DUBAI, United Arab Emirates. — This Friday, a strong explosion in one Iran capital area where thousands of people They gathered for a annual demonstration organized by the State in support for the palestinians and to call for the disappearance of Israel. Tel Aviv previously warned that it would attack the area, located in the Tehran center.
So far, no victims have been reported. But the decision to go ahead with the massive demonstration, attended by some senior government officials, and Israel’s threat to attack the area underscored the steely determination on both sides, nearly two weeks into the war that has shaken the global economy and shows no signs of abating.
Iran attacks Israel with missiles and drones
Iran has maintained its extensive missile and drone attacks against Israel and neighboring Gulf states, and has de facto closed the Strait of Hormuzthrough which a fifth of the world’s traded oil passes, even as US and Israeli warplanes violently hit military and other targets across Iran.
For its part, the US military confirmed that all six crew members of a US KC-135 tanker plane died when it crashed in Iraq.
Explosion shakes mass demonstration area
The explosion in Tehran shook the area Plaza Ferdowsi at noon, where thousands of people had gathered for an annual demonstration of the Quds Dayin which they chanted “death to Israel” and “death to the United States.”
Israel had issued a warning on a Farsi-language X account for people to clear the area shortly before the explosion. But few Iranians would have seen it, since authorities have almost completely shut down internet service since the start of the war. Images from the scene showed people chanting “God is greatest” as smoke rose in the area.
US has attacked 15,000 targets in Iran
In Washington, the United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegsethsaid that more than 15,000 enemy targets have been attacked, which is equivalent to more than 1,000 a day since the war began.
He also attempted to respond to concerns about the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuztelling reporters: “We have been handling it and there is no need to worry about it.”
The general Dan Caine, president of Joint Chiefs of Staffadded that the US military has “made it a priority to attack Iran’s minelaying initiative.” Iran has mainly used missiles and drones to disrupt traffic in the strategic sea lane.
The supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Jamenei, He vowed Thursday to continue attacks and keep the strait closed in his first public statement since succeeding his father, who died on the first day of the war. Khamenei has not been seen in public since assuming leadership and released a written statement.
Hegseth: Mojtaba Khamenei is injured and probably disfigured
Which has allowed Pete Hegseth to say that Khamenei “is injured and probably disfigured,” without providing evidence or giving more details. Israel suspects that Khamenei was wounded at the start of the war.
In a social media post hours earlier, Trump noted, “Look what’s happening to these miserable deranged people today,” while claiming that Iran’s army had been decimated and its leaders had been “wiped off the face of the earth.”
New Iranian attacks throughout the region
Iran has responded with daily attacks on oil facilities and other infrastructure in the Gulf region, and on Friday, Saudi Arabia said it had shot down nearly 50 drones sent in multiple waves.
In Oman, two people were killed when two drones crashed in an industrial area in the Sohar region, the Oman News Agency reported.
A building at the Dubai International Financial Center was damaged after being hit by debris from what authorities described as a “successful interception.” The center is a free economic zone for banks, equity traders and wealth managers, and is home to exclusive restaurants and nightclubs.
Iran said earlier this week it would attack banks and financial institutions, after an airstrike hit a bank in Tehran.
The US Navy destroyer USS Oscar Austin shot down an Iranian ballistic missile that was intercepted over Türkiye on Friday, a US official confirmed. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing military operations, said it was the third time in the past two weeks that a U.S. Navy destroyer in the eastern Mediterranean intercepted an Iranian missile in Turkish airspace.
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