U.S. Marines are being deployed to the Middle East as American and Israeli strikes keep pounding Iran and the Islamic Republic keeps attacking Persian Gulf shipping and energy infrastructure. Earlier Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in regards to Iran’s chokehold on global oil shipments that “we have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.”

Hegseth also told a Pentagon briefing, without providing evidence, that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei “ is wounded and likely disfigured. ” Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over leadership.

All six crew members aboard a U.S. military KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are dead and the circumstances are being investigated, the American military said. The crash brings the U.S. death toll in Operation Epic Fury to at least 13 service members.

A large explosion rocked a square in Tehran that was filled with people for annual Quds Day demonstrations in support of the Palestinians, Iranian state television reported. Thousands chanted “death to Israel” and “death to America.”

And more than 100 children are among the 773 people killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Friday. Israel said Friday its strikes on Hezbollah targets are “continuing and intensifying.” U.S. President Donald Trump said the war would end “when I feel it in my bones.”

Here is the latest:

Iran’s president speaks with Egyptian leader about de-escalation efforts

In a phone call Friday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country is still keen on “fraternal relations and good neighborliness with Arab states.”

That’s according to the office of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi, a former general and close ally of Saudi Arabia, who condemned Iranian attacks on Gulf countries and insisted they don’t support or participate in the war.

US military is sending roughly 2,500 Marines and at least one extra warship to Middle East, AP source says

Roughly 2,500 Marines and at least one amphibious assault ship are headed for the Middle East, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans, said that elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the Middle East. The move would mark a major addition of troops to the region.

Marine Expeditionary Units are not only trained and equipped to conduct amphibious landings but they also specialize in bolstering security at embassies, evacuating civilians, and disaster relief. While the deployment is a major increase of troops to the region, it does not necessarily indicate that a ground operation is imminent or will take place at all.

The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well the Tripoli and other amphibious assault ships carrying the Marines are based in Japan and have been at sea in the waters of the Pacific Ocean for the past several days, according to images released by the military. Their location puts them more than a week away from the waters off Iran.

— By Konstantin Toropin

Israel’s military cuts major roads in southern Lebanon

The strikes on roads and bridges come as Israel’s military says it is sending more forces to the front along the border with Lebanon.

Lebanon’s National News Agency said Israel’s air force twice struck the Jardali road linking the southern city of Nabatiyeh with the town of Marjayoun. Strikes also destroyed bridges that Israel said were used by Hezbollah fighters.

After the previous Israel-Hezbollah war, the World Bank estimated the cost of reconstruction and recovery for Lebanon at about $11 billion, with damage to physical structures amounting to $6.8 billion.

Last week, Israel’s finance minister threatened to make Beirut’s southern suburbs look like Gaza.

The United Arab Emirates to resume air traffic

The country’s General Civil Aviation Authority said Friday that it would gradually resume air traffic after closures amid drone strikes on Dubai’s airport and closures during two weeks of war.

The UAE’s leaders have projected confidence in their air defenses, but flight cancellations threaten key pillars of its tourism‑ and transit‑dependent economy. Dubai International Airport, the world’s busiest, handles tens of millions of travelers a year and links Europe, Asia and Africa. The aviation industry employs hundreds of thousands of people in the country.

Trump admin to help US farmers meet war-related fertilizer price hikes

“We’re looking at every potential avenue to keep the fertilizer costs down as these farmers are going into planting season,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, Rollins said she’s had conversations on Capitol Hill exploring additional funding for farmers. “No big announcements yet, but it is coming.”

Most farmers have already purchased fertilizer for this year’s planting season, Rollins said, but about 25% have not. A separate aid package from December opened $12 billion in aid for farmers hit by rising costs amid a trade war with China.

Crude prices remain high despite US easing of some Russian oil sanctions

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on X that the 30-day reprieve on sanctions applies to Russian oil already loaded on tankers as of Thursday. He said allowing this stranded oil to be sold provides no additional financial benefit for Russia, because the Kremlin already taxed it when the oil was extracted from the ground.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it shows how the war has boosted Moscow’s ability to profit from its energy exports, a pillar of the Kremlin’s budget as it presses its invasion of Ukraine.

“This easing alone by the United States could provide Russia with about $10 billion for the war,” Zelenskyy said. “It spends the money from energy sales on weapons, and all of this is then used against us.”

▶ Read more

Israeli military says its strikes have eliminated hundreds of Hezbollah militants

Israel says it has killed over 350 Hezbollah militants since renewed fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed group broke out in Lebanon almost two weeks ago.

