President Donald Trump declared on Friday that Iran’s fate was effectively sealed, calling its leaders “deranged scumbags” and vowing dramatically harder strikes in the coming days. The declaration came alongside announcements from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that Iran’s newly installed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had been wounded and disfigured and was hiding underground after being unable to appear in any video or audio communication. US and Israeli aircraft continued pounding Tehran in successive bombing waves as Trump spoke.
Mojtaba Khamenei assumed the supreme leadership after Israel’s killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled Iran for 37 years. He issued a defiant written statement Thursday calling for unity and pledging continued resistance, but his failure to appear in any visual or audio format prompted US officials to conclude he had been physically incapacitated by the strikes. Hegseth dismissed the statement as weak, adding that Khamenei’s idea of unity amounted to killing tens of thousands of protesters. Other senior Iranian officials were seen walking in Tehran’s streets and participating in demonstrations.
US and Israeli forces have struck over 15,000 combined targets since the war began. Israel confirmed over 200 individual strikes in the most recent 24 hours. Trump’s announcement that Kharg Island had been completely cleared of military installations — described as one of the most powerful raids in Middle Eastern history — signaled a major escalation. He warned that the island’s oil infrastructure would be next if Iran continued to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global energy supplies pass.
The wider regional conflict continued with devastating force. Lebanon recorded over 600 deaths and 800,000 displaced, with eight more killed in an Israeli strike on Sidon. Hezbollah injured about 60 Israelis in rocket salvoes at northern Israel. Saudi Arabia intercepted close to 50 Iranian drones. Qatar ordered Doha evacuations before a missile interception. Two died in Oman in drone crashes. Dubai’s financial district sustained damage. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched new coordinated strikes on Israel with Hezbollah as part of al-Quds Day.
Iran has reported over 1,300 deaths. The United States has lost 13 service members, including six in a tanker aircraft crash in Iraq. France lost one soldier to a pro-Iranian militia drone in Iraq. Tehran residents described constant explosions, power cuts, fuel shortages, and trapped civilians. A retired professor begged the world to intervene. A shopkeeper counted six explosions in one hour. European governments sought safe passage guarantees through diplomatic back-channels with Tehran. Trump’s threats about Iran’s oil infrastructure kept global energy markets on edge as the conflict showed no sign of resolution.
