The Iran War entered its fourteenth day on Friday as the U.S. CENTCOM reported 6 servicemembers had been killed when a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq. That brings the total number of troops killed in action to 13, according to official figures. Though the Pentagon claimed that the crash “was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”
Iran meanwhile claimed Friday that the refueling aircraft was shot down by missiles fired by “resistance factions.”
CBS News also reported on Thursday that 19 servicemembers were medically evacuated from a base in Saudi Arabia, including two who were injured in a drone explosion.
In a post on Truth Social early Friday morning, President Donald Trump criticized American media for their coverage of the war and brushed off assessments that the U.S. is currently losing. “We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time – Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today,” Trump insisted.
Iran’s Red Crescent Society said on Friday that the U.S.–Israeli air campaign against Iran has already damaged “24,531 civilian units in various sectors…of which 19,775 units are residential.”
Pentagon officials reportedly told lawmakers in a closed door session that the war had already cost U.S. taxpayers more than $11.3 billion in just the first six days of the conflict. The total cost so far is not publicly known.
CNN reported on Friday that in planning the war against Iran, the Pentagon and National Security Council “underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes,” according to anonymous sources. Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in his first message after he succeeded his slain father, said that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed. Since the U.S. and Israel launched the war, at least 18 ships have been attacked in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.
Gas prices continued to rise on Friday, with AAA reporting the national average gas price at $3.63.
The U.S. on Thursday authorized the temporary purchase of Russian oil in an attempt to stabilize the global energy market. In a post on X, Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent said that “this narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit.”
Israel continued its occupation and bombing of Lebanon, declaring on Thursday that Lebanese citizens must evacuate more territory in the South, with the NGO Norwegian Refugee Council estimating Israel’s evacuation orders now apply to approximately 14 percent of Lebanon’s territory. Israel’s emergency service said around 30 people were hurt after a missile hit a town north of Jerusalem near the Lebanon border.
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