Iran-US war latest: US confirms troops killed in Iraq plane crash as explosion hits pro-regime rally in Tehran – UK Times

President Donald Trump said ⁠the United States would escort ⁠vessels ​through ⁠the Strait of ⁠Hormuz if ​needed ⁠but ‌added that he hoped ‌the US-led ‌war efforts would ⁠go well, vowing in a Fox News interview that ‌aired on Friday ​to ‌strike ⁠Iran “very ⁠hard over ‌the ​next ‌week.”

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres has landed in Beirut for a visit of solidarity with the people of Lebanon, he said on X.

“I have just landed in Beirut for a visit of solidarity with the people of Lebanon.

“They did not choose this war. They were dragged into it.

“The UN & I will spare no effort in striving for the peaceful future that Lebanon & this region so richly deserve.”

At least one person has been killed after multiple explosions were heard at a demonstration in Tehran on Friday, according to Iranian state media.

An unnamed woman was reportedly hit by shrapnel in the vicinity of the annual Quds Day march around midday, as the US and Israel announced fresh strikes on the capital, according to Iran’s Press TV.

Israel’s army said it renewed attacks across Iran this morning, hitting “missile production and storage sites”.

Donald Trump has claimed in a G7 call that Iran is “about to surrender” according to Axios.

Trump boasted about the results of Operation Epic Fury on the G7 call Wednesday morning, telling allies, “I got rid of a cancer that was threatening us all”, the US news site reported.

While claiming Iran was about to surrender, he also reportedly suggested there were no officials left alive in Tehran with the power to make that decision.

“Nobody knows who is the leader, so there is no one that can announce surrender,” Trump said, according to two officials briefed on the call.

Western media has reported that the new Ayatollah, Mojtaba Khamenei, is injured.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz has affirmed that Germany is not part of the Iran war and has no intention of becoming a part of it.

He added that Germany learned about the ⁠U.S. decision on lifting oil sanctions against Russia only on Friday morning, after ⁠Washington issued ​a ⁠waiver to buy sanctioned Russian oil and ⁠petroleum products stranded ​at ⁠sea.

He would like ‌to know about the motivations for Washington’s decision, ‌Merz said during ‌a visit to Norway on Friday.

Asked about ⁠the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, Merz said there is no reason to consider providing military protection for sea routes.

“Germany is not part of this (Iran) war, and we do not want to become part of it,” he said.

Secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, Ali Larijani, has said that Israel is behind the explosion that took place during demonstrations marking al-Quds Day.

He said that the attack show Israel’s weakness and confusion, according to Al Jazeera.

He added it was a result of fear and that “the problem with President Trump is that he has not been able to grasp that the Iranian people are strong, aware and determined”.

The Israeli Defence Force reported two hours ago that they had conducted strikes in Iran in Shiraz, Tehran and Ahavaz.

The force claimed to strike a central base for aerial defence array & several production sites for weapons, aerial defence systems, and ballistic missile components in the capital.