President Donald Trump confirmed on Friday what many had suspected since the opening strikes of the US-Israeli offensive: the campaign’s ultimate objective is the removal of Iran’s clerical government. Speaking briefly to reporters at the White House, Trump called on Iranians to “help take back your country” and promised immunity to those who turned against the regime, while warning of “absolutely guaranteed death” for those who did not.
The military campaign has matched the ambition of the rhetoric. US B-2 stealth bombers conducted deep-penetration strikes on Iran’s underground ballistic missile infrastructure, dropping dozens of 2,000-pound munitions on hardened launch sites. The head of US Central Command also confirmed that a large Iranian naval vessel serving as a drone launch platform had been struck and possibly sunk. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth promised that American firepower was “about to surge dramatically.”
Israel has prosecuted its own front of the war with equal intensity. In Lebanon, the Israeli military issued the most sweeping evacuation orders in the country’s modern history, covering Dahiyeh, a Beirut neighborhood of more than 600,000 people. When Israeli jets struck the area, they found a ghost town. But Hezbollah kept fighting, wounding Israeli soldiers near the border and continuing to launch rockets at communities in northern Israel. The IDF chief of staff warned that new, undisclosed phases of the operation were imminent.
Iran continued its retaliatory campaign despite the pressure. Missiles and drones were fired at US bases and oil pipelines in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. Some were intercepted; others caused damage. The Revolutionary Guards claimed strikes on Israeli military targets and promised to deploy new weapons and initiatives. Iranian state media showed worshippers in Tehran mourning the slain supreme leader while pledging resistance.
The war has already inflicted staggering losses. More than 1,230 Iranians have been confirmed dead. Lebanon has recorded over 200 dead and nearly 800 wounded. In an incident that has drawn global outrage, an airstrike on an Iranian girls’ school killed more than 100 students. US military investigators believe American forces may have been responsible. The UN has called for restraint. Trump, so far, has called for victory.