Six U.S. airmen die in crash; 2,500 Marines being sent to the Middle East

WASHINGTON — Six American airmen deployed to operations against Iran were killed after their refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq, U.S. Central Command said Friday, bringing the U.S. death toll in the war to 13, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a deployment of Marines to the region ahead of the heaviest day of strikes yet.

The crash involved two aircraft in “friendly airspace,” the Pentagon said, adding that the other plane landed safely. The downed KC-135 refueling tanker is the fourth U.S. aircraft to crash during the war against Iran.

“American heroes, all of them,” Hegseth said at the Pentagon on Friday. “We will greet those heroes at Dover and their sacrifice will only recommit us to the resolve of this mission.”

Central Command said the incident is under investigation but was “not due to hostile or friendly fire.”

The Defense secretary said Friday would see Iran hammered with the heaviest round of airstrikes yet seen in the two-week U.S.-Israeli operation that has razed buildings, complexes and factory lines all across Iran, killing at least 1,348 civilians, according to Iranian officials.

“No quarter, no mercy for our enemies,” Hegseth said.

As Hegseth delivered his remarks, the USS Tripoli amphibious assault ship and some 2,500 Marines prepared to embark on a two-week journey from Japan to the Middle East on his orders, the Associated Press and other outlets reported.

The move will add additional warships, troops and fighter jets to support Marines already in the Middle East.

The deployment comes amid media speculation that the U.S. may be gathering troops for a ground invasion of the Iranian-held Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export outlet. President Trump told Fox News that the island is “not high on my list,” of war priorities, but “I can change my mind in seconds.”

And while Hegseth insisted that fighting will cease when the U.S. destroys Iran’s naval, missile and nuclear weapons capabilities, the president’s public statements continue to sow doubt that the White House and Pentagon are aligned on the objectives of the mission.

Asked Friday by Fox News when the war might end, Trump said, “When I feel it — feel it in my bones.”

During the briefing, Hegseth described the Iranian leaders as “desperate” and “cowering” underground like rats. He said Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei “is wounded and likely disfigured,” but gave no intelligence to support the claim.

Khamenei has not been seen in public since he rose to leadership, but issued his first public statement Thursday vowing retaliation against U.S. and Israeli attacks, promising that Tehran will continue to choke off the world’s most crucial oil route — the Strait of Hormuz.

“Our revenge will be never ending, not only for the late supreme leader, but also for the blood of all of our martyrs,” he said.

Iran’s blockade of the strait remains Tehran’s foremost leverage against its Western adversaries, and a serious political bane for Trump. The International Energy Agency warned Thursday that the conflict has created “the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market,” which has sent oil prices surging 40% to $95 a barrel since Feb. 28.

Some 1,000 ships remain stranded in the Persian Gulf, many of them energy tankers that have been unable to carry oil and gas shipments from the Middle East to importers across the globe. Vessels that have attempted to traverse the embattled channel have been destroyed in Iranian attacks. Hegseth described Tehran’s strategy as “an act of desperation.”

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations on Friday reported 20 incidents affecting vessels operating in and around the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman in March.

Shipping disruptions have also caused severe strains to global fertilizer supplies, threatening to drive up costs for farmers and reduce crop yields during the spring planting season, Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, wrote in a letter to Trump on Monday.

Over a third of the global fertilizer trade moves through the Strait of Hormuz, with prices for some essential compounds already surging by as much as 35% to three-year highs.

“Not only is this a threat to our food security — and by extension our national security — such a production shock could contribute to inflationary pressures across the U.S. economy,” Duvall wrote.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, speaking at a news conference Friday, acknowledged that the conflict has affected the bottom line for farmers, but said “we expect that to resolve itself pretty quickly.”

“Most of our farmers, not all, have actually purchased their fertilizer for planting season this year, but about 25% have not. So that’s why we just need to fully understand the facts in hand,” she said.

Drone and missile attacks continue to assail gulf states, threatening to draw more players into the conflict. Thick black smoke was seen rising over Dubai’s skyline Friday after debris from an intercepted Iranian drone strike caused a fire and minor damage to a building within the Dubai International Financial Center, according to the Dubai Media Office.

Europe has become increasingly involved too. U.S. long-range bombers have begun flying offensive missions from British air bases, even as U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer explicitly permitted U.S. forces to use the bases “for defensive purposes only.” Starmer initially refused to cooperate in American hostilities in any capacity, but changed his approach after he drew criticism from Trump, who said, “He’s no Winston Churchill.”

The U.K., France and Italy each deployed naval assets to the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, just 125 miles from Lebanon, after Iranian drone strikes hit U.K. bases. The island has emerged as a strategic — and exposed — nerve center in the U.S. offensive against Iran.

Meanwhile, Israel said Friday that its strikes are “continuing and intensifying” in Lebanon and Iran. The Israel Defense Forces issued new evacuation orders in southern Lebanon on Thursday after overnight airstrikes in Beirut triggered retaliatory missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Eight civilians were killed and nine others were wounded in attacks on the Lebanese city of Sidon on Friday, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. More than 100 children have been killed in the Israeli assault, the ministry said.