Explosions rock Tehran as top Iranian leadership attends Quds Day rally; IRGC says targeted Abraham Lincoln
Ali Larijani attends a Quds Day march in Tehran, hours after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Iranian leaders were ‘hiding like rats’. Photo: Courtesy X
DUBAI/BEIRUT/JERUSALEM/LONDON:
A US KC-135 aerial refueling plane crashed in western Iraq, killing all six crew members, the US military said on Friday, adding that the incident was not caused by “hostile fire”, even as deadly explosions rocked Tehran close to a pro-government meeting attended by top officials, as Israel and Iran have unleashed fresh attacks in the Middle East, sparking a new Middle East war. the world economy.
Also, President Donald Trump said the United States would hit Iran “very hard over the next week,” shortly after issuing a partial 30-day waiver for purchases of sanctioned Russian oil, hoping to ease prices driven by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
Prices have whipped up on Trump’s shifting comments about the likely duration of the war, which has prompted Iran to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil.
Trump has previously said the war is “complete” and also promised to guarantee the safety of vessels in the strait. In a Fox News interview that aired Friday, Trump said the U.S. would escort shipping there “if we needed to.”
Oil prices remained above 100 dollars per barrel without end in view of the disruption in supplies of crude oil, while stock markets fell.
With the conflict entering its third week, stock markets fell further on investor concerns about a protracted crisis that could fuel inflation and hamper the global economy.
The price of Brent crude, the international benchmark oil contract, fell below $100 during the day, sending stocks briefly higher.
But shares slipped back into the red as Brent crawled back above the $100 mark.
Plane crash
The incident – which took place on Thursday and involved another plane that landed safely – brings to at least 13 the number of US soldiers killed in operations against Iran.
“All six crew members aboard a US KC-135 refueling aircraft that went down in western Iraq have now been confirmed dead,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for US forces in the Middle East, said in a statement on X.
An investigation was underway into the crash, the command said, adding that “the loss of the aircraft was not due to enemy fire or friendly fire.”
Iran’s military said in an earlier statement on state television that an allied group in Iraq had shot down the plane with a missile, killing all its crew.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-backed Iraqi factions, claimed to have shot down a KC-135. They also said they had targeted another plane that escaped.
The KC-135 is at least the fourth US military aircraft lost during the war, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.
Tehran rally
President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attended a demonstration in Tehran, while images shared by Iranian media showed the head of the judiciary being interviewed just as an explosion took place.
Iranian security chief Ali Larijani ridiculed Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s claim that Iranian leaders were hiding “like rats” and highlighted that several top officials, including the president, appeared publicly at a rally in Tehran.
“Mr. Hegseth! Our leaders have been and still are among the people. But your leaders? On Epstein’s island!” the top Iranian official wrote X, referring to the late sex offender who had close ties to rich and powerful people in the United States.
The US claim that Iranian leaders were hiding “like rats” highlighted that several top officials, including the president, appeared publicly at a rally in Tehran.
France and Italy have opened talks with Iran, which is trying to negotiate a deal to guarantee safe passage for its ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people briefed on the effort.
Marines
The Pentagon is deploying a Marine Expeditionary Force to the Middle East, a rapid response unit that typically consists of about 2,500 Marines and sailors, three officials familiar with the matter told CNN.
Reward
The US government is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on key Iranian leaders, including new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
The bounty, issued by the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, comes as the US and Israeli military campaign against Iran continues and after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials were killed.
Supreme leader
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is injured and likely disfigured, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday, questioning Khamenei’s ability to govern after nearly two weeks of US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
No photos have been released of Khamenei since an Israeli attack at the start of the war that killed much of his family, including his father and wife.
His first comments came in a statement read out by a television host on Thursday. In the statement, he pledged to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and urged neighboring countries to close US bases on their territory or risk Iran attacking them.
“We know the new so-called not-so-supreme leader is injured and probably disfigured. He made a statement yesterday. A weak one, indeed, but there was no voice and there was no video. It was a written statement,” Hegseth told a briefing.
aircraft carrier
In a statement late Friday night, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had targeted the US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln with missiles and drones, claiming the attack caused “major damage” to the vessel, according to an Al Jazeera post on X.
The Revolutionary Guard added that the aircraft carrier is now “heading towards America” after the alleged attack.
But the spokesman for US Central Command told Al Jazeera that “the Revolutionary Guard’s claims of targeting the Lincoln aircraft carrier are false,” denying any damage or operational impact on the vessel.
