There was no language of restraint or moderation from President Donald Trump on Friday, only a promise of escalation. Calling Iranian leaders “deranged scumbags” in a social media post, Trump declared it a great personal honor to be overseeing their deaths and vowed that the strikes would intensify dramatically in the coming days. The comments were made as American and Israeli aircraft conducted back-to-back waves of bombing over Tehran, and as Trump later announced the complete military obliteration of Kharg Island, Iran’s most critical oil export facility.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reinforced the no-mercy tone at a press conference in Washington, describing Iranian leaders as desperate and hiding underground. He claimed new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei had been wounded and likely disfigured, pointing to a Thursday written statement that lacked any voice or video as evidence. Hegseth dismissed Khamenei’s call for national unity as hollow, noting that the regime had killed tens of thousands of its own protesters. Combined US and Israeli forces have struck more than 15,000 targets since the war began, exceeding 1,000 hits per day.
Israel alone reported over 200 individual strikes in the most recent 24-hour period, targeting missile launch systems, weapons production facilities, and Iranian air defence networks. Trump’s Kharg Island announcement described one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East, completely destroying every military installation on Iran’s primary oil export hub. He warned that the island’s oil infrastructure would be the next target if Iran continued to attack shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global energy supplies travel.
The conflict continued to spread destruction across the Middle East. Lebanon has counted over 600 deaths and 800,000 displaced, with eight more killed in Sidon Friday. 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. Dubai’s financial district sustained building 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.
Tehran residents described a city under siege from all sides. A shopkeeper counted six explosions in one hour. A retired professor begged the world to intervene before the city was completely destroyed. The United States has lost 13 service members, including six in a tanker aircraft crash in Iraq. France lost a soldier in Iraq to a pro-Iranian militia drone. European governments sought diplomatic channels with Tehran for Strait of Hormuz shipping access. Trump’s threats about striking Iranian oil infrastructure added enormous pressure to global energy markets already severely disrupted by the ongoing war.