US-Iran War LIVE Updates: As the war in West Asia enters its second week on Friday, the leaders of Iran, Israel and the United States all expressed defiance and vowed to fight on.
The death toll in the unpredictable war has risen to more than 2,000, most in Iran, Reuters reported. It also disrupted the lives of millions of people and shook financial markets around the world.
The drones were reported flying into Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman, undermining US and Israeli claims that they have knocked out most of Iran’s stockpile of long-range weapons.
Two tankers were set on fire in the port of Basra, Iraq, after being hit by suspected Iranian boats loaded with explosives.
Hours earlier on Thursday, three other ships were hit in the Persian Gulf. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have claimed responsibility for at least one attack – on a Thai bulk carrier that was set on fire. Another container ship reported being hit by an unknown projectile near the UAE.
What did the leaders of Iran, Israel and the US say?
Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to keep fighting and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. Mojtaba, in his first defiant comments read out by a television host on Thursday, called on neighboring countries to close US bases on their soil or risk being attacked by Iran.
“I assure everyone that we will not neglect to avenge the blood of your martyrs,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also made veiled threats to kill Khamenei and advocated a military strike.
In his first press conference since the US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, Netanyahu said: “We are creating the optimal conditions to overthrow the regime, but I will not deny that I cannot tell you with all certainty that the people of Iran will overthrow the regime – the regime is overthrown from within.”
“But we certainly can and do help.”
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump, who has already declared that his side has won the war, said on Thursday that the United States wants to make significant money from oil prices, which have been pushed up by supply problems linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The United States is by far the largest oil producer in the world, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money.” Far more important was preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons, he said on social media.
A US Army refueling plane crashed in Iraq
A US military refueling plane participating in an operation against Iran has crashed in Iraq and rescue efforts are underway, the US Central Command said on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. However, a US official told the Associated Press that the KC-135 that crashed had at least five crew members on board.
The accident was not caused by enemy fire or friendly fire, the military said in a statement, describing the aircraft as a “loss”.
Rising oil prices; Iran warns of further escalation
The Strait of Hormuz is the shipping route through which a fifth of the world’s oil normally passes along Iran’s coast.
The prospect that one of the most serious disruptions to global energy supplies could persist pushed oil prices up about 9% to $100 a barrel on Thursday, despite Wednesday’s announcement that developed countries would release 400 million barrels of oil from strategic stockpiles and after falling earlier in the week on hopes for a quick end to the war.
Iran’s message is that its strategy now is to impose a long-term economic shock to force Trump to back down. A spokesman for Iran’s military command said on Wednesday that the world should prepare for oil prices of $200 a barrel.
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