Trump ties Nowruz message to Iran war, calls mission ‘righteous’

A written Nowruz message attributed to Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was released on Friday without any video or audio, as his continued absence fuels questions about his condition and whereabouts.

The message urged domestic media to “seriously refrain from highlighting weaknesses,” emphasizing the need to maintain internal cohesion.

It also said that Iranian armed forces and the so-called “resistance” front were not involved in recent attacks on Turkey and Oman.

"The attacks carried out in Turkey and Oman — both of which have good relations with Iran — were in no way conducted by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic or other forces of the Resistance Front," the message reads.

He said this is a ploy by the “Zionist enemy,” using false-flag tactics to create division between the Islamic Republic and its neighbors, and that it may also occur in some other countries.

In another part of the message, Khamenei described Iran’s January protests a “coup,” praising the Islamic Republic's supporters for suppressing it.

Iranian exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi said in a message marking Nowruz, the start of the Persian New Year 1405, that Iranians would “bury this Zahhak-like regime once and for all” in the coming year.

“Today we begin our new year in the midst of a patriotic struggle, with the memory of all Iran’s brave and immortal sons,” he said.

Pahlavi promised the families of slain protesters that “we will turn the new year into the year of victory for Iran’s Lion and Sun revolution.”

The Pentagon is sending three warships and thousands of additional Marines to the Middle East, even as US President Donald Trump says he will not deploy troops on the ground in Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials.

The deployment includes roughly 2,200 to 2,500 Marines from the USS Boxer amphibious ready group and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, the report said.

It marks a second major deployment in a week, following the dispatch of the USS Tripoli and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit to the region, according to the report.

The US State Department’s Rewards for Justice program said it is offering rewards of up to $10 million for information on several senior figures in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, urging people to submit tips.

“Five more chances to submit a tip. Send us information on these Iranian terrorist leaders. It could make you eligible for a reward and relocation,” the program said on X.

A poster shared by the program named Ahmad Vahidi, identified as commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Ali Abdollahi, chief of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Sa’id Aghajani, a UAV commander in the IRGC aerospace force, Hamidreza Lashgarian, head of the IRGC cyber electronic command, and Majid Khademi, IRGC intelligence office commander.

US President Donald Trump on Friday said NATO allies were failing to support efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“Without the U.S.A., NATO is a paper tiger,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

“They didn’t want to join the fight to stop a nuclear powered Iran … they complain about the high oil prices … but don’t want to help open the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.