Explosions rock Tehran as top Iranian leaders take part in Quds Day rally; IRGC claims to have targeted Abraham Lincoln
Ali Larijani joins a Quds Day march in Tehran, hours after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Iranian leaders were “hiding like rats”. Photo: Courtesy of X
DUBAI/BEIRUT/JERUSALEM/LONDON:
A US KC-135 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”, although deadly explosions rocked Tehran near a pro-government rally attended by top officials, as Israel and Iran launched new strikes in a war that has inflamed the Middle East and threatens to torpedo the global economy.
Additionally, President Donald Trump said the United States was going to hit Iran “very hard over the next week,” shortly after granting a 30-day partial waiver for purchases of sanctioned Russian oil, hoping to lower prices fueled by the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
Prices have been influenced by Trump’s shifting comments on the likely length of the war, prompting Iran to attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s oil passes.
Trump has previously declared the war “over” and also promised to guarantee the safety of ships in the strait. In an interview broadcast Friday on Fox News, Trump said the United States would escort the ships there “if we needed to.”
Oil prices remained above $100 a barrel with no end in sight to the disruption in crude supplies, while stock markets fell.
As the conflict approaches its third week, stock markets have fallen further as investors fear a prolonged crisis that could stoke inflation and hurt the global economy.
The price of Brent crude, the benchmark international oil contract, fell below $100 during the day, briefly sending stocks higher.
But stocks slipped back into the red as Brent rose back above the $100 mark.
Plane crash
The incident — which took place Thursday and involved a second plane that landed safely — brings to at least 13 the number of U.S. troops killed in operations against Iran.
“All six crew members aboard a US KC-135 refueling plane that crashed in western Iraq are now confirmed deceased,” US Central Command (CENTCOM), responsible for US forces in the Middle East, said in a message on X.
An investigation is underway into the accident, the command said, adding that “the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”
The Iranian military said in an earlier statement broadcast by state television that an allied group in Iraq had brought down the plane with a missile, killing its entire crew.
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is a loose alliance of Iranian-backed Iraqi factions, claimed to have shot down a KC-135. They also said they targeted another plane which fled.
The KC-135 is at least the fourth U.S. military aircraft lost during the war, after three F-15s were shot down by friendly fire over Kuwait.
Rally in Tehran
President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi attended a rally in Tehran, while images shared by Iranian media showed the head of the judiciary being interviewed just as an explosion occurred.
Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani ridiculed Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s assertion that Iran’s leaders were hiding “like rats,” pointing out that several senior officials, including the president, had made public appearances 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 senior Iranian official wrote about X, referring to the late sex offender who had close ties to rich and powerful people in the United States.
The US claim that Iran’s leaders were hiding “like rats”, pointing to several senior officials, including the president, making public appearances at a rally in Tehran.
France and Italy have started negotiations with Iran with the aim of brokering a deal guaranteeing the safe passage of their ships through the Strait of Hormuz, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing sources briefed on the efforts.
Marines
The Pentagon is deploying a maritime expeditionary unit to the Middle East, a rapid response unit typically made up 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 Iran’s top leaders, including new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
The bounty, released by the State Department’s Rewards for Justice program, comes as the U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran continues and after the deaths of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials.
Supreme Leader
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is injured and likely disfigured, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday, questioning Khamenei’s ability to govern after nearly two weeks of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
No images of Khamenei have been released since an Israeli strike early in the war that killed much of his family, including his father and wife.
His first comments came in a statement read by a television presenter on Thursday. In the statement, he pledged to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and called on neighboring countries to close US bases on their territory or risk targeting Iran.
“We know that the new so-called not-so-supreme leader is injured and probably disfigured. He made a statement yesterday. A weak statement, actually, but there was no voice or video. It was a written statement,” Hegseth said at a press briefing.
Aircraft carrier
In a statement released Friday evening, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it targeted the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln with missiles and drones, saying the strike caused “major damage” to the ship, according to an Al Jazeera report on X.
The Revolutionary Guards added that the aircraft carrier was now “withdrawing towards America” following the alleged attack.
However, the US Central Command spokesperson told Al Jazeera that “the Revolutionary Guard’s claims that the Lincoln aircraft carrier was targeted are false”, denying any damage or operational impact to the ship.
