Trump Calls Iran’s Defiance Suicidal as New Supreme Leader Issues Statement From Hiding

President Donald Trump mocked Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Friday, calling the regime’s continued defiance suicidal and labeling its leaders “deranged scumbags” who were hiding underground from the bombs raining down on their country. Trump’s comments echoed those of Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had told reporters that Khamenei had been wounded and disfigured and was communicating only through written statements because he was too injured to appear on video or audio. Trump vowed that the strikes would intensify further and that Iran’s choice to keep fighting would only accelerate its destruction.
Mojtaba Khamenei rose to power after Israel’s killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled Iran for 37 years. His Thursday written statement pledged continued resistance and called for national unity, which Hegseth dismissed as weak and hypocritical, noting that the regime had killed tens of thousands of protesters in the name of unity. Iranian state media showed other senior officials, including the foreign minister and members of the Supreme National Security Council, attending demonstrations and walking in Tehran’s streets amid the ongoing bombardment, projecting an image of governmental continuity.
The military campaign against Iran has been relentless. US and Israeli forces have struck more than 15,000 combined targets since the war began. Israel alone reported over 200 individual strikes in the most recent 24 hours, targeting Iranian missile systems, weapons factories, and air defences. Trump’s late announcement about Kharg Island described the complete obliteration of every military facility on Iran’s primary oil export hub in one of the most powerful raids in Middle Eastern history. He simultaneously threatened to strike the island’s oil infrastructure if Iran continued to attack Strait of Hormuz shipping.
The conflict’s wider devastation continued across the region. Lebanon recorded over 600 deaths and 800,000 displaced, with eight more killed in Sidon Friday. Hezbollah injured about 60 in rocket salvoes at northern Israel. Saudi Arabia intercepted close to 50 Iranian drones. Qatar ordered Doha evacuations before a missile interception. Two died in Oman. Dubai’s financial district sustained building damage. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced new coordinated strikes on Israel with Hezbollah as part of al-Quds Day. Iran has reported over 1,300 deaths in total.
Tehran residents described ongoing suffering on a scale that had become difficult to comprehend. A 66-year-old retired professor described begging the world to intervene, describing sick relatives unable to leave and petrol too scarce for escape. A 42-year-old shopkeeper described six explosions in a single hour, newspapers taped over windows, and sleepless nights in the cold as power cut in and out. 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 sought quiet diplomatic channels with Tehran for Strait of Hormuz shipping safety.