Iran-US conflict newest: Rescue mission underway after US aircraft crash in Iraq as Trump says battle ‘moving rapidly’

US Central Command late on Thursday announced the loss of a KC-135 tanker over Iraq. The full statement says:

“U.S. Central Command is aware of the loss of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft. The incident occurred in friendly airspace during Operation Epic Fury, and rescue efforts are ongoing. Two aircraft were involved in the incident. One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely.

“This was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.

“More information will be made available as the situation develops. We ask for continued patience to gather additional details and provide clarity for the families of service members.”

As oil prices hit $100 a barrel again Thursday since the U.S. and Israel began striking Iran nearly two weeks ago, the Treasury Department said it would allow countries to purchase Russian oil “currently stranded at sea.”

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Thick black smoke has risen over Dubai’s skyline after blasts shook the city this morning, with authorities saying debris from a “successful interception” caused a fire in the Al Quoz industrial neighbourhood.

“Debris from a successful interception caused a minor incident on the façade of a building in central Dubai,” the Dubai media office said, adding there were no injuries. The smoke was visible as far as the sail-shaped Burj al-Arab hotel.

The Israeli military has struck the Zrarieh Bridge over the Litani River in Lebanon, saying Hezbollah had positioned launchers near the crossing and used it to carry out attacks on Israel.

It appeared to be the first time in the current campaign that the Israeli military acknowledged targeting civilian infrastructure.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said he does not expect oil prices to reach $200 a barrel but stopped short of ruling it out entirely. “I would say unlikely, but we are focused on the military operation and solving a problem,” Mr Wright told CNN yesterday

Iran’s military spokesperson had earlier said the world should prepare for oil at $200 a barrel as the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut.

A drone has struck a residential apartment in Beirut’s Burj Hammoud district on the northern outskirts of the Lebanese capital, Lebanon’s state media is reporting, the first time the area has been targeted.

President Donald Trump says he believes Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive but “damaged”. Khamenei has not been seen publicly since his selection on Sunday.

“I think he probably is (alive). I think he is damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form, you know,” Trump told Fox News.

Khamenei’s first comments as supreme leader were read out by a television presenter yesterday rather than delivered in person, and an Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that he had been lightly injured but was continuing to operate.

Khamenei’s father, the former supreme leader, was killed on the first day of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February.

US lawmakers have reacted in disgust to the White House splicing clips of strikes on Iran with the Nintendo Wii sports video game series.

The video making light of the Iran war has generated more than 48 million as of early Friday morning.

Senator Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat and Iraq War veteran, wrote on X in response to the video, “War is not a f***ing video game”, adding, “Seven Americans are dead”.

Representative Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat who is an Iraq War and Afghanistan War veteran, wrote, “This is sick and morally bankrupt. Our servicemembers deserve so much better than this”.

Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and avenge “the blood of your martyrs,” as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a veiled threat to kill him, with both sides striking each other overnight.

Netanyahu, holding his first news conference since strikes on Iran began on 28 February, said Israel was “creating the optimal conditions for toppling the regime” without ruling out killing Khamenei directly.

Overnight, a US refuelling aircraft went down in Iraq in an incident involving another aircraft, with the Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq claiming responsibility. France said one soldier was killed and several wounded in an attack in northern Iraq, hours after an Italian base in Erbil was also struck.

The death toll has now risen to more than 2,000 people, most in Iran. Nearly 700 have died in Lebanon, where Israel has targeted central Beirut and ordered residents out of a swathe of the south in its offensive against Hezbollah. Drones have been reported flying into Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE, Bahrain and Oman.