LIVE | Operation Epic Fury: 6,000 targets hit, including 90 ships
Tehran's continued drone and missile launches against key economic targets in the region and threats and attacks against commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz volatilize the impact of the record release of strategic crude oil reserves.
An F18 is laid out from the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The Iranian regime's threat of oil reaching $200 a barrel is closer to fruition on the 13th day of war in the Middle East. While Donald Trump and Netanyahu insist that Iran's military capability is at its floor, Tehran's continued attacks on key economic hotspots in the region, mainly oil facilities and ships attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, are destabilizing the world economy with the price of crude oil soaring back above $100 per barrel.
Official sources confirmed that new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei suffered leg injuries in the attack that cost the life of his father and predecessor in office, but is at the helm of the country.
All times are Eastern Standard Time (EST).
Meet the 'Lucas': a combat drone 'plagiarized' from an Iranian model used by the U.S. against Iran
Iran's drones are a pillar of its war strategy. They are cheap, can be produced in abundance and have sufficient range to hit targets in the region such as U.S. bases. Well before the start of the present conflict Iranian drones enjoyed a good reputation, so much so that allies like Russia began importing them and that the Iranian regime itself decided to design the first drone carrier in history.
The United States was watching. Seeing the success of Iranian unmanned vehicles, the Pentagon launched a secret campaign to capture, analyze and reverse engineer the Iranian Shahed-136 drone. Thus was born the Lucas (Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System) family of drones.
In the early hours of Operation Epic Fury, the Lucas made its debut against the very country that served as its inspiration.
Some of its technical details are:
- Cost per unit: $10,000 - $55,000
- Length: 10 FT
- Span of wings: 8 FT
- Range: 500 MI
ISRAEL LAUNCHES NEW WAVE OF ATTACKS ON TEHRAN
50 parliamentarians from Europe, Latin America and Africa call for the continuation of the fight against Iran
"Democratic nations must continue to use all available diplomatic, economic, military, and multilateral channels to topple the Iranian regime," the letter states. "Any negotiation with this regime serves only to enable its survival and the continuation of its repression against the Iranian people."
Find out the details of the international letter:
Operation Epic Fury: 6,000 targets hit, including 90 ships
The military struck about 6,000 targets since the start of the war against Iran, according to Central Command, which is responsible for U.S. forces in the region.
Among the targets hit were more than 90 Iranian vessels, about 60 ships and 30 minelayers.
Trump changes position on Iran's participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup
President Donald Trump said that Iran's national team should not participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup “for their own safety.”
This statement comes a day after FIFA President Gianni Infantino reported that he spoke with Trump and told him that Iranian soccer players would be “welcome.” The Iranian national team is scheduled to play its first-round matches in Los Angeles and Seattle.
Mojtaba Khamenei gives his first speech as Iran's supreme leader: “Revenge is a priority until it is fully achieved”
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei gave his first televised speech since his appointment. The son of the late Ali Khamenei said that “revenge is a priority until it is fully achieved” and called for continued hostilities, including keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed.
In addition, Khamenei demanded that Gulf countries close U.S. military bases on their territory, warning that they will continue to be targeted by his country's armed forces. Finally, he thanked the “resistance front” against Israel and the U.S. in Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq.
Trump says preventing Iran's nuclear capabilities is "of far greater interest and importance" than the price of oil
Donald Trump on Thursday said that stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons was more important to him than controlling oil prices.
"The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stoping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World," said Trump in a post on Truth Social.
Iran accuses E.U. of "complicity" in Israel-U.S. attacks
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman on Thursday accused the European Union of "complicity" in the U.S. and Israeli attacks against the Islamic Republic.
"The indifference and acquiescence of the European Union to the aggression, brutalities and atrocities of the United States and Israel are no less than complicity," Esmail Baqai said in a message on X.
Israel announces it has attacked facilities in Iran where it claims nuclear weapons are being developed
The Israeli military said Thursday it had struck a facility in Iran where, it claims, nuclear weapons were being developed.
"The Israeli air force, acting on accurate intelligence from the armed forces, struck another facility in the Iranian nuclear program, the military said, adding that "the Taleqan complex was being used by the regime to advance critical capabilities toward the development of nuclear weapons."
The Taleqan complex apparently refers to a facility in Parchin, southeast of Tehran. According to the U.S. think tank Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), which has been tracking the Iranian nuclear program, the Islamic republic conducted covert military activities there recently.
Israel resumes bombing raids on Tehran
The Israeli military said it began a new wave of "large-scale" strikes across Iran on Thursday on the 13th day of the U.S.-Israeli war against the Islamic republic.
"The IDF has begun a wave of large-scale strikes against the infrastructure of the Iranian terrorist regime across Iran," the Israeli military said in a statement. Attacks have also intensified against Hezbollah targets in Beirut.
Gulf countries cut oil production by 10 million barrels per day, the "biggest disruption" in supply in history
Gulf countries cut their oil production by at least 10 million barrels a day in the face of the Middle East war's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, marking "the biggest disruption" to supply in history, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said Thursday.
"Crude oil production is currently down by at least 8 million barrels per day (mb/d), along with another 2 mb/d" related to oil products (including condensates), which were "blocked," the IEA detailed in a report.
The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil is back above $100 again
The price of a barrel of Brent North Sea crude oil returned above $100 a barrel on Thursday, despite unprecedented intervention by major powers in the market.
The 32 member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA), including the United States, decided Wednesday to release a record 400 million barrels from their strategic reserves to calm supply concerns.
The United States, for its part, will release 172 million barrels.
Economy
Trump authorizes the Department of Energy to release 172 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve
Emmanuel Alejandro Rondón
Iran launches new missile barrage against energy facilities in neighboring countries
The ayatollahs regime again targeted key facilities in neighboring countries in its quest to destabilize the world economy through the price of oil.
Overnight Wednesday night into Thursday, attacks were reported in Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Uncertainty grows over the situation and whereabouts of Mojtaba Khamenei
Israeli intelligence and several Iranian diplomats said the new supreme leader was injured during the attack that killed his father in the initial stages of the conflict. The sources say Mojtaba Khamenei suffered leg injuries, but remains active, "in a safe place."
Israel: Massive attack coordinated by Iran and Hezbollah leaves at least two wounded
A coordinated attack by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel blanketed the skies over the Jewish State with missiles. In addition, the Lebanese terrorist group launched the largest bombardment on Israel to date, with 200 missiles that left at least two wounded.
According to the IDF, at least 120 of the projectiles managed to enter Israeli territory.
U.S. spent over $11.3 billion in first week of operation "Epic Fury"
Politics
Report to Senate puts cost of first 6 days of war with Iran at more than $11.3 billion
Sabrina Martin
Check out the highlights of the war so far here
LATEST
