6 U.S. airmen die in crash; Hegseth says Iran’s leader is ‘likely disfigured’
WASHINGTON- Six US airmen deployed in operations against Iran were killed after their refueling plane crashed in western Iraq, US Central Command said Friday, bringing the US death toll in the war to 13, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the heaviest day of strikes ever.
The crash involved two planes in “friendly airspace,” the Pentagon said, adding that the other plane landed safely. The downed KC-135 tanker is the fourth US aircraft to crash during the war with Iran.
“American heroes, all of them,” Hegseth said Friday at the Pentagon. “We will welcome these heroes to Dover and their sacrifice will only recommit us to solving this mission.”
Central Command said the incident was under investigation but was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”
During the briefing, Hegseth described Iran’s leaders as “desperate” and “cowering” underground like rats. He said Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, “is injured and probably disfigured” but provided no information to support the claim.
Khamenei has not been seen in public since assuming the leadership, but he issued his first public statement on Thursday, pledging retaliation against US and Israeli attacks, vowing that Tehran would continue to choke the world’s most crucial oil route – the Strait of Hormuz.
“Our revenge will be endless, not only for the late supreme leader, but also for the blood of all our martyrs,” he said.
The defense secretary said Friday that Iran would be hit by the heaviest series of airstrikes ever seen during the two-week U.S.-Israeli operation that leveled buildings, compounds and factory lines across Iran, killing at least 1,348 civilians, according to Iranian officials.
“No quarter, no mercy for our enemies,” Hegseth said.
And while Hegseth insists that the fighting will stop when the United States defeats Iran’s naval, ballistic and nuclear capabilities, President Trump’s public statements continue to sow doubt about whether the White House and Pentagon are aligned on the mission’s goals.
Asked by Fox News on Friday when the war might end, Trump replied: “When I feel it, I feel it in my bones. »
Iran’s blockade of the strait remains Tehran’s main leverage against its Western adversaries and a serious political scourge for Trump. The International Energy Agency warned Thursday that the conflict had created “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,” which has driven oil prices up 40% to $95 a barrel since Feb. 28.
Some 1,000 ships remain stuck in the Persian Gulf, many of them tankers unable to transport oil and gas from the Middle East to importers around the world. Ships that attempted to pass through the besieged canal were destroyed in Iranian attacks. Hegseth described Tehran’s strategy as “an act of desperation.”
UK Maritime Commercial Operations on Friday reported 20 incidents affecting vessels operating in and around the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman in March.
Israeli soldiers work on the belts of their tanks at a staging area in Upper Galilee, northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, March 13, 2026. On March 13, Israel’s defense minister said Lebanon would suffer increasing damage to its infrastructure as Israel targets Hezbollah, after the army destroyed a bridge over the southern Litani River.
(Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images)
Drone and missile attacks continue to plague Gulf states, threatening to draw more actors into the conflict. Thick black smoke was seen above the Dubai skyline on Friday after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone strike caused a fire and minor damage to a building at the Dubai International Financial Center, according to the Dubai Media Office.
Europe is also getting more and more involved. U.S. long-range bombers began flying offensive missions from British air bases, even as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer explicitly authorized U.S. forces to use the bases “for defensive purposes only.” Starmer initially refused to cooperate in any capacity with US hostilities, but changed his approach after drawing criticism from Trump, who said: “He’s not Winston Churchill.”
The ground crew prepares a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber, fully loaded with Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), for takeoff from RAF Fairford Friday in Fairford, England.
(Christophe Furlong/Getty Images)
The UK, France and Italy have each deployed naval assets to the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, located just 200 kilometers from Lebanon, after Iranian drone strikes hit British bases. The island has become a strategic – and exposed – nerve center in the US offensive against Iran.
Meanwhile, Israel said Friday its strikes were “continuing and intensifying” in Lebanon and Iran. The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in southern Lebanon on Thursday after overnight airstrikes in Beirut triggered missile and drone attacks in retaliation by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Eight civilians were killed and nine others injured Friday in attacks on the Lebanese town of Sidon, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. More than 100 children were killed in the Israeli attack, the ministry said.
