Four crew members confirmed dead in US plane crash in Iraq as explosions heard across Tehran – Middle East crisis live | US-Israel war on Iran
Four confirmed dead in US military refuelling plane crash in Iraq
Four of six crew members on board a US military refuelling plane that crashed in western Iraq yesterday have been confirmed dead, US Central Command said Friday.
While the circumstances of the crash are still under investigation, USCentcom made clear on Friday that it was not caused by hostile fire or friendly fire.
The identities of the members who died are being withheld their families can be notified, USCentcom said.
This plane was Ithe fourth US aircraft lost since the US and Israel began launching strikes against Iran on 28 February. Three US air force fighter jets were mistakenly shot down in a friendly fire incident by Kuwait air defences earlier this month. All crew members in those jets ejected safely.
Seven US troops have been killed in the conflict, while as many as 150 US troops have been wounded. The death toll in Iran is more than 1,300, according to the country’s UN ambassador.
Both Donald Trump and the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, have warned that the Iran war would probably claim more American lives before the conflict ends.
Key events
China to donate $200,000 to parents of students killed in Iran school strike
China said on Friday that it will donate $200,000 to the parents of the students killed in the airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh primary school in Iran, AFP reports.
Donald Trump has blamed Iran for the attack in Minab that killed up to 168 people, most of them seven- to 12-year-old girls – but geolocation, videos, satellite imagery and fragments apparently recovered from the site indicate otherwise.
Beijing’s foreign ministry said the Chinese Red Cross Society will donate the $200,000 in emergency humanitarian assistance to the Iranian Red Crescent Society but also specifically for “condolences and compensations” to the parents of dead students. Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun called the strike a “severe violation” of international humanitarian law.
“Attacks on schools and children constitute a more severe violation of international humanitarian law and breach the bottom line of human conscience and morality,” Guo told reporters at a regular news briefing.
“China stands ready to continue providing necessary assistance to Iran in a humanitarian spirit to support the Iranian people through this difficult time,” he said.
Since the start of the conflict, 2,975 people have been transported to hospitals with injuries in Israel, the Israeli ministry of health said on Friday.
Of those individuals, 85 remain hospitalised – nine with serious injuries, 10 with moderate injuries and 64 with mild injuries.
New protests will be met with ‘stronger blow’ than in January, Iran’s revolutionary guards say
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps broadcasted a statement on state TV on Friday that they will respond to any new anti-regime protests with “a stronger blow” than they did during the January protests, AFP reports.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency estimated that more than 7,000 people were killed in the January protests, which Iranian authorities blamed on “terrorists” working on behalf of Israel and the United States.
Several rights organisations accused Iranian security forces of deliberately firing on demonstrators.
Donald Trump has also called for Iranians to rise up and overthrow their government.
The Australian government has directed all “non-essential” officials to leave Lebanon because of the conflict, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, said on Friday.
A small number of officials will remain to support Australians who need it, she added.
Wong on Thursday directed all non-essential officials to leave Israel and the United Arab Emirates. She again urged Australians to leave the Middle East when they can.
“Don’t wait until it’s too late. It may be the last chance for some time,” she said.
Israeli launches new military campaign against Iran
Explosions were heard across Tehran, according to Iranian state TV, as the Israeli military said it has completed its most recent wave of strikes in Tehran, Shiraz and Ahvaz in Iran.
The IDF had earlier issued evacuation warnings for parts of Tehran and Qazvin, which is located about 144 kilometres (89 miles) northwest of the capital.
Two people were killed in Oman on Friday after air defences intercepted a drone over the Al Awahi industrial area, according to state media.
The drone was one of two that were shot by air defences on Friday, but the second one did not cause any injuries.
Summary
If you’re just joining our live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran, here’s a recap of the latest key news lines. It’s now 10.30am in Tehran, 9am in Tel Aviv and Beirut and 3am in Washington DC.
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned that any new protests against the authorities would be met with a stronger response than in January, when several thousand people were killed.
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US Central Command said it was carrying out ongoing rescue efforts after it lost a military refuelling aircraft in “friendly airspace” in Iraq, also saying neither hostile or friendly fire were to blame. It said the incident involved two planes, the second of which landed safely. The KC-135 aircraft that crashed had at least five crew members onboard, according to a US official quoted on condition of anonymity.
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Israel launched intense strikes against Tehran and areas surrounding the Iranian capital, while fresh strikes on Beirut included one that hit a car in the coastal neighbourhood of Jnah, killing one person, according to the Lebanese health ministry. A strike in the eastern Lebanese village of Bar Elias wounded a local official with al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Group, and two others, the state-run National News Agency said.
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Donald Trump declared the US was “totally destroying” Iran’s ruling regime – “militarily, economically and otherwise” – and that it was his “great honour” to be killing them.
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Sirens were heard early Friday at Turkey’s Incirlik air base, a key Nato facility in the south, state-run media reported. There was no immediate official comment.
