4 dead in crash of U.S. refueling aircraft in Iraq, CENTCOM says
Four of six crew members were killed in the crash Thursday of a U.S. KC-135 refueling aircraft in western Iraq, U.S. Central Command said Friday, adding that rescue efforts were ongoing for the other two.
"The circumstances of the incident are under investigation," CENTCOM said. "However, the loss of the aircraft was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.
"The identities of the service members are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin have been notified."
A second Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker was damaged but landed safely, officials told CBS News. Flight tracking service FlightRadar24 said a KC-135 tanker declared an emergency before landing in Tel Aviv Thursday evening.
US officials told CBS News they believed the incident with the two KC-135s may have involved a mid-air collision, but were still investigating.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards vow "stronger" response than in January if new protests erupt
Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of the country's military, warned Friday that any new protests against authorities would be met with a stronger response than in January, when several thousand people were killed.
"The evil enemy, failing to achieve its field battle goals, is once again pursuing the instillation of fear and street riots," the Guards said in a statement broadcast on TV, promising "a stronger blow than on January 8" in the event of new unrest.
The warning comes two weeks into Iran's war with the United States and Israel in which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says one of the aims is to "create, for the Iranian people, the conditions to bring down" the Iranian government.
President Trump has also called for Iranians to rise up and overthrow their government.
In December, protests against the high cost of living in Iran turned into a broad protest movement against authorities.
They peaked on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 with what Iranian authorities called "riots" blamed on "terrorists" working on behalf of Israel and the United States.
The official death toll from Iranian authorities stands at more than 3,000, with the government saying the vast majority were members of security forces or passers-by.
Mr. Trump said last month that 32,000 people were killed, a far higher death toll than had previously been reported.
Two sources, including one inside Iran, told CBS News at least 12,000, and possibly as many as 20,000 people were killed throughout Iran in the protests.
Saudis down drone targeting foreign embassies, defense ministry says
Saudi forces intercepted a drone targeting Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter housing foreign embassies, the defense ministry said Friday.
The "hostile drone" was downed "during an attempt to approach the Diplomatic Quarter", the ministry posted on X.
Three more drones were intercepted elsewhere in Saudi Arabia around the same time, the ministry said.
Trump: "Watch what happens" to Iran's regime Friday
President Trump had more strong words for Iran's leaders early Friday and took a swipe at The New York Times as well.
He posted on his Truth Social outlet that the U.S. is "totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise, yet, if you read the Failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning. Iran's Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth. We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time - Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today. They've been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!"
Explosions rattled buildings in Dubai and a large cloud of smoke hung over a central area of the Middle East financial hub on Friday, Agence France-Presse reporters said.
An AFP correspondent felt the building shake and heard a huge explosion.
Sirens could be heard coming from the direction of Sheikh Zayed Road, the United Arab Emirates city's main artery.
A drone fell on Thursday near Dubai's financial district after Iran threatened to hit economic institutions, prompting some companies to evacuate staff.
The UAE has come under repeated Iranian fire during the Middle East war, with Dubai's airport, one of the world's biggest, repeatedly targeted as well as its port and luxury real estate including the Palm Jumeirah.
French soldier killed in Iraq, Macron says
A member of the French army was killed in an attack in the Erbil region of northern Iraq, French President Emmanuel Macron said in a post on X.
Macron named the deceased soldier as Chief Warrant Officer Arnaud Frion. He said several others were wounded in an attack Macron called "unacceptable."
Some French forces are present in Iraq as part of a yearslong anti-Islamic State mission.
Macron didn't specify who is believed to have carried out the attack. But a U.S. base in Erbil has faced incoming fire in the past, likely part of Iran and its allied militant groups' retaliatory strikes against American bases.
Earlier Thursday, a drone attack targeted an Italian base in Erbil, Iraq, according to Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. He said the Italian soldiers at the base were safe.
Trump administration allows purchase of Russian oil already at sea
The U.S. is temporarily greenlighting the purchase of Russian oil that's already at sea, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday, the Trump administration's latest move to loosen the wartime sanctions that restricted Russia's oil industry as the world grapples with high oil prices.
The sanctions relief will last one month, and applies to petroleum products from Russia that were loaded onto ships on or before Thursday, according to documents issued by the Treasury.
Bessent said the move will "permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea."
"This narrowly tailored, short-term measure applies only to oil already in transit and will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction," he wrote on X.
Last week, the Treasury issued a separate license that allowed India to buy oil and petroleum products from Russia for one month. The move was controversial, with congressional Democrats arguing it could enrich Russian President Vladimir Putin's government and undermine sanctions designed to make it harder for Russia to finance its war against Ukraine.