In a statement, the military said among those killed are senior Hezbollah operatives as well as prominent commanders of other militant groups.

Italian tourism group warns Iran war could cost billions in lost travel

Italy’s travel industry says the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and spillover to Gulf countries is triggering widespread cancellations and could cost the country at least €1.5 billion ($1.7 billion) in tourism revenue in 2026, according to the Italian Federation of Travel and Tourism Business.

Losses could reach €6 billion ($6.9 billion) when Gulf transit hubs are included, as travelers cancel or delay trips to destinations Italians often use as gateways to places like the Maldives and Japan, the federation’s Vice President Luana De Angelis said.

“All those people who were about to book their summer and Easter holidays have been forced to wait and see what happens,” she said.

Demonstrators across the Middle East and beyond mark Jerusalem Day

Protesters from Pakistan to Nigeria voiced their support for Palestinians on the last Friday of Ramadan, waving images of Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa Mosque and denouncing Israel and the United States over the ongoing war with Iran.

The Jerusalem Day rallies were especially intense in countries with large Shiite Muslim populations. In Yemen’s capital Sanaa, crowds held posters of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, killed at the start of the war, and chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” according to Houthi-run al-Masirah television.

In Karachi, Pakistan, demonstrators shouted similar slogans as women dragged coffins marked with U.S. and Israeli flags through the streets.

Iranians in bombed capital tell AP of rising fear and isolation

Residents of Iran’s capital are in a state of shock after two weeks of fierce U.S.-Israeli bombardment.

From Tehran’s central historic quarters to upscale northern areas, bombs are shaking the city day and night, with no sirens or warning systems to alert the public. With the internet shut down, families and friends rely on each other for news about the war and the latest damage caused by airstrikes.

“The psychological pressure is real,” said one person in northern Tehran.

Residents say security forces have increased their presence in the streets to prevent any show of dissent. At the same time, the government has encouraged its supporters to gather in street demonstrations.

▶ Read more

Red Cross and Red Crescent express outrage at killing of humanitarian workers

In less than two weeks of war, a Lebanese Red Cross paramedic helping wounded civilians was killed by an Israeli airstrike, and other medics have been wounded, the groups said.

Iranian Red Crescent staff and volunteers also suffered casualties aiding civilians, the groups said. Red Cross and Red Crescent personnel have been killed this year in Sudan and Gaza too.

The heads of the organizations said humanitarian workers are protected under international law and must be safeguarded in conflicts.

“When humanitarian workers are protected, so is our shared humanity,” they said in a joint statement Friday. “The lives of our teams, and those they serve, depend on it.”

UN warns Strait of Hormuz disruptions could delay aid shipments worldwide

Shipping disruptions would also drive up costs for food, medicine and other lifesaving supplies, said Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson.

Citing aid chief Tom Fletcher, the spokesperson said the world body is urging safe passage for humanitarian cargo. Fletcher told the Security Council the disruptions are already affecting Gaza, where flour prices have surged 270%, while global shipping costs are 16% higher than a year ago.

Israel to operate evacuation flights for stranded Americans

The flights arranged with U.S. diplomatic support aim to help thousands of Americans in Israel whose return flights were canceled due to the war.

El Al, Israel’s flag carrier, says it will begin operating six special non-stop flights at “full capacity” from Tel Aviv to New York starting Monday. It will contact U.S. citizens on Sunday who hold valid El Al tickets that were canceled and not yet reassigned.

While El Al has been flying a limited number of passengers out of Israel since March 8, but these are the first dedicated for U.S. citizens. The airline acknowledged it’s “a partial solution” and may add more flights pending government approval.

The U.S. State Department says most Americans who left the region took commercial flights, while about 50 charter flights evacuated others. Some departed Israel via overland routes.

430 Bangladeshis stranded in Qatar return home on a special flight

Embassy staff and passengers who were stuck in transit when the war broke out made it home Friday evening on a Qatar Airways flight coordinated with the Bangladeshi government.

That’s according to Ragib Samad, executive director at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka.

The war has forced widespread airspace closures, cancelling 447 flights at Dhaka’s airport.

Lebanon’s president says Israel hasn’t responded to his offer to negotiate

President Joseph Aoun’s proposal that he put forward last week calls for Israel to halt its attacks on Hezbollah while international logistics support helps the Lebanese army deploy in the country’s south and take control of Hezbollah weapons and depots.

Speaking during a meeting with U.N. chief António Guterres, Aoun said that Israel’s attacks are threatening regional stability.

