President Donald Trump declared on Friday that Iran’s strategic depth had been shattered by the intensity of the US-Israeli bombing campaign, calling Iranian leaders “deranged scumbags” and promising that the campaign would intensify further in the coming days. His assessment was backed by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who described Iran’s leadership as desperate and in hiding, with new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei wounded and disfigured and unable to appear in any public video or audio format. Combined US and Israeli forces have now struck more than 15,000 targets since the war began.
The campaign has targeted not just military hardware but the command infrastructure that controls it. Israel alone reported over 200 individual strikes in the most recent 24-hour window, including hits on missile launch systems, weapons production facilities, and air defence networks. Trump’s late Friday announcement described US Central Command obliterating every military installation on Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil terminal, in one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East. He warned that the island’s oil infrastructure would be struck immediately if Iran continued to blockade the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has responded to the campaign against it with daily attacks on Gulf state infrastructure, Israel, and Strait of Hormuz shipping. Saudi Arabia intercepted close to 50 Iranian drones in a single day of intensive defensive operations. Qatar issued Doha evacuation warnings before a missile was confirmed intercepted over the capital. Two people died in Oman when drones struck an industrial zone. Debris from an intercepted strike damaged a building in Dubai’s International Financial Centre. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards simultaneously launched new coordinated strikes on Israel with Hezbollah as part of al-Quds Day.
Lebanon continues to suffer from the conflict. Over 600 people have been killed and 800,000 displaced since the latest fighting began. Israeli forces killed at least eight in Sidon on Friday and struck the Zrarieh Bridge over the Litani River. Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, injuring close to 60 people. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Lebanon’s government that it would pay an increasing price for Hezbollah’s use of its infrastructure. Iran has reported over 1,300 deaths since the conflict began.
Tehran residents described a city under siege, with constant explosions, power failures, rubble, and dwindling fuel. The United States has lost 13 service members, including six in a tanker aircraft crash in Iraq. France lost a soldier to a pro-Iranian militia drone in Iraq. A retired professor in Tehran pleaded for the world to intervene. A shopkeeper counted six explosions in one hour. European governments sought diplomatic channels with Tehran for Strait of Hormuz shipping safety. Trump’s threats about striking Iranian oil infrastructure kept global energy markets in a state of deep uncertainty and high anxiety.