Trump issues new threat against Iran as reports say new Supreme Leader is 'misfunctioning'
President Donald Trump warned that the US would "blow up" a major Iranian gas field if the country launches strikes on Qatar's LNG gas field again. The threat comes amid reports that new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "misfunctioning" and not at the helm of the nation.
US strikes Iranian naval targets, video shows
U.S. Central Command released footage of strikes against Iranian naval targets on Thursday, saying the vessels threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
"U.S. forces are destroying Iranian naval targets that threaten international shipping in and near the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM wrote on X.
Shipments through the critical strait have slowed to a crawl amid the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran.
Today will see 'largest strike package yet' in Iran, 7,000 targets hit already, Hegseth says
War Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. has carried out strikes on 7,000 targets in Iran since Operation Epic Fury began.
Hegseth said Thursday will see the largest strike package of the war so far as the U.S. continues to ramp up its attacks and Iran's capabilities "degrade."
He said the U.S. has also sunk over 120 Iranian naval vessels, saying that their surface fleet is "no longer a factor," and their 11 submarines have been eliminated as well.
War Secretary Hegseth to make announcement on Operation Epic Fury
War Secretary Pete Hegseth will soon deliver an update on the war with Iran on Thursday.
The Pentagon announced early Thursday morning that Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, will make an announcement from the Pentagon regarding Operation Epic Fury.
IDF says it killed more than 20 terrorists in Lebanon in past 24 hours
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Thursday it killed more than 20 terrorists in Lebanon in the past 24 hours.
Additionally, dozens of Hezbollah military structures were struck, the IDF said.
In one incident Wednesday, the IDF said it eliminated five terrorists after Hezbollah attempted to fire an anti-tank missile toward Israeli troops.
In a separate incident, the Israeli Air Force killed two terrorists in a missile strike.
The IDF said it also confiscated numerous weapons, including RPGs, anti-tank rockets, ammunition, a hunting rifle and other military equipment.
“The IDF will continue to operate with determination against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which chose to join the war and operate under the sponsorship of the Iranian terror regime,” the military said in a statement.
Fox News' Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
Trump warns US would ‘blow up’ Iran gas field if Qatar facility hit again
President Donald Trump said Wednesday the U.S. “knew nothing” about Israel’s strike on a major Iranian gas field, but warned the U.S. would “blow up the entirety” of the site if Iran struck Qatar’s LNG gas facility again.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said Israel had “violently lashed out” against the South Pars gas field in Iran.
“The United States knew nothing about this particular attack, and the country of Qatar was in no way, shape, or form, involved with it, nor did it have any idea that it was going to happen,” Trump said. “Unfortunately, Iran did not know this, or any of the pertinent facts pertaining to the South Pars attack, and unjustifiably and unfairly attacked a portion of Qatar’s LNG Gas facility.”
Trump said that Israel would not launch any more attacks at the gas field unless Iran struck Qatar again.
“In which instance the United States of America, with or without the help or consent of Israel, will massively blow up the entirety of the South Pars Gas Field at an amount of strength and power that Iran has never seen or witnessed before,” Trump said.
“I do not want to authorize this level of violence and destruction because of the long term implications that it will have on the future of Iran, but if Qatar’s LNG is again attacked, I will not hesitate to do so,” he added.
Fox News' Michael Sinkewicz contributed to this report.
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