President Donald Trump framed the military campaign against Iran in civilizational terms on Friday, calling Iranian leaders “deranged scumbags” who had spent nearly five decades attacking the foundations of a stable and peaceful world. He promised dramatically harder strikes in the coming days and announced the obliteration of Kharg Island’s military infrastructure in what he called the most powerful raid in Middle Eastern history. The framing came on a day when Iran appeared to be deliberately targeting the financial heart of the Gulf, striking near the Dubai International Financial Centre and threatening banks across the region.
The Dubai International Financial Centre is one of the most prestigious economic zones in the world, housing hundreds of international banks, investment firms, capital traders, and wealth managers. Iran had declared earlier in the week that it would target financial institutions across the Gulf in retaliation for an airstrike on a Tehran bank, making the Friday strike near the DIFC a fulfillment of that threat. Debris from an intercepted Iranian projectile caused visible damage to a building in the zone. Saudi Arabia separately intercepted close to 50 Iranian drones in a single day of intensive defensive operations.
US and Israeli forces pressed their campaign against Iran with undiminished force. Combined strikes have exceeded 15,000 targets since the war began. Israel reported over 200 individual strikes in the most recent 24 hours, targeting missile systems, weapons factories, and air defence networks. Trump warned that Kharg Island’s oil infrastructure would be struck next if Iran continued to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas flows. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded, disfigured, and in hiding.
The conflict continued to consume lives across the region. Lebanon has seen over 600 killed and 800,000 displaced, with eight more dying in Sidon Friday. Hezbollah injured about 60 Israelis in rocket salvoes at northern Israel. Qatar ordered Doha evacuations before a missile interception. Two died in Oman in drone crashes. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launched new coordinated strikes on Israel with Hezbollah as part of al-Quds Day. Iran has reported over 1,300 deaths. Israel reports 12. The United States has lost 13 service members, including six in a tanker aircraft crash in Iraq.
Tehran residents described a city of continuous bombardment, power cuts, rubble-filled streets, and desperate people unable to flee due to fuel shortages. A retired professor described begging the world to act before the city was entirely destroyed. A shopkeeper counted six explosions in one hour. France lost a soldier to a pro-Iranian militia drone in Iraq. European nations sought diplomatic channels with Tehran for Strait of Hormuz shipping safety. Trump’s threats about Iranian oil infrastructure kept energy markets on edge, as the war that began with the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei continued to spiral into new and more dangerous territory.