President Donald Trump condemned Iran’s expanding campaign of drone and missile attacks against Gulf state infrastructure on Friday, labeling the Iranian leaders orchestrating the campaign “deranged scumbags” and vowing that the US response would be massive and immediate. Iran had struck targets across Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Dubai during the day, with Saudi Arabia intercept close to 50 drones, two people dying in Oman, Qatar ordering Doha evacuations before a missile interception, and debris damaging a building in Dubai’s International Financial Centre. The scale of Iran’s Gulf campaign was extraordinary.
Iran’s attacks on Gulf infrastructure represent a deliberate strategy of spreading the economic pain of the war beyond Israel and Tehran. The Dubai International Financial Centre, where damage was reported Friday, is a prestigious economic free zone home to major international banks, wealth managers, and capital traders. Iran had announced earlier in the week its intention to target banks and financial institutions across the region, making the Dubai strike a clear signal of intent. The attacks on Gulf states coincided with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards launching new coordinated missile and drone salvoes at Israel with Hezbollah.
On the military front against Iran itself, US and Israeli forces have struck more than 15,000 targets combined since the conflict began. Israel alone reported over 200 strikes in the most recent 24-hour period. Trump’s announcement about Kharg Island described one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East, obliterating every military facility on Iran’s primary oil export hub. He warned that oil infrastructure would be next if Iran continued to disrupt Strait of Hormuz shipping.
Lebanon continued to bear a heavy toll. Over 600 people have been killed and 800,000 displaced since the latest fighting began. Israeli forces killed at least eight in Sidon on Friday and struck the Zrarieh Bridge. Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israel, injuring about 60 people. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Lebanon’s government of an escalating price for Hezbollah’s use of its national infrastructure. Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was described by US officials as wounded and hiding underground.
Tehran’s residents experienced another devastating day of constant explosions, power cuts, and fuel shortages. Iran has reported over 1,300 deaths since the war began with the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The United States has lost 13 service members, including six in a tanker aircraft crash in Iraq. France lost one soldier in Iraq to a pro-Iranian militia drone. European nations quietly sought diplomatic solutions with Tehran for Strait of Hormuz commercial shipping safety. Trump’s threats about striking Iranian oil infrastructure added enormous uncertainty to already volatile global energy markets.