The Iran war shows no signs of letting up after US President Donald Trump suggested that operations could last for another three to four weeks, despite global energy instabilities. Trump says neutralising the threat posed by Tehran is more important than oil prices. Follow our live coverage.
Friday marked day 14 of the Iran war, as US-Israeli attacks on Iran continued while Tehran again launched strikes targeting Israel and the Gulf states, while blocking passage to commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
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France’s President Emmanuel Macron said a French soldier was killed in the autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan on Thursday, after Iranian drones and missiles targeted a base in the Erbil region. The attack also wounded several other service members.
Macron slammed Tehran over the attacks, calling them “unacceptable” and stressing that attacks on Iran “cannot justify” such strikes, which spiral the broader region into war and orchestrate more chaos and instability.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia says its defence forces have intercepted more than two dozen drones over its airspace, after Iran’s new ayatollah vowed to continue attacks on Gulf countries that host US bases.
Revisit our live blog below for the latest updates from our journalists in the region and worldwide this Friday.
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Blasts heard in Tel Aviv after Iranian strike alert
Smoke could be seen rising from two locations around Israel's commercial hub Tel Aviv on Friday, according to reports, after blasts were heard following a warning that missiles were fired from Iran.
Israel's Magen David Adom first responders said they had "searched locations where reports were received; no casualties were located".
The explosions were heard after air raid sirens had been sounded in Tel Aviv.
Prior to the sirens the Israeli military said it had "identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel".
It said that air defence systems were "operating to intercept the threat". It is unclear whether there were any casualties or the extent of the damage at this time.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) announced on Friday that they had launched missiles and drones at Israel in coordination with Tehran-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.
Trump vows to hit Iran 'very hard' in upcoming days
US President Donald Trump said in an interview aired Friday that American forces would strike Iranian targets "very hard" in the coming days, signaling an intensification of the US-Israeli campaign as the Iran war approaches its third week.
Washington and its ally launched the offensive on February 28 with strikes that killed Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, triggering a war widening to the region that has rattled global energy markets and drawn Iranian missile and drone attacks across the Gulf.
"We're going to be hitting them very hard over the next week," Trump told Fox News Radio.
Earlier on Friday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington and Israel had already struck more than 15,000 targets since launching an air campaign against Iran on February 28.
"Between our air force and that of the Israelis, over 15,000 enemy targets have been struck. That's well over 1,000 a day," Hegseth told reporters, adding that Friday would see the highest volume of strikes so far.
US military raises toll to six crew dead in aircraft crash in Iraq
The US military on Friday announced that the entire crew of six was killed when an aerial refuelling aircraft crashed in Iraq -- an incident it said was not caused by "hostile fire."
"All six crew members aboard a US KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased," US Central Command said in a social media post.
"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," said the military command responsible for US forces in the Middle East.
This brings the total of confirmed US deaths in the operation against Iran to 13.
Trump says Tehran regime will fall 'but maybe not immediately'
US President Donald Trump voiced confidence that the Iranian people would rise up to replace the Tehran regime following American and Israeli military strikes, but added in an interview aired Friday that it may not happen straight away.
"I really think that's a big hurdle to climb for people that don't have weapons. I think it's a very big hurdle," Trump told Fox News Radio.
It'll happen, but it probably will be, maybe not immediately," the US president added.
Washington selects officer to lead probe into Iran school strike, Hegseth says
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says the US Central Command has designated an officer to lead the investigation into a deadly strike on an elementary school in Iran in the early days of the war, which claimed the lives of more than 170 people, most of them children.
The investigating officer was chosen from outside Central Command, which oversees the Middle East.
Early investigations indicated that the US likely carried out the missile strike on the school and cited outdated intelligence as the reason behind the civilian site being targeted.
Speaking at media briefing on Friday, Hegseth wouldn’t answer questions about what led to the strike, but said the US does not target civilians. He added that the investigation will take “as long as necessary.”
“We’ll get to the truth and we’ll share it when we have it,” Hegseth said.
Macron says France’s position remains ‘purely defensive’
French President Emmanuel Macron says that Paris continues to support its allies in the Middle East, stressing that “nothing could ever justify attacks against us.”
He made the remarks speaking after a French soldier was killed during a drone attack on a Kurdish military base in Iraq's Erbil region on Thursday.
“France will continue to show composure, calm and determination, remain reliable towards our partners, protect our citizens, and defend our interests and our security,” added Macron.
China offers $200,000 for Iran school victims
The Red Cross Society of China will provide $200,000 (€174,290) to offer condolences and support to the parents of students killed in a missile strike that hit an elementary school in Iran, the Chinese government said.
“Attacking schools and harming children is a serious violation of international humanitarian law and crosses the bottom line of human morality and conscience,” spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a daily Foreign Ministry briefing in Beijing.
The money will be disbursed through the Iranian Red Crescent Society, he said.
Trump says Putin ‘might’ be helping Iran
US President Donald Trump said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin might be helping Iran fend off against continuing US and Israeli attacks.
His comments come after new intelligence indicated Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike US warships, aircraft and other assets in the region.
“I think he might be helping them a little bit, yeah, I guess,” Trump said in an interview with US broadcaster Fox News that has yet to air. “And he probably thinks we’re helping Ukraine, right?”
“Yeah, we’re helping them also,” Trump continued. “And so he says that, and China would say the same thing, you know. It’s like, hey, they do it and we do it in all fairness.”
Hegseth: Iran’s missile volume down 90%, drones down 95%
Hegseth offered new details on the operation against Iran at a Friday news conference from the Pentagon, noting the impact of US and Israeli air strikes on the Islamic Republic.
He detailed that over 15,000 enemy targets have been struck, at a rate of more than 1,000 a day since the war began on 28 February.
Iran’s drone and missile attacks in retaliation have been deadly and have spiralled the broader region into the conflict. Those attacks include a fatal strike in Kuwait that killed six US soldiers and more than a dozen in Israel over the course of the war.
Hegseth says US is working to make sure ‘energy flows’ through the Strait of Hormuz
The US defence chief told reporters on Friday that Iran is “exercising sheer desperation” with its threats that have blocked a significant portion of the world’s oil supply, sending global markets into a spiral, as crude prices soared to above $100 a barrel.
“We’re dealing with it,” he told reporters at the Pentagon, without giving further details.
US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine added that the US military has “made it a priority to target Iran’s minelaying enterprise” in the strategic waterway, through which around a fifth of the world’s energy supplies pass.
Hegseth: Stopping Iran’s nuclear program remains ‘core mission’
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says ending Iran’s nuclear weapons programme remains a “core mission” as US and Israeli strikes on the country continue for a 14th consecutive day.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Pentagon, Hegseth said President Donald Trump is focused on ending Iran’s ability to manufacture nuclear weapons for good.
The defence secretary would not say whether ground forces will be needed to secure Iran’s supply of enriched uranium or its nuclear facilities, but said the Washington is considering a range of options.
Hegseth noted that he would welcome a decision by Iran’s leaders to voluntarily give up their programme. “We’ve said from the beginning: deny Iran nuclear weapons.”