U.S. President Donald Trump posted a new threat to Iran's leaders Friday on his Truth Social website, saying: "They've been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them," Trump wrote. "What a great honor it is to do so!"

A large explosion struck Iran's capital in an area filled with demonstrators for the annual Quds Day event in support of the Palestinians, Iranian state television reported. Thousands of people took to the streets in Tehran Friday, chanting "death to Israel" and "death to America." U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said more than 15,000 enemy targets have been struck.

Four of the six crew members aboard a U.S. military KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq have been found dead, and efforts continue to recover the other two, the American military said in a statement.

Concerns are growing that the war's stranglehold on Gulf oil exports is destabilizing the global economy. Brent crude oil, the international standard, remained over $100 per barrel as Iran kept its stranglehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Here is the latest:

Hegseth says US is working to make sure 'energy flows' through Strait of Hormuz

The defense secretary has told reporters that Iran is "exercising sheer desperation" with its threats that have blocked a significant portion of the world's oil supply.

"We're dealing with it," he told reporters at Friday at the Pentagon. He not give details.

Caine added that the U.S. military has "made it a priority to target Iran's minelaying enterprise" in the strategic waterway.

Hegseth calls Vance 'indispensable' to US leadership over actions in Iran

Hegseth has applauded the U.S. Vice President JD Vance as a "key voice" on Iran, calling him "an incredible member, leader of this team."

Trump said while dismissing the notion of a disagreement this week that Vance was "philosophically a little bit different than me" at the war's outset.

Vance, a former Marine, has often reinforced Trump's vision of an America more focused on solving problems at home than intervening in conflicts abroad. In a 2023 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal getting renewed attention, Vance wrote that Trump had his support because "I know he won't recklessly send Americans to fight overseas."

On the eve of the strikes, Vance told The Washington Post there was " no chance " the U.S. would become involved in a drawn-out war as it did in Iraq.

Caine gives more details of 4 US airmen killed in refueling plane crash

Hegseth has said that "war is chaos" and that the sacrifice of those killed "will only recommit us to the resolve of this mission" as he acknowledged the crash of an American KC-135 military refueling plane taking part in the operation against Iran.

Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that four airmen had been recovered in what he described as an incident "over friendly territory in western Iraq" that was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.

U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said Thursday that two aircraft had been involved, and one landed safely while the other went down.

Israel's defense minister says country destroyed key bridge in Lebanon

Israel Katz said Friday that the army destroyed a significant bridge over the Litany River used by Hezbollah to transfer weapons.

The defense minister warned the strike was just the beginning, and that Lebanon would pay a price until Hezbollah was disarmed.

Hegseth says 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 U.S. and Israeli air strikes on the Islamic Republic.

Hegseth said that over 15,000 enemy targets have been struck, which is more than 1000 a day since the war began on Feb. 28.

Iran's drone attacks in retaliation of the operation have been deadly and include a fatal attack in Kuwait that killed six American soldiers.

Hegseth says Iran's new supreme leader is 'disfigured'

Hegseth has said that Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded and "likely disfigured."

Khamenei took over Iran's leadership following his father's death. The younger Khamenei has not been seen or heard from publicly since the war started, leading to speculation about his whereabouts and health condition.

On Thursday he made his first public statements, resolving to keep fighting, promising more pain for Gulf Arab states and threatening to open "other fronts" in a war that has already disrupted world energy supplies, the global economy and international travel.

Hegseth did not elaborate on or give evidence about Khamenei's condition.

Israel issues missile warning

Israel's military issued a warning Friday morning that Iranian missiles were inbound to the country, with air defenses actively targeting the fire.

Trump issues new threat to Iran's leaders, calling them 'deranged scumbags'

U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new threat online to Iran, writing: "Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today."

Trump made the post Friday on his Truth Social website, saying that "Iran's Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth."

"They've been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them," Trump wrote. "What a great honor it is to do so!"

Missile alert in Dubai

A missile alert sounded on mobile phones in Dubai on Friday morning as authorities said air defenses were targeting incoming Iranian fire.

Saudi Arabia says its air defenses downed nearly 50 drones in a few hours

Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said early Friday that its air defenses downed 10 more drones headed toward the kingdom's Eastern and Central Provinces, bringing the total to nearly 50 drones entering Saudi airspace over the span of a few hours.

The barrage represents a higher-than-usual number of aerial threats for the kingdom, which has seen sites including the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, oil infrastructure, and a military base hosting U.S. troops targeted as the war involving Iran has intensified.

Debris from interception causes fire in Dubai

Thick black smoke rose over Dubai's skyline early Friday after what authorities described as a fire in an industrial area of the city-state.

An Associated Press journalist saw the fire in Dubai's Al Quoz neighborhood. Bystanders gathered to watch the smoke from the blaze.

Police stopped an AP journalist from going closer to the site of the blaze, which was in a cul de sac.

The Dubai Media Office, which issues statements for its government, said "debris from a successful interception caused a minor incident on the façade of a building in central Dubai." It said there had been no injuries, though the black smoke curled over the skyline as far as the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab luxury hotel.

Israeli strikes hit new areas in Beirut, killing 1

An Israeli strike early Friday hit a car in Jnah, a coastal neighborhood in southwestern Beirut, and killed one person, the Lebanese health ministry said.

Separately, an Israeli strike hit an apartment in the Nabaa neighborhood, leaving it engulfed in flames, local media reported. Nabaa, on Beirut's northern outskirts within the densely populated Burj Hammoud district, is home to a sizable Armenian community. No casualties were immediately reported.

It was the first time such an area has been struck in this conflict or during the 2024 war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Following the strikes, the Israeli army said it had targeted a Hezbollah member in Beirut. Both neighborhoods are far from the southern suburbs of Beirut, which the Israeli military has declared unsafe and issued evacuation notices for.

Missile attack on Israel injures 58

Israel's Magen David Adom ambulance service said some 58 people were hurt in a missile attack on Zarzir, a city around 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Jerusalem near the border with Lebanon. The service said one person was in moderate condition and 57 sustained very minor injuries from glass shards.

Footage shared by the ambulance service from the impact site showed damaged cars and scattered debris.

The Israeli military said it was operating with emergency services at the scene to clear debris.

Hezbollah said early Friday that it had fired several rocket salvos toward northern Israel and Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

French president says a French soldier has been killed in attack in Iraq

The attack targeted Irbil in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, President Emmanuel Macron said Friday on the social platform X.

Macron identified the soldier as Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins from Varces.

"To his family, to his brothers in arms, I want to express all the affection and solidarity of the nation," Macron said. "Several of our soldiers have been wounded. France stands by their side and with their loved ones."

France said earlier that six soldiers were hurt in a drone attack in Irbil. French troops are in Iraq as part of a multinational counterterrorism mission supporting local forces in their fight against Islamic State militants.