About 2,500 U.S. Marines are being deployed to the Middle East as American and Israeli strikes keep pounding Iran and the Islamic Republic keeps attacking Persian Gulf shipping and energy infrastructure. As Iranian threats choke global oil shipments, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said “we have been dealing with it and don’t need to worry about it.”
A large explosion rocked a square in Tehran that was filled with people for annual Quds Day demonstrations in support of the Palestinians, Iranian state television reported. Thousands chanted “death to Israel” and “death to America.”
More than 100 children are among the 773 people killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Friday. Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran, and Israel has reported 12 deaths. All six crew members aboard a KC-135 refueling aircraft that crashed in western Iraq are dead, raising the U.S. military death toll in Operation Epic Fury to at least 13.
Israel said Friday its strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon are “continuing and intensifying. Hezbollah’s leader said his gunmen “will fight until the end.” U.S. President Donald Trump said the war would end “when I feel it in my bones.”
Here is the latest:
Hezbollah leader in televised speech says his gunmen ‘will fight until the end’
Naim Kassem said Friday night that the Lebanese government hasn’t been able to defend the country or its people from Israel’s near daily strikes since a ceasefire went into effect in November 2024, so Hezbollah resumed firing after the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran.
Surrender and defeat “are not in our dictionary,” Kassem said. “This is an existential battle. It is not a limited or simple battle.”
Shrapnel has fallen on Qatar in more than 600 places during the war
Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said in an interview posted on the ministry’s social media pages that it had responded to 5,000 reports of fallen shrapnel in more than 600 locations since the beginning of the war.
The Gulf nation, home to the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base and smaller than the U.S. state of Connecticut, says it has intercepted most of the incoming Iranian missiles and drones.
Iran’s president speaks with Egyptian leader about de-escalation efforts
In a phone call Friday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country is still keen on “fraternal relations and good neighborliness with Arab states.”
That’s according to the office of Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi, a former general and close ally of Saudi Arabia, who condemned Iranian attacks on Gulf countries and insisted they don’t support or participate in the war.
US military is sending roughly 2,500 Marines and at least one extra warship to Middle East, AP source says
Roughly 2,500 Marines and at least one amphibious assault ship are headed for the Middle East, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans, said that elements from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli have been ordered to the Middle East. The move would mark a major addition of troops to the region.
Marine Expeditionary Units are not only trained and equipped to conduct amphibious landings but they also specialize in bolstering security at embassies, evacuating civilians, and disaster relief. While the deployment is a major increase of troops to the region, it does not necessarily indicate that a ground operation is imminent or will take place at all.
The 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, as well the Tripoli and other amphibious assault ships carrying the Marines are based in Japan and have been at sea in the waters of the Pacific Ocean for the past several days, according to images released by the military. Their location puts them more than a week away from the waters off Iran.
(Copyright (c) 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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