Both men called for Israel and Lebanon to begin negotiations. Israel has said Lebanon’s government is not serious about disarming Hezbollah so the Israeli military must do it instead.

UN launches a $308 million appeal for Lebanon as Israeli attacks intensify

During a surprise visit to Lebanon, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the emergency appeal to fund food, water, health care and other aid over the next three months.

In addition to the hundreds of Lebanese civilians killed during the fighting, Guterres said about 850,000 people have been displaced.

“For years, Lebanon has opened its doors to those fleeing conflict,” he said. “Now, the world must show the people of Lebanon our strongest support in this hour of grave danger and profound need.”

Lebanese prime minister urges an end to Israeli strikes and vows to disarm Hezbollah

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam spoke after meeting U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to launch a humanitarian appeal of more than $300 million.

“Lebanon did not choose this war,” Salam said, criticizing Hezbollah’s rocket fire into Israel. “There is no justification in holding an entire nation hostage.”

He said more than 500 Hezbollah military positions and weapons depots in southern Lebanon have been dismantled, pushing back on Israeli claims that Beirut has failed to act against the group.

“These actions are not symbolic gestures,” Salam said.

Israel striking more sites in Iran and Lebanon

Israeli Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Friday that the air force had struck an Iranian intelligence directorate while senior Iranian officials were present, as well as other command centers and missile production and storage sites.

The Israeli military spokesperson said strikes were “continuing and intensifying” in both Iran and Lebanon and that more combat troops would be sent to Israel’s northern border. “Despite the long-term degradation of the Iranian regime’s and Hezbollah’s strike capabilities, the threat remains,” he said.

The military said it has struck more than 7,600 sites in Iran and more than 1,100 in Lebanon.

With Jerusalem’s holy sites closed, Muslim worshippers pray on streets outside Old City

The Old City contains an area Jews call the Temple Mount — the holiest site in Judaism and home to the ancient biblical temples. Muslims call it the Noble Sanctuary and today it is home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third-holiest site in Islam. Holy sites have been closed to worshippers of all faiths throughout the war.

Israeli police have deployed extra forces and the country’s Home Front Command has cited wartime safety concerns as a reason for restrictions, though Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem has little shelter infrastructure.

Jerusalem-based nonprofit Ir Amim questioned why the restrictions have remained in place as other synagogues and mosques have remained open, saying they “cannot be separated from the long-standing Israeli policy aimed at reducing Palestinian presence” at the holy site.

Iraq is caught in the crossfire, with attacks by both sides on its soil

Unlike other Middle Eastern states touched by the war, Iraq hosts both entrenched Iran-aligned forces and significant U.S. interests. As in past upheavals, Iraqis have learned to adapt to daily violence that intrudes on everyday life.

But Iraq’s economy depends overwhelmingly on oil, so the longer the conflict lasts, the greater the risk that economic shocks, political paralysis and friction with Iran‑backed militias will combine to unravel Iraq’s hard‑won relative stability.

The government might not be able to meet its oversized public‑sector payroll as soon as next month, risking widespread unrest, two Iraqi Kurdish officials said.

In the meantime, a parallel conflict to the wider war has escalated between Iran-backed Iraqi militia groups and the U.S. — near-daily drone strikes have targeted American interests across the country, while the U.S. has struck back against militia bases to defend its troops.

▶ Read more

Trump says Iran war will be over ‘when I feel it in my bones’

Hinting at voter anxieties in the U.S. as the conflict in the Middle East continues, the president said the economy and American life will soon return to what it was before he launched strikes on Iran.

“This will bounce right back when it’s over, and I don’t think it’s going to be long,” Trump said in his interview with Fox News personality Brian Kilmeade.

Asked when the war will be over, Trump responded: “When I feel it — when I feel it in my bones.”

German chancellor wants a ‘convincing plan’ for ending the war

Friedrich Merz spoke Friday alongside Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at military exercises in Norway.

Merz said the world is witnessing “a dangerous escalation,” and said Iran is “indiscriminately” carrying out attacks on countries across the Gulf region.

“With every day this war lasts, more questions are coming up, more than can be answered yet,” Merz said. “And one thing becomes increasingly clear, we need a convincing plan on how this war can come to an end.”

All 6 crew aboard US KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in Iraq are dead, US military says

The military says the circumstances of the incident are being investigated.

Earlier, U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” and that the other plane landed safely.

The military said the loss of the aircraft was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”

Hegseth, on Gulf oil supply, says ‘we’re dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it’

The defense secretary told reporters that Iran is “exercising sheer desperation” in the Strait of Hormuz, which the Iran war has closed, blocking a significant portion of the world’s oil.

