The conflict in the Middle East has entered a third week, with Israel announcing a barrage of new strikes on western Iran on Sunday, while the U.S. defense department released the names of six service members who died when their military refueling aircraft crashed.
Iran’s regional Gulf neighbors have continued to face attacks, with Saudi Arabia saying it had taken down 26 Iranian drones over its territory and the United Arab Emirates reporting a missile attack. Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain and in Israel, in Tel Aviv.
In Tehran, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps vowed to “pursue” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it would then “kill him,” according to Iran’s state-affiliated Mehr news agency.
Meanwhile President Trump told NBC News he wasn’t sure whether Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was still alive, saying “so far no-one’s been able to show him.” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday Khamenei – who was appointed a week ago after Israeli strikes killed his father at the beginning of the war – had been wounded.
Trump also told the network that several U.S. allies had responded to his call for help to defend the vital economic waterway, the Strait of Hormuz, though he didn’t name them and none have publicly agreed to assist.
Here are more detailed updates about the conflict:
Six deceased U.S. service members identified
The Defense Department identified six American service members who died on March 12 when their KC-135 refueling plane crashed over Western Iraq.
The Pentagon has said the loss of the Stratotanker aircraft was caused by neither hostile nor friendly fire, and said the incident is under investigation. An Iranian proxy group claimed responsibility.
Three of the deceased were from the MacDill Air Force Base in Florida and named as Maj. John A. Klinner, 33, of Auburn, Ala.; Capt. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Wash.; and Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, 34, of Bardstown, Ky.
The other three were assigned to Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio. They were: Capt. Seth R. Koval, 38, of Mooresville, Ind.; Capt. Curtis J. Angst, 30, of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio.
The crash brings the U.S. military death toll to 13, seven of whom have been killed by enemy fire. Eight U.S. service members have been severely injured, according to the Pentagon.
IDF launches fresh attacks on Iran, Lebanon
“The IDF has just begun a wave of extensive strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in western Iran,” the Israeli Defense Forces posted on their official X account on Sunday.
The IDF also said it had struck Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Saturday, noting: “The Air Force struck in the Al-Qataraani area several launch sites of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, from which the organization’s terrorists planned to carry out launches in the immediate time frame.”
“The headquarters of the ‘Radwan Force’ unit of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Beirut were attacked and destroyed,” it said.
Allies non-committal on Trump’s request for assistance
President Trump on Saturday urged foreign powers to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been blocking the key shipping route, where much of the world’s oil supplies typically pass.
“Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated,” he wrote on Truth Social.
So far, no country has committed to Trump’s call. The UK’s Defense Ministry has said it is exploring its options.
Since the start of the war, Iran has blocked some oil tankers and attacked cargo vessels trying to pass through the strait, which has led to a huge spike in global oil prices.
Nearly a fifth of the world’s oil supply typically passes through this vital oil export route.
The waters off Iran’s coast have become a strategic battleground in the war and the US bombed military targets on Iran’s Kharg Island Saturday.
Trump said the U.S. might hit the island again quote “just for fun” if Iran continues interfering with ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Arezou Rezvani in Erbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and Kate Bartlett contributed to this report.
