- US forces will carry out intense strikes on Iran in the coming week
- Trump issued a 30-day waiver for Russian oil amid the Iran war
- Trump called killing Iran's leadership a "great honour" on social media
US President Donald Trump said that US forces would be carrying out intense strikes on Iran as the war enters its third week. The Republican leader spoke to Fox News Radio and said, "We're going to be hitting them very hard over the next week."
Trump said that Iran's leadership could be toppled by its own people. "I really think that's a big hurdle to climb for people that don't have weapons," Trump said. "I think it's a very big hurdle... It'll happen, but it probably will be, maybe not immediately."
His comments came shortly after he issued a partial 30-day waiver for purchases of sanctioned Russian oil, hoping to ease prices fuelled by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Earlier in the day, Trump wrote a sharp warning to Iran on social media. He said that it was a "great honour" to be responsible for killing Iran's leadership, calling them "deranged scumbags".
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday vowed to continue the attacks and keep the strait closed in his first public statement since succeeding his father, who was killed on the opening day of the war. Khamenei has not been seen in public since taking over leadership and released a written statement.
Hegseth said Khamenei "is wounded and likely disfigured", without providing evidence or elaborating.
He also said the US and Israel have struck more than 15,000 targets since the start of the war on February 28. The Israeli military said it had struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, including missile launchers and defence systems.