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Explosions shook buildings in Dubai, reports said, and a large cloud of smoke hung over a central area of the financial hub after what authorities described as a fire in an industrial area.
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French president Emmanuel Macron said a French soldier had been killed in an attack in Erbil in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region – marking the first French military death of the war. Several other soldiers were wounded, he said. The French army said earlier that French soldiers had been engaged in training with Iraqi partners during the drone attack in the region.
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The pro-Iranian Ashab Alkahf group in Iraq later warned that French interests “in Iraq and the region” would be “under targeting fire” after the arrival of a French aircraft carrier.
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Benjamin Netanyahu issued a veiled threat to kill Iran’s new supreme leader, saying he “wouldn’t take out life insurance policies” on Iran’s new ayatollah or the leader of Hezbollah. The Israeli prime minister used his first press conference since the start of the war to defend his joint military assault with the US against Iran.
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The US has temporarily waived sanctions on Russian oil stranded at sea as Trump administration officials attempt to reverse a surge in prices that is causing mounting apprehension about global supplies.
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The US Navy – perhaps with an international coalition – will escort vessels through the strait of Hormuz when it is militarily possible, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said. The plan to escort ships would go ahead as soon as the US had “complete control of the skies and … [Iran’s] rebuilding capabilities for the missiles completely degraded”, he told Sky News.
Iran’s Guards vow ‘stronger’ response than in January if new protests break out
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned that any new protests against the authorities would be met with a stronger response than in January, when several thousand people were killed.
“The evil enemy, failing to achieve its field battle goals, is once again pursuing the instillation of fear and street riots,” the Guards said in a statement broadcast on television and quoted by AFP on Friday.
The statement promised “a stronger blow than on January 8” in the event of new unrest.
Here are some of the latest images coming out of the Middle East today amid the US-Israel war on Iran.
Callum Jones
The United States has temporarily waived sanctions on Russian oil stranded at sea as Trump administration officials attempt to reverse a surge in prices that is causing mounting apprehension about global supplies.
Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, announced a “temporary authorisation” late on Thursday, allowing countries to buy the stranded Russian oil for 30 days. Trump was “working to keep prices low”, he said, after average US fuel prices rose by 65 cents per gallon in a month.
Bessent claimed:
double quotation mark This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, remained above $100 per barrel during early trading on Friday despite this latest in a string of measures designed to soothe concerns around the economic impact of the US-Israel warn on Iran.
The full report is here:
Saudi Arabian forces downed a “hostile drone” heading towards the embassies district in Riyadh, the defence ministry has said.
It said in another post on X also quoting a spokesperson that three drones had been intercepted in the Al-Kharj governate and the Empty Quarter desert.
Trump says US is obliterating Iran regime
Donald Trump has declared the US is “totally destroying” Iran’s ruling regime, adding it is his “great honour” to be killing them.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, the US president also lashed the New York Times, saying:
double quotation mark We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise, yet, if you read the Failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning.
Trump went on to say:
double quotation mark 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. We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time – Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today.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. What a great honor it is to do so!
Sirens heard at key Nato base in Turkey
There has been no immediate official comment after sirens were heard early on Friday at Turkey’s Incirlik airbase, a key Nato facility where US troops are stationed near the south-eastern city of Adana.
AFP is also reporting that residents of Adana, which lies 10km (six miles) away from the base, were woken around 3.25am (0025 GMT) by sirens, which sounded for around five minutes, according to the Ekonomim business news website.
It said a red alert sounded at the base.
Several people posted mobile phone footage on social media of a glowing image flying through the sky, suggesting it could be a missile heading for the airbase, it said.
Across the city, sirens from fire engines and the security forces could be heard for a long time, it added.
The incident took place four days after Nato air defences shot down a ballistic missile in Turkish airspace that was fired from Iran – the second in five days.
Nato said it shot down the second ballistic missile fired from Iran on Monday, prompting a warning from Turkey to Tehran not to take “provocative steps”.
The announcement came shortly after Washington said it was closing down its consulate in Adana, urging all American citizens to leave south-eastern Turkey.
Turkey’s state-run news agency has given some background after reporting that sirens were heard on Friday at the country’s Incirlik air base, a key Nato facility in the south.
The Anadolu Agency said:
double quotation mark Earlier, two ballistic missiles heading toward Türkiye were intercepted by Nato air defenses.The Turkish national defense ministry said Monday that a ballistic missile fired from Iran into Turkish airspace was neutralized by Nato air and missile defense assets deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The ministry added that debris from the missile fell on vacant land in the southeastern Gaziantep province, noting that there were no casualties or injuries.
On Thursday of last week the Guardian reported:
double quotation mark Turkey said that Nato air defences had intercepted an Iranian missile headed toward its airspace, presumably to strike Nato forces at the Incirlik airbase. Turkish officials condemned the attack, while calling on all sides for de-escalation.
Sirens have been heard at Incirlik air base, a key Nato facility in south Turkey, the state news agency is being quoted as saying.
We’ll bring you more on this shortly.
