President Donald Trump branded Iran’s expanding campaign of attacks on Gulf states as desperate acts by a failing regime on Friday, even as those attacks caused real deaths and damage across the region. Two people were killed in Oman when Iranian drones crashed in an industrial area near Sohar. Qatar issued evacuation orders in parts of Doha before explosions were heard and a missile was successfully intercepted. A building at Dubai’s International Financial Centre sustained damage from intercepted strike debris. Meanwhile Trump called Iranian leaders “deranged scumbags” and promised even harder strikes were coming.
Saudi Arabia mounted one of its most intensive single-day defensive operations in recent memory, intercepting close to 50 Iranian drones sent in multiple coordinated waves. The scale of the Saudi defensive effort illustrated both the ambition of Iran’s campaign against Gulf infrastructure and the capabilities of Gulf states’ air defence systems. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards simultaneously launched new waves of missiles and drones at Israel, coordinating with Hezbollah in what they described as part of the annual al-Quds Day observance.
On the military campaign against Iran itself, US and Israeli aircraft continued pounding Tehran and other Iranian targets throughout the day. Combined strikes since the war began have exceeded 15,000 enemy targets. Israel alone reported more than 200 individual strikes in the most recent 24-hour window. Trump announced late Friday that US Central Command had completely destroyed every military installation on Kharg Island in what he called the most powerful bombing raid in Middle Eastern history. He warned that Iran’s oil infrastructure on the island would be next if the Strait of Hormuz remained disrupted.
Lebanon continued to suffer from both sides of the conflict. Over 600 people have been killed and 800,000 displaced since the latest fighting began. Israeli strikes killed at least eight in Sidon on Friday and targeted the Zrarieh Bridge over the Litani River. Hezbollah fired rocket salvoes at northern Israel, injuring close to 60 people. Israel’s defence minister warned Lebanon’s government that it would face an increasingly steep price for infrastructure used by Hezbollah. Tehran residents described a city of constant explosions, power cuts, and trapped civilians.
Iran has reported over 1,300 deaths. The United States has lost 13 service members, including six in a tanker aircraft accident over Iraq. France lost one soldier to a pro-Iranian militia drone in Iraq. Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was described by US officials as wounded and disfigured, communicating only through written statements without voice or video. European governments sought diplomatic back-channels with Tehran to secure Strait of Hormuz passage for their commercial ships. Trump’s warnings about striking Iran’s oil infrastructure added significant pressure to already volatile global energy markets.
