Iranian Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said Friday that "if America leaves the region, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen and collective security will be established with the participation of the region's countries, and the global economy will improve.
"If it doesn't leave, we'll expel it," he added in a post on X.
Akraminia also was quoted by Iran's Mehr News Agency as saying that “Despite Trump’s repeated allegations, Iran’s current air defense capabilities far surpass pre-war and wartime levels.”
Trump declared that Iran is no longer “the bully of the Middle East” as he touted U.S. military strikes against Tehran during a midterm campaign rally in Montana on Wednesday.
"They don't have a Navy; they don't have an air force; their army is decimated; their leaders are gone," Trump said. "I should have probably left the leaders because I don't know who we're negotiating with. They had their first-string leaders are all gone. Their second-string leaders are all gone. Half of their third-string leaders are gone. And now their main thing that they ask in negotiation is, 'Will you please allow us to live?'
"This is all they do. They don't want us to go after them."
Fox News Digital's Eric Mack contributed to this post.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Friday that the war in Iran has cost Europeans more than 100 billion euros, or roughly $112 billion.
Sánchez made the remarks during a news conference following a European Council summit in Brussels.
In a post on X, Sánchez also said “those of us who raised our voices against the war were right when we said NO to war.”
“Iran's war has already cost us Europeans more than 100 billion euros,” he said. “We knew that the bill would end up being paid by ordinary people.”
He added that the Spanish government had approved more than 12 billion euros in economic relief measures “to protect citizens and the affected sectors.”
“Now, it's time to put an end to this disaster,” Sánchez said.
The Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah has requested that Lebanese security authorities return more than 1,000 pounds of explosives seized by the government last week, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Lebanese authorities previously intercepted a truck carrying weapons and detained two people inside, according to the report.
Hezbollah later confirmed that it owned the truck and its cargo.
Officials told The Journal that the vehicle was carrying C-4 plastic explosives and TNT as it traveled from Hezbollah's Bekaa Valley stronghold toward the Beirut area.
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Lebanese President Joseph Aoun not to return the explosives to Hezbollah, a State Department official told Reuters.
{{#rendered}}The Saudi-led coalition said Friday that it destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in northwestern Yemen, according to Reuters.
A coalition spokesperson said in a statement that video showed weapons being transported by sea, unloaded along Yemen's coast and moved in military vehicles, as well as strikes targeting vehicles carrying the weapons.
The weapons were being transported to Yemen's Hodeidah governorate, the spokesperson said.
The coalition also alleged that a smuggling network used organized crime groups to deliver weapons to Iran-backed Houthi rebels, with some shipments transported to Yemeni islands.
Former U.S. special envoy for Ukraine Gen. Keith Kellogg suggested President Donald Trump could take military action against Iran after the midterm elections, warning that "something will happen" if the president holds off on striking a key Iranian nuclear site.
During an interview on FOX Business' "Kudlow," Kellogg noted that some observers believe Trump will avoid military action before the elections.
However, he cautioned that the president makes decisions on his own terms, regardless of political considerations.
Trump has previously confirmed that the U.S. is considering whether to strike Pickaxe Mountain, Iran's heavily fortified nuclear complex.
"If he doesn't, I'd say, 'Hold onto your hat after the elections, something will happen,'" Kellogg said
The United Kingdom on Friday advised against all but essential travel to Saudi Arabia following a series of attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels on the kingdom.
The Houthis have launched multiple attacks against Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.
The attacks have killed 19 people and injured 364 others in Saudi Arabia this month, including a strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that left 17 people dead.
{{#rendered}}The race to lead the United Nations faces a major hurdle as its next secretary-general prepares to inherit diplomatic challenges involving Iran and other global conflicts, with all seven candidates receiving potential vetoes in the latest Security Council straw poll.
Former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan holds a narrow lead in the contest, but every candidate received at least one discouraging vote from a permanent Security Council member, according to The Times of Israel, citing sources familiar with the process.
The vote marked the first time the five permanent members — the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China — used colored ballots to signal potential vetoes. The next secretary-general will play a central diplomatic role in addressing international conflicts, although the position has no authority to independently impose sanctions or authorize military action.
