Trump says US will hit Iran 'very hard' over the next week

An Iranian lawmaker said Mojtaba Khamenei, the new leader of the Islamic Republic, has survived two attacks in recent days.

Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi, a member of parliament representing Jahrom, said Mojtaba was present during an attack on the Supreme Leader’s residence alongside Ali Khamenei but escaped what he described as an “assassination attempt,” according to the state news agency IRNA.

Another attack, Rezaei Kouchi said, targeted a hospital where the “third leader of the Islamic Republic” was present, adding that the United States and Israel failed to achieve their objective. He did not identify the hospital or provide details about the location of the alleged strike.

US President Donald Trump told Fox News that Iran’s new leader may have been wounded during the first day of US and Israeli attacks.

“I think he probably is. I think he’s damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade.

Mojtaba Khamenei released his first message on Thursday, but no images or recordings of him have been published since his appointment nearly a week ago, fueling speculation about his condition.

Images released by Iranian state media showed several senior officials attending Quds Day rallies in Tehran on Friday.

Those seen in the footage included Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami, Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Larijani, police commander Ahmad-Reza Radan and Armed Forces Judicial Organization head Ahmadreza Pourkhaghan.

Four US service members were killed after a KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq, US Central Command said.

CENTCOM said the aircraft went down on March 12 with six crew members on board, and rescue efforts were continuing.

The command said the crash was not caused by hostile fire or friendly fire, and the circumstances of the incident remain under investigation.

US President Donald Trump told leaders of the G7 in a virtual call that Iran was “about to surrender,” according to a report by Axios citing officials briefed on the discussion.

The report said Trump made the remarks during a call on Wednesday while discussing the results of US military operations against Iran.

The comments came a day before Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement vowing the country would continue fighting and threatening pressure on the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian cleric Ahmad Khatami said Israel must be eliminated for peace to be established, according to remarks carried by state media on Friday.

Khatami, a temporary Friday prayer leader in Tehran, said “for peace and calm to be established, the murderous Zionist regime must be eliminated and no trace of it should remain.”

He added that as long as the United States and Israel exist, "humanity would not see peace".