“And as the world is seeing, they are exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz, something we’re dealing with. We have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it. We’re on plan to defeat, destroy, disable all of their meaningful military capabilities at a pace the world has never seen before.”

Hegseth did not give details. But Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that the U.S. military has “made it a priority to target Iran’s minelaying enterprise” impacting the strategic waterway.

Explosion rocked area of mass demonstration in Tehran

There were no immediate reports of casualties after the midday explosion rocked the Ferdowsi Square area as thousands chanted “death to Israel” and “death to America.”

At least two of the Iranian leaders at the scene survived the blast:

1. The hard-liner who leads Iran’s judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, had been giving an interview to a state television reporter when the strike hit. His bodyguards encircled him as he raised his fist and said Iran will never withdraw “under this rain” of missiles. 2. Senior security official Ali Larijani also was there, and told Iranian media covering the event that the suspected Israeli attack was a “sign of its desperation.”

Michigan synagogue attacker lost family members in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon, official says

The man with a rifle who deliberately crashed into a Michigan synagogue had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon, an official said Friday.

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali, 41, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was killed by security after ramming into Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township and driving down a hallway in a vehicle that then caught fire, according to authorities.

The official, who requested anonymity because he could not publicly discuss details of the airstrike, told the AP that Kassim and Ibrahim Ghazali were killed in their home, along with Ibrahim Ghazali’s children, Ali and Fatima. Kassim was a soccer coach and Ibrahim a bus driver in their village.

The FBI described the attack on one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues as an act of violence targeting the Jewish community. No one among the staff, teachers and 140 children inside was injured, the Oakland County sheriff said.

— By Alanna Durkin Richer and Corey Williams

▶ Read More

Hegseth says an officer has been picked to lead probe into Iran school strike

Hegseth says U.S. Central Command has designated an officer to lead the investigation into the airstrike on an elementary school that killed more than 165 people, many of them children, in the opening hours of the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. The investigating officer was chosen from outside Central Command, which oversees the Middle East.

The Associated Press has reported that outdated intelligence likely led the U.S. to carry out the missile strike on the school.

Hegseth wouldn’t answer questions Friday about what led to the strike, but said the U.S. does not target civilians.

He said the investigation will take “as long as necessary.” “We’ll get to the truth and we’ll share it when we have it,” Hegseth said.

Israeli military suggests it carried out strike during mass demonstrations in Tehran

An airstrike hit near the Quds, or Jerusalem, Day parade after the Israeli military put out a warning in Farsi on X the area could be struck. Now Israeli military has posted a second message in Farsi, noting the head of Iran’s judiciary was there at the time.

“The leaders of the terrorist and bloodthirsty regime have for 47 years shown disregard for the lives of Iran’s citizens, placing people in danger for the sake of the ‘liberation of Jerusalem’ and turning them into human shields to advance their own objectives,” the message said.

The Israeli military also criticized Iran for cutting off the internet, blocking many from seeing their warning.

Palestinians in Gaza pray next to destroyed mosques during Ramadan's last Friday prayers

People sat on prayer mats surrounded by rubble in central Gaza, where more than two years of war has damaged mosques, along with everything else.

“We pray in the streets or in small prayer rooms, there are no mosques,” said Bakr Al-Sahhar, a resident. Palestinians say that despite the five-month long ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip continue.

Hegseth says ‘no clear evidence’ Iran is placing new mines in the Strait

Responding to a shouted question at Friday’s briefing about new Iranian mines impacting the Strait of Hormuz, Hegseth said “we’ve heard them talk about it, just like you’ve reported recklessly and wildly about it, but we have no clear evidence.”

On Tuesday, the U.S. said it took out more than a dozen mine-laying Iranian vessels. Iran has vowed to block the region’s oil exports, with one official saying Iran's enemies won't get “even a single liter.”

Hegseth: Stopping Iran’s nuclear program remains ‘core mission’

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says ending Iran’s nuclear weapons program remains a “core mission” as U.S. and Israeli strikes on the country continue.

Speaking at a media briefing at the Pentagon, Hegseth said President Donald Trump is focused on ending Iran’s ability to manufacture nuclear weapons for good.

Hegseth would not say whether ground forces will be needed to secure Iran’s supply of enriched uranium or its nuclear facilities, but said the U.S. is considering a range of options. He said he would welcome a decision by Iran’s leaders to voluntarily give up their program.

“We’ve said from the beginning: deny Iran nuclear weapons,” Hegseth said..

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.

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.