Trump Calls Iran’s Military Capabilities ‘Crumbling’ as US Warplanes Launch Fresh Waves Over Tehran

President Donald Trump declared on Friday that Iran’s military capabilities were crumbling under the weight of the US-Israeli bombing campaign, calling Iranian leaders “deranged scumbags” and vowing that the country would face even harder strikes in the days ahead. The declaration came as American and Israeli warplanes launched yet another series of coordinated attacks over the Iranian capital, with residents describing a city that had not experienced a moment of quiet since the conflict began. Trump framed the campaign as a systematic dismantling of a regime he considered a global menace.
The war began when Israel killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled Iran for 37 years, triggering a chain of retaliatory escalations that has since pulled the entire Middle East into its orbit. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was described by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as wounded, likely disfigured, and hiding underground. His only public communication since assuming the role was a written statement on Thursday calling for unity and pledging continued resistance, which Hegseth dismissed as weak for lacking any voice or video component.
The scale of the US-Israeli military campaign has been extraordinary. Combined forces have struck more than 15,000 targets since the war began, at a rate exceeding 1,000 per day. Israel alone reported more than 200 strikes in the most recent 24-hour window, targeting missile launch systems, weapons production facilities, and Iranian air defence infrastructure. Late Friday, Trump announced that US Central Command had obliterated every military installation on Kharg Island, Iran’s primary oil export terminal, calling the operation one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East.
The conflict’s reach has extended far beyond Iran and Israel. Lebanon has recorded over 600 deaths and 800,000 displaced, with eight more killed in an Israeli strike on the coastal city of Sidon on Friday. Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, injuring close to 60 people. Saudi Arabia intercepted close to 50 Iranian drones. Qatar issued Doha evacuation warnings before confirming a missile interception. Two people died in Oman when drones struck an industrial zone. Debris from an intercepted projectile damaged a building at the Dubai International Financial Centre.
Tehran residents described a city consumed by fear and destruction. A 42-year-old shopkeeper said she had taped newspapers over her windows, was barely sleeping, and counted six explosions in a single hour. A retired professor of 66 described buildings shaking, streets filled with rubble, and a population trapped by fuel shortages and fear. Iran has reported over 1,300 deaths. The United States has lost 13 service members, including six in a tanker aircraft crash in Iraq. France lost one soldier to a pro-Iranian militia drone in the same country. Trump’s threat to strike Kharg Island’s oil infrastructure kept global energy markets in a state of high anxiety.