaxing restrictions risked “further filling Putin’s war chest”.
‘Nothing good for Ukraine’ from Iran war: Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that while it is understandable the world’s attention has shifted to the Middle East, the situation is “not good” for Ukraine.
“There is nothing good for Ukraine in the war in the Middle East,” Zelenskyy told students at the Sciences Po University in Paris.
Images show damaged US refuelling plane at Tel Aviv airport
Images circulating online appear to show a damaged Boeing KC-135 at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.
The photographs show damage to the aircraft’s tailfin while it sits on the ground at the airport. Additional images broadcast by Kan show the opposite side of the aircraft, where the damage is clearly visible.
Verification of the pictures by the BBC suggests they were taken at Ben Gurion airport and were uploaded recently.
The pictures come hours after United States Central Command confirmed that another KC-135 refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, killing all six crew members on board. US officials claimed the crash was not caused by hostile or friendly fire.
It remains unclear what caused the damage to the aircraft seen in Tel Aviv or whether it was involved in the same incident.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft passed over Jordan before heading towards Israel.
US issues up to $10 million reward for information on Mojtaba Khamenei, Larijani
The US Department of State’s Rewards for Justice programme has called for information on “Iranian terrorist leaders”, including Mojtaba Khamenei.
The State Department set the reward at up to $10m and said information could make people eligible for “relocation”.
“These individuals command and direct various elements of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which plans, organises and executes terrorism around the world,” the poster stated.
Officials whom the US is seeking information on include:
- Minister of Intelligence Esmail Khatib,
- Deputy Chief of Staff Ali Asghar Hejazi
- Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi
- Brigadier General Eskandar Momeni
- Secretary to the Supreme Council Ali Larijani
Earlier today, Larijani joined the al-Quds Day protests in Tehran and posted pictures of his participation.
US sends 10,000 interceptor drones to counter Iranian drones
The United States has deployed 10,000 interceptor drones to the Middle East to counter Iranian drone attacks, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll says.
The drones were shipped to the region within five days of the start of the Israeli-US war on Iran on February 28.
Officials say the drones offer a cheaper way to intercept incoming threats without relying on expensive missile defence systems.
Driscoll said each Merops interceptor currently costs $14,000–$15,000.
That would still make them potentially twice as expensive as Iran’s Shahed-136 drones, which Iranian analyst Esfandyar Batmanghelidj has estimated cost around $7,000.
Iran says it has shot down 111 drones since start of war
Iran’s military says it has shot down 111 drones since the start of the Israeli-US war, according to the Revolutionary Guards’ Sepah News portal.
The report said air defences recently downed an MQ-9 Reaper drone over Fars province and another aircraft near Tabriz, bringing the total number of drones destroyed to 111 “of various types”.
The MQ-9 Reaper is a high-end US surveillance and strike drone which typically costs about $30m to $32m, making it far more expensive than the one-way explosive drones used by Iran.
Iranian authorities did not provide a detailed breakdown of the drones they say they shot down.
Trump says US will be hitting Iran hard over ‘next week’
Trump has said in an interview that US forces would be carrying out intense strikes against Iranian targets in the coming days, as the war escalates throughout the Middle East as it heads into its third week.“We’re going to be hitting them very hard over the next week,” Trump told Fox News Radio.
Hezbollah claims attack on drone base in northern Israel
Lebanese group says it struck the Giva Drone Control Base in Safed in northern Israel with a rocket salvo.This launch was part of the “al-Quds Day” operations”, Hezbollah said in a statement.
Trump administration trying to project ‘image of confidence’ in war
Trump and Hegseth are “trying to project an image of confidence and success” and reassure the American people of the success of the war on Iran so far, says Mohamad Elmasry, of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
Trump no doubt is doing this because he has seen the polling data, which shows that it is “in all likelihood the lowest rated war at the start of a war in American history,” Elmasry told Al Jazeera.
“People are seeing gas prices rise and four more US soldiers were killed in Iraq yesterday,” he added.
Elmasry said Hegseth has boasted on numerous times about the US crushing Iran’s military capabilities, but he is “clearly underestimating the Iranian military and that feeds into some of this US propaganda that we’ve been seeing”.
UAE air defences responding to incoming Iranian missiles, drones: Defence Ministry
The UAE’s air defences are currently responding to incoming missiles and drones from Iran, the country’s Defence Ministry says.
In a post on X, it said that sounds that could be heard were “the result of the air defence systems intercepting missiles and drones”.
Iranian missiles launched towards Israel, says IDF
The Israel Defense Forces says Iranian missiles have been launched towards its territory.”The IDF identified that a short time ago, missiles were launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defense systems are operating to intercept the threat,” it says in a statement.It comes after Israel launched further strikes towards Tehran earlier this morning.
There is no evidence the Iranian regime is crumbling
There was an expectation from the Americans that once the supreme leader was killed on the first day of the war there would be a fairly rapid disintegration in Iran. But there is no evidence that the Iranian regime is crumbling.
Donald Trump is a man who believes in strong leadership. Maybe his theory was there would be a Venezuela-style event after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed.
If that is the case it shows an alarming lack of knowledge about how the Iranian regime is structured.
Iran has a long history of defiance and hatred against the Americans and the Israelis.
The Israelis have explicitly said they will try and kill the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
We do not have proof that he was wounded, perhaps grievously, in the attack that killed his father, wife, and a sister.
It is surprising that since Tehran is trying to build up a cult of his personality they did not take the opportunity to come up with some fresh material about how he is.
Meanwhile, concerns grow among Gulf countries that the Americans have left them with a terrible mess to clear up.
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.