A Norwegian teenager recruited by a Swedish criminal network with alleged ties to Iran was sentenced to 20 years in detention in Britain on Friday for plotting to carry out a murder, according to The Associated Press.
Johannes Natland, now 19, was arrested in March 2025 at a hotel in Huddersfield, England, where authorities discovered two firearms and ammunition.
Prosecutors said Natland was recruited through an online game and agreed to carry out the killing for 25,000 euros. The plot was linked to the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group sanctioned by the United States and Britain over alleged activities on behalf of the Iranian government.
However, British counterterrorism police said investigators found no evidence directly connecting the specific murder plot to the Iranian state.
The case comes as Western authorities have raised concerns about Iran's alleged use of criminal networks to conduct operations abroad
President Donald Trump joked Friday that nobody wants to become Iran's president after U.S. military strikes eliminated multiple levels of the country's leadership, complicating efforts to negotiate with Tehran.
Speaking at a rally in Georgia, Trump suggested the military campaign may have gone too far in targeting Iranian officials, leaving Washington with few people to negotiate with.
"I might have gone too far with the leaders because I have nobody to talk to. Their first leaders are gone. Their second level of leaders is gone. Part of their third level," Trump said.
The president also asserted that Iran's navy, air force and military had been destroyed, while pointing to the country's economic struggles, including what he said was 301% inflation.
Trump went on to criticize The New York Times for its coverage of Iran, arguing that the country was in a far weaker position than the newspaper had portrayed.
{{#rendered}}European Union leaders condemned Iran's military attacks across the Middle East and its treatment of civilians at home Friday, urging Tehran to halt activities threatening regional security.
In conclusions released following a two-day summit in Brussels, the European Council denounced Iranian attacks on neighboring countries and threats to commercial shipping, including disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
EU leaders also criticized the Iranian government's repression of its own population and reiterated their position that Iran must never obtain nuclear weapons.
The council called on Tehran to comply fully with its legally binding nuclear obligations and separately condemned attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
An airport in southern Yemen came under missile attack Friday night, just one day after Houthi rebels struck a government palace complex in the same city, according to The Associated Press.
Police in the port city of Aden reported that two missiles hit the airport, but no casualties were reported. Authorities blamed the Iran-backed Houthis, although the group had not immediately claimed responsibility.
The AP reported that the missiles struck an area of the airport used by a military unit aligned with Yemen's internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government, citing a security official and an air traffic controller who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Iranian authorities reportedly pressured organizers to cancel a Friday memorial for a 38-year-old mountaineer executed two days earlier, according to Iran International.
Ali-Sina Mostafavi was put to death Wednesday following a Revolutionary Court conviction on charges of moharebeh, or waging war against God.
Iran's judiciary accused Mostafavi of participating in armed attacks and providing video to foreign media outlets but did not present independently verifiable evidence supporting those accusations.
{{#rendered}}Yechiel Leiter, Israeli Ambassador to the US, is pledging accountability following an incident earlier today in which a Washington Post journalist was kicked and beaten in the West Bank.
He stated if Israel "has not yet reached a passing grade on bringing Jewish vigilantes to justice, then we've got to do a better job."
Photojournalist Heidi Levine says that she was attacked by "Jewish terrorists" during a clash at an olive grove, although the prime minister's office is still working to sort out the details.
The US State Department responded to the incident, writing "We condemn criminal violence by any party in the West Bank and support appropriate investigations as well as legal accountability for those responsible. The Department has reached out to the Washington Post to offer consular assistance."
Esmail Baghaei, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, vehemently denied Saudi claims that it had encouraged Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia, according to Iran International. Baghaei asserted that the Houthis plan military strategy independently.
During October, attacks by the Yemeni rebel group have killed 19 and injured 364 people in Saudi Arabia, including an attack on King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, which killed 17.
Baghaei argued Iran had no involvement in the strikes, and asserted that Tehran's official position is to oppose further escalation in the conflict.
Additionally, he blamed the United States and Britain for a lengthy air and sea blockade of Yemen, claiming that foreign military invention had not brought resolution to the conflict.
Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of US Central Command, updated the American public on progress on the military engagement with Iran in a recent X post:
"We sank Iran's navy, we destroyed its weapons factories, and we curtailed the IRGC's ability to launch ballistic missiles and drones."
He cited key successes on defending against Iranian attacks, clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and protecting commercial shipping.
Cooper emphasized that US efforts have brought the Iranian economy to a complete standstill:
"With the exception of the humanitarian assistance we've allowed in, Iran has no exports and no imports by sea. The sum total of these actions has imposed devastating costs on Iran's security apparatus."
Cooper further paid tribute to the sacrifices of the 50,000 American service members currently deployed overseas.
{{#rendered}}The Israel Defense Forces said Friday that it killed Maher Walid Omar al-Husseini, a “Nukhba cell commander in Hamas’ military wing who infiltrated the Re’im Base in Israel during the October 7 Massacre.”
“Recently, he advanced attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops and attempted to restore Hamas’ capabilities, in systematic violation of the ceasefire,” the IDF said.
“The terrorist was eliminated in order to remove the threat he posed,” it added.
Turki al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, announced Friday that multiple projectiles have been intercepted after being launched toward Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea.
In a series of posts on X, Al-Maliki said Saudi Arabia "intercepted and destroyed 3 drones in the southern region and Riyadh region," as well as two cruise missiles over the Red Sea and a ballistic missile launched in the direction of the city of Yanbu.
The announcements come as Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have been launching attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed Friday that Tehran is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
“We have always been ready for dialogue. They think they can force us to surrender, but we will not submit to coercion,” Pezeshkian said during a meeting with Georgia's prime minister on the sidelines of the Leaders’ Summit on Biodiversity in Armenia, according to Iran International.
The outlet also cited Pezeshkian as saying that U.S. sanctions and military action against Iran is unjustifiable.
President Donald Trump repeatedly has insisted that Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.
{{#rendered}}The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre (UKMTO) said Friday that 12 ships have reported being attacked around the Strait of Hormuz this week.
The agency said 10 of the attacks unfolded in the Strait of Hormuz, while there was one in the Arabian Gulf and another in the Gulf of Oman.
"Of the 12, 6 continued or reached port, 1 was lost, 2 were disabled or not under command and 3 have damage or outcome unconfirmed," it said.
Since July 6, a total of 55 of the 74 reported strike incidents happened along the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz near the coastline of Oman, UKMTO added.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Friday that it has killed two terrorists who posed threats to Israeli citizens and its troops.
The IDF said among those eliminated was Mohammed Mohammed Abd al-Khalek Hala, a Hamas commander "who infiltrated Israel during the October 7 Massacre.
"In his role, Mohammed Abd al-Khalek Hala acted as a commander in Hamas' weapons production headquarters," the IDF said.
The IDF also noted that it killed Ahmad Jabrin Tawfiq Dalhan from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
"Recently, the terrorists advanced attacks against IDF troops and Israeli civilians. They were eliminated to remove the threat they posed," it added.
Iranian missile and precision drone strikes have hit over 80 targets in nations around the Persian Gulf at least 135 times since the start of the war in February, according to a new Reuters investigation.
The strikes, according to Reuters, have "systematically" disabled critical infrastructure and led to economic damage across the region.
Countries Reuters confirmed as targets included the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq and Bahrain.
US Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesman told Reuters that the U.S. has repeatedly condemned Iran “for indiscriminately targeting more than a dozen neighboring countries and hundreds of commercial ships as well as risking millions of innocent lives over the past seven months.”
{{#rendered}}President Donald Trump said Thursday he would not use nuclear weapons against Iran amid reports that the Department of War was developing new strike plans that could include using a bomb known as the “Mother of All Bombs” against Iranian nuclear sites and energy infrastructure.
Speaking to Newsmax about the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, or MOAB, Trump said, “The mother of all bombs is not nuclear.”
“This is just an extremely large bomb. It’s like a tiny nuclear bomb, but the mother of all bombs is one big bomb, but it’s not nuclear.”
“I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to,” Trump said.
The reports earlier Thursday, cited multiple U.S. officials who were said to have also suggested the strikes could be carried out before or after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Coverage for this event has ended.