The United States and Israel have launched the latest wave of air strikes on Tehran after the IRGC pounded northern Israel and parts of Tel Aviv in overnight strikes. A latest report from the Pentagon has revealed that the United States has spent over $11.3 billion on the conflict, with US President Donald Trump vowing to finish the job that he hasn’t so far.
Tehran has been the main target of Israeli and US strikes in recent weeks, though Iran’s decentralised command structure has wreaked havoc in Israel with the assistance of regional proxies.
The latest wave of escalations comes at a time when a United States aircraft crashed in Iraqi airspace, fuelling speculations that it was downed by Iranian-backed proxies operating in the region.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Friday denied claims from Iraqi Shia militias that they had downed the aircraft, though the group claimed responsibility for the attack within an hour of the crash. Given the conflict's likely trajectory, it is expected to intensify in the coming days before potentially settling down in the next few weeks.
According to the UN refugee agency, the ongoing conflict has already displaced more than 2.3 million people in Iran, along with more than 800,000 in Lebanon. Thousands of Israelis have also fled the country amid intense missile barrages launched by Iran, while clashes were reported at Ben Gurion airport after it shut down operations on Thursday.
More than 600 people have been killed in Lebanon, over 1,300 in Iran, and a dozen in Israel. At least seven US soldiers have also died during the fighting. While the US and Israel are targeting Tehran and its adjoining areas, Iran has focused its attacks on Tel Aviv and the northern parts of the country.
The latest missile barrage injured 81 people in Israel. Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader has vowed to intensify attacks on both US bases and naval assets, as well as on Israel, in the coming days.
Tehran has once again rejected the ceasefire appeals, after President Massoud Pezeshkian said it will only agree to a ceasefire if Iran’s demands are met. The French President announced that a French soldier has been killed in an attack in Iraq. The attack targeted Irbil in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region, President Emmanuel Macron said Friday on the social platform X.
Macron identified the soldier as Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion of the 7th Battalion of Chasseurs Alpins from Varces.
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