CENTCOM confirms death of six crew members on crashed refueling plane in Iraq, points to accident

The Central Command shared footage of a B-2 stealth bomber as part of Operation Epic Fury. Designed during the Cold War, it is considered the most expensive aircraft in history. Its purpose was to go undetected by enemy radars and bombard their ranks with conventional or nuclear material.

The aircraft's "v" shape, its carbon-fiber skin and the position of its engines are all part of the equation that allows it to be "invisible" or "undetectable" to radar - a technology first dreamed up by the Germans during World War I.

In June, the United States used B-2s to attack the Fordow subway nuclear facility.

The price of oil has continued to rise. The quotations of the Brent barrel, the international reference for oil, have risen more than 42% since the beginning of the war. The rise is due to a drop in hydrocarbon deliveries from the Persian Gulf.

Its price rose from $72.48 a barrel on Feb. 27 to $103.14 on Friday night, an increase of more than 42% in the period and 11% in the week, according to AFP.

Days ago, Trump said that the rise in oil prices was a "very small price to pay" for "Safety and Peace." However, his administration undertook measures to try to cushion crude inflation, such as temporarily lifting sanctions on Russian oil and releasing millions of barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

The price hike is also a strategic tool of Iran, which is betting that the rise in prices will raise internal and external pressure on Washington. One of its key advantages is its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's crude oil passes.

(AFP) European stock markets closed Friday's trading down, affected by the continuation of the war in the Middle East, which pushed up oil prices.

Paris was down 0.91%, London fell 0.43%, Madrid lost 0.47%, Milan 0.31% and Frankfurt 0.60%.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Israel and the United States of seeking to "disintegrate" his country.
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​"The United States and the Zionist regime [Israel, not recognized by the Iranian government] are pursuing sinister intentions and goals aimed at weakening Iran and the major Islamic countries and causing them to disintegrate," Pezeshkian said, according to statements reported by AFP.

The price of oil recovered slightly in the middle of the European trading day, although it remains at much higher levels than at the beginning of the war.

At around 8:45 a.m. EST, Brent crude was $99.39 a barrel, compared with $94.04 for WTI. The main stock markets in Europe, however, remained in the red.

An Iranian-made Shahed drone killed a French soldier in the Erbil region of Iraqi Kurdistan, said the commander of the 7th Battalion of the Alpine Fighters, François-Xavier de la Chesnay.

This is the first casualty recorded among the French military in the Middle East war and the first European soldier to lose his life since the beginning of the conflict.

The United States and Israel have hit more than 15,000 targets since the start of the war with Iran late last month, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Friday.

"Between our air force and that of the Israelis, over 15,000 enemy targets have been struck. That's well over 1,000 a day," Hegseth said during a press conference.

New Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "wounded and probably disfigured," Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told a press conference Friday.

"We know the new so-called not so supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured," Hegseth said.

Turkey reported Friday that a ballistic missile from Iran was shot down in its airspace by NATO defenses, in the third such incident in just over a week.

"A ballistic munition launched from Iran and entering Turkish airspace was neutralized by NATO air and missile defense assets deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean," according to a Turkish Defense Ministry statement.

Two other missiles were intercepted by NATO on Monday and last week.

"Four of six crew members on board the aircraft have been confirmed deceased as rescue efforts continue," CENTCOM, responsible for U.S. forces in the Middle East, reported on X.

"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation. However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire," CENTCOM insisted, although Iran attributes the attack to an allied group.

The price of a barrel of Brent continues to remainabove $100 a barrel, while the cost of West Texas International (WTI), continued to approach that barrier again, which painted the Asian stock exchanges red at market close. European markets also opened the day in the negative.

Brent surpassed $100 a barrel on Thursday and continues its inexorable climb, up 2.04% to $102.51 a barrel at the European open. WTI, its American equivalent, gained 1.97% to $97.62 dollars a barrel.

In early trading in Europe, the Paris stock exchange dropped 1.14%, Frankfurt by 1.08%, London by 0.76% and Milan by 1.07%.

Earlier, Tokyo's flagship Nikkei index closed down 1.16%. In Seoul, the benchmark Kospi index gave up 1.72%. Taipei lost 0.54%, and the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong lost 1.11% in late trading.

With Gulf countries cutting production and oil tankers trapped in that area, benchmark prices for oil have risen 40% to 50% since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, threatening to slow growth and stoke inflation. The latest news on the conflict does not bode well for a rapid cooling in prices.

Several Gulf countries claimed new attacks from Iran. Two people reportedly lost their lives as a result of the impact of a drone in an industrial area in northern Oman, while two other drones hit near an oil field in Iraq.

Saudi Arabia announced that it had intercepted 45 drones, some of them targeting the diplomatic quarter in Riyadh. In Dubai, debris from "a successful interception" hit the facade of a downtown building.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps warned Friday that any new anti-regime demonstrations will face a "stronger" response than in January, when thousands were killed during a crackdown on anti-government protests.

"Today, the enemy, unable to achieve its military objectives on the ground, is once again trying to sow terror and provoke unrest," the Iranian ideological military said in a televised statement.

If there are new protests, there will be "an even stronger response than that of Jan. 8," the institution added.

The Israeli military claimed to have struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran in a single day.

Fighter jets carried out "20 large-scale strikes" targeting "ballistic missile launchers, defense systems and weapons production centers," according to the same source.

In addition, the IDF announced new attacks on Friday morning, and strong explosions have been reported in Tehran.

The Israel Defense Forces and terrorist group Hezbollah continued to exchange attacks during Friday. Israeli aircraft again attacked Beirut, while Iranian proxies in Lebanon acknowledged responsibility for firing on Israeli military forces.

The head of Iran's High Security Council, Ali Larijani, threatened to "destroy" and "set fire to" oil and gas facilities in the Middle East in the event of an attack on Iranian production centers and ports.

As reported by Turkish state-run news agency Anadolu, warning sirens were heard on Friday at Incirlik Air Base, a key NATO facility where U.S. troops are stationed in the southeast of the country.

For the moment, no damage has been reported.