Israeli army warns residents of two Tehran areas of imminent strikes
A woman sits outside her destroyed apartment after it was damaged by an airstrike while she was inside, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
The Israeli military on Friday warned it would strike two areas in the Iranian capital Tehran, Villa and Moniriyeh, and told residents to evacuate.
"In the coming hours, the IDF will operate in these areas, as it has in recent days across Iran, to strike military infrastructure belonging to the Iranian regime. Dear citizens, for your safety and well-being, we ask that you immediately evacuate the marked area," the army posted on its Persian-language account on X, attaching maps of the affected neighbourhoods.
Earlier on Thursday, new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first comments, read out by a television presenter, vowing to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and calling on neighbouring countries to close US bases on their territory or risk Iran targeting them.
"I assure everyone that we will not neglect avenging the blood of your martyrs," he said. Iranian officials have said he was lightly wounded in initial strikes.
The leaders of Iran, Israel and the United States all voiced defiance and vowed to fight on as the Middle East war approached the two-week mark on Friday, killing thousands of people, disrupting the lives of millions of others and shaking financial markets.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first news conference since the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran started on February 28, taking questions via video-link and issuing a veiled threat to kill Khamenei and defending the military assault.
"I will not detail the actions we are taking. We are creating the optimal conditions for toppling the regime, but I won't deny that I can't tell you with all certainty that the people of Iran will topple the regime - a regime is toppled from the inside," Netanyahu said. "But we can definitely help, and we are helping".
Read: Iran vows to keep Strait of Hormuz closed in Mojtaba Khamenei's first statement
US President Donald Trump weighed in on social media on Friday, saying the US was "totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran". "We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time - Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today," Trump said.
The Israel Defense Forces said on Friday its air force struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, including ballistic missile launchers, air defence systems and weapons production sites, as part of its operation dubbed Operation Roar of the Lion.
Overnight, Iran launched a barrage of missiles towards Israel, undermining earlier US and Israeli claims to have knocked out much of Iran's stock of long-range weapons.
Medics in Israel's north said they had taken 58 people to hospitals, most with minor injuries from glass shards.
Debris from a successful interception also caused minor damage to the façade of a building in central Dubai, the emirate's media office said early on Friday, adding that no injuries were reported. The office did not specify the exact location of the incident. And in Saudi Arabia, the defence ministry said two drones were intercepted in the east.
Read more: Oil prices fall as IEA weighs record emergency reserve release
The prospect that one of the most severe disruptions ever to global energy supplies could endure sent oil prices up about 9% to $100 a barrel LCOc1 on Thursday, helping drive down US stocks.
The S&P 500 notched up its biggest three-day percentage drop in a month, and shares in Asia were also under pressure on Friday.
In an effort to stabilise global energy markets, the US on Thursday issued a 30-day licence for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea.
"The temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long-term," Bessent said in the statement, echoing earlier comments from Trump.
US political fallout
Trump, who has already declared that the US and Israel "won" the war, said the United States stood to make significant money from oil prices driven higher because of supply issues tied to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil normally passes.
"The United States is the largest oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money." Stopping Iran from having nuclear weapons was far more important, he said on social media.
Israel and the US have said Iran needs to be "stopped from having nuclear weapons" for decades now.
Trump's comments angered opposition Democrats, who accused the Republican president of caring too little about the war's impact on average Americans and demanded more information about civilian casualties, particularly a double-tap strike that killed dozens of schoolchildren at an Iranian girls' school.
Trump's administration has not provided a public assessment of the expected cost or duration of the war, which is unpopular with the American public, or a strategy for Iran after the fighting stops. The president and top aides have also given conflicting reasons for starting the fight.
The death toll has risen to more than 2,000 civilians, mostly in Iran. Almost 700 have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon, where Israel has targeted central Beirut and ordered residents out of a swathe of southern Lebanon as they push their offensive against the Hezbollah group.
France's President Emmanuel Macron said one soldier had died and several were wounded during an attack in northern Iraq, hours after an Italian base was also targeted in the area.
Two tankers were set ablaze in the Iraqi port of Basra earlier this week after allegedly being hit by Iranian explosive-laden boats. Other ships have been struck in the Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz, some by Iran after repeated warnings not to approach the straits, and buildings have been struck in cities of other Gulf countries.
Iran tightens security
Inside Iran, residents said security forces were increasing their presence to instil order through constant US-Israeli strikes on civilian infrastructure.
🇬🇧 Tehran, the gates of hell had opened. 🇬🇧
That is how witnesses across the Iranian capital described the night the sky turned orange and flames tore across the skyline after a wave of devastating airstrikes targeted major oil infrastructure.
Videos flooding social media show… pic.twitter.com/47VMCQLdz3"Security forces are everywhere, more than before. People are afraid to come out, but supermarkets are open," teacher Majan, 35, said by phone from Tehran.
Israel and the United States have called on Iranians to "rise and topple their clerical rulers".
Many Iranians mourned the death of the supreme leader, while other Iranians and the Iranian diaspora in places like New York celebrated the Ayatollah's death and the strikes on Iran. There has been no sign of organised dissent while the country is under attack.
Iranian monarchists say girl's school bombing was "worth it," call for American ground invasion of Iran @KeiPritsker attended the regime change rally in LA where protestors lavished praise on Trump and Netanyahu and demanded boots on the ground pic.twitter.com/DlGTPOmCxs
Iran's message is that its strategy now is to impose a prolonged economic shock to force Trump to back off. A spokesperson for Iran's military command said on Wednesday that the world should prepare for oil prices of $200 a barrel.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Thursday he did not expect that to happen, but did not totally rule it out. "I would say unlikely, but we are focused on the military operation and solving a problem," Wright told CNN.
US refuelling craft goes down
In Iraq, US Central Command said it was carrying out rescue efforts after one of its refuelling aircraft went down in an incident that involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed armed factions, claimed responsibility for downing the aircraft.
In a brief statement issued on Thursday, CENTCOM confirmed the loss of a KC-135 Stratotanker during the continuing military offensive known as Operation Epic Fury. According to CENTCOM, two aircraft were involved, with one going down while the second landed safely. No hostile or friendly fire was involved in the incident.
Rescue and recovery operations are currently ongoing, CENTCOM added, without providing further details on the crew or the cause of the accident.
CENTCOM added that the aircraft loss occurred entirely in non-combat conditions and that investigations are underway.
The KC-135 Stratotanker provides the core aerial refuelling capability for the US Air Force and has excelled in this role for more than 60 years. This asset enhances the Air Force's capability to accomplish its primary mission of global reach. It also provides aerial refuelling support to the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and allied nations' aircraft.