US president Donald Trump has said the US will strike Iran “very hard over the next week”, while calling Iranian regime leaders “deranged scumbags” whom it was a “great honour” to kill.
His comments in a post on social media came amid mounting death tolls and growing humanitarian crises two weeks into war, as Israeli and US attacks continue across Lebanon and Iran. New Iranian attacks have also been reported in the Gulf while Hizbullah and Iran launched further attacks on Israel.
Inside Iran, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had recorded 1,286 civilian deaths since February 28th, including 200 children. It said there were 199 military fatalities and 373 deaths of people whose status was not certain. The UN Refugee Agency has said up to 3.2 million people could be displaced within Iran, according to preliminary estimates. Iran’s health ministry said at least 1,444 people had been killed and 18,551 injured, including Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
The second highest death toll by far is in Lebanon, where 773 people have been killed since March 2nd, including 103 children, 62 women and 18 healthcare workers, Lebanon’s ministry of health said on Friday. At least 816,000 people have been displaced, according to official figures – equating to about 14 per cent of Lebanon’s population.
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Almost 1,500sq km of Lebanese territory is under Israeli evacuation orders, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. Israel continues to carry out air strikes on areas outside these evacuation areas, both with and without prior warnings.
UN secretary general António Guterres landed in Beirut on Friday, saying he was carrying out a visit of “solidarity” and he would “spare no effort in striving for the peaceful future that Lebanon and this region so richly deserve”.
In Iran, the internet has been shut off for two weeks, with connectivity monitor Netblocks saying on Friday that connectivity was at 1 per cent of normal levels. “As authentic voices are silenced and civilians are left without vital updates, a steady flow of regime-approved content fills the void,” it said.
Thousands of Iranians reportedly attended a rally in Tehran to mark al-Quds Day, which is held on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to show support for Palestinians and protest against Israeli occupation.
Israel has been threatening to destroy more of Lebanon’s infrastructure, following an attack on a bridge in southern Lebanon that it said was being used by Hizbullah.
On Friday, Israeli forces dropped leaflets on the Lebanese capital Beirut. “In light of Gaza’s successes, the New Reality newspaper reaches Lebanon,” one read. It appeared to be a threat to turn Lebanon into Gaza, where Israel’s military campaign was widely considered a genocide.
A second leaflet called on citizens to work with Israel to disarm Hizbullah. “Lebanon is your decision. Not someone else’s,” it read. It included a QR code, which the Lebanese military warned citizens not to scan, saying there could be both legal and cybersecurity risks.
Amid widespread concerns about how long the regional war could last, the US has temporarily eased sanctions that stopped other countries from purchasing Russian oil, much of which had been floating on tankers off the coast of India and other Asian countries. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent called it a “short-term measure” aimed at promoting “stability in global energy markets”.
Critics say this will be a bailout for Russia that could prolong the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy criticised the easing of the sanctions and said Russia would use the money for weapons, including drones.
“I believe that lifting the sanctions will, in any case, strengthen Russia’s position. It is spending the money it earns from energy sales on weapons, and all of this is then being used against us,” he said.
