6 U.S. airmen die in crash; Hegseth says Iran’s leader is ‘likely disfigured’
WASHINGTON— Six American airmen assigned to operations against Iran were killed after their refueling plane crashed in western Iraq, U.S. Central Command said Friday, bringing the U.S. war death toll to 13 after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the heaviest day of strikes yet.
The Pentagon stated that two planes in “friendly airspace” were involved in the accident, adding that the other plane landed safely. The downed KC-135 refueling tanker was the fourth US aircraft to crash during the war against Iran.
“They are all American heroes,” Hegseth said at the Pentagon on Friday. “We will salute these heroes in Dover, and their sacrifice will only rededicate us to the determination of this mission.”
Central Command said the incident was under investigation but “was not due to enemy or friendly fire.”
During the briefing, Hegseth described Iranian leaders as “desperate” and “scared” like rats underground. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba said Khamenei was “injured and possibly disfigured” but did not provide any intelligence to support the claim.
Khamenei has not been seen in public since ascending to leadership, but made his first public statement on Thursday, promising retaliation for U.S. and Israeli attacks and that Tehran would continue to block the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil route.
“Our revenge will never end, not only for the late Religious leader, but also for the blood of all our martyrs,” he said.
The defense minister said Friday that Iran will face the heaviest airstrikes yet seen in the two-week U.S.-Israeli operation that has leveled buildings, complexes and factory lines across Iran and killed at least 1,348 civilians, according to Iranian officials.
“There is no mercy, no mercy for our enemies,” Hegseth said.
While Hegseth insists the war will end if the United States defeats Iran’s naval, missile and nuclear weapons capabilities, President Trump’s public statements continue to cast doubt on whether the White House and the Pentagon are aligned on the mission’s goals.
Asked by Fox News on Friday when the war might end, Trump said: “When I feel it, I’ll feel it in my bones.”
Iran’s strait blockade remains Tehran’s most important trump card against its Western rivals and a serious political problem for Trump. The International Energy Agency warned on Thursday that the conflicts had led to “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”, sending oil prices up 40 percent since February 28 to $95 a barrel.
Approximately 1,000 ships were stranded in the Persian Gulf; most of these are energy tankers unable to carry oil and gas shipments from the Middle East to importers around the world. Ships trying to cross the war-torn canal were destroyed in Iranian attacks. Hegseth called Tehran’s strategy “an act of desperation.”
UK Merchant Marine Operations reported on Friday 20 incidents affecting ships operating in and around the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman in March.
Drone and missile attacks continue to attack Gulf countries, threatening to draw more players into the conflict. Thick black smoke was seen rising over Dubai’s skyline on Friday after debris from an aborted Iranian drone strike caused a fire and minor damage to a building inside the Dubai International Financial Centre, according to the Dubai Media Office.
Europe also became increasingly involved. US long-range bombers began flying strike missions from British air bases, although UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer explicitly allowed US forces to use the bases “for defensive purposes only”. Starmer initially refused to cooperate in any capacity in American hostilities, but changed his approach after coming under criticism from Trump, who said: “He is no Winston Churchill.”
After Iran attacked British bases, Britain, France and Italy deployed naval forces to the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean, only 195 kilometers away from Lebanon. The island has emerged as a strategic and vulnerable nerve center in the US offensive against Iran.
Meanwhile, Israel said Friday that its attacks in Lebanon and Iran “continue and intensify.” The Israel Defense Forces issued new evacuation orders in southern Lebanon on Thursday after overnight airstrikes in Beirut triggered retaliatory missile and drone strikes by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.
Eight civilians were killed and nine others were injured in attacks on the Lebanese city of Sidon on Friday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health. The ministry said more than 100 children were killed in the Israeli attack.
