President Donald Trump placed Iran at the top of his personal ranking of global threats on Friday, calling its leaders “deranged scumbags” who had spent nearly five decades destabilizing the world and declaring their deaths a great personal honor and historic service. US and Israeli warplanes continued to bomb Tehran throughout the day and into the night, with residents describing a city lit up by explosions that had become so continuous they could no longer be individually counted. Trump promised that the strikes would intensify dramatically in the coming days.
Tehran has been under near-constant bombardment since the conflict began with Israel’s killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Residents described a city where normal life had become impossible. Buildings shake from the force of the blasts. Rubble fills the streets. Power cuts in and out in cold weather. Fuel is too scarce for escape. A 66-year-old retired professor described the desperation of people who want to flee but cannot gather enough petrol. A 42-year-old shopkeeper described six explosions in one hour, newspapers taped to her windows, and nights too loud for sleep.
The military scale of the campaign against Iran has been extraordinary. Combined US and Israeli forces have struck over 15,000 targets since the conflict began. Israel alone confirmed over 200 individual strikes in the most recent 24 hours. Trump’s late announcement about Kharg Island described one of the most powerful raids in Middle Eastern history, obliterating every military facility on Iran’s primary oil export hub. He threatened to strike the island’s oil infrastructure immediately if Iran continued to disrupt Strait of Hormuz shipping.
The war’s violence touched every corner of the Middle East. Lebanon recorded over 600 deaths and 800,000 displaced, with eight more killed in Sidon Friday. Hezbollah injured about 60 Israelis in rocket salvoes. 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 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. Israel reports 12.
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. Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was described by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as wounded, disfigured, and hiding underground. European governments sought diplomatic channels with Tehran for Strait of Hormuz shipping safety. Trump’s warnings about striking Iranian oil infrastructure kept global energy markets in deep anxiety. With no ceasefire talks underway and both sides escalating, the nights over Tehran were expected to remain lit by explosions for the foreseeable future.