The seventh day of the US-Israeli offensive against Iran proved to be among the most violent and consequential since the surprise attack that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. President Donald Trump marked the occasion by demanding unconditional surrender, while American bombers and Israeli jets conducted simultaneous operations of extraordinary scale across Iran and Lebanon.
US B-2 stealth bombers dropped dozens of 2,000-pound penetrating munitions on Iran’s buried ballistic missile infrastructure in what US Central Command described as a significant operational success. A major Iranian naval warship used as a drone launch platform was also struck and possibly destroyed. The defense secretary confirmed the strikes were a prelude to even greater military action, promising that US firepower was about to surge dramatically.
In Lebanon, Israel issued the largest displacement orders in the country’s recent history. The entire Dahiyeh district of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold housing hundreds of thousands of people, was ordered evacuated and subsequently struck multiple times. More than one million people were on the move across Lebanon, with hundreds of thousands already displaced from southern parts of the country and the Bekaa Valley. Red Cross workers described desperate scenes of families fleeing on foot into the unknown.
Iran’s response was broad and forceful. Missiles and drones were launched at US military installations and energy infrastructure across Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. Some were intercepted; others struck their targets. Additional missiles were fired toward Israeli territory. The Revolutionary Guards promised new military capabilities and initiatives would soon be deployed. Despite the scale of the bombing, Iranian state television showed large crowds at Friday prayers in Tehran, mourning Khamenei and vowing resistance.
The war’s toll has now reached staggering proportions. Over 1,230 Iranians have been confirmed dead. Six Americans have been killed. Lebanon has counted 217 dead and nearly 800 wounded. An airstrike on an Iranian girls’ school killed more than 100 students — an incident US military investigators now believe was likely caused by American forces. Oil markets have lurched, flights have been grounded, and the United Nations has repeatedly appealed for de-escalation. Trump has dismissed all such appeals in favor of total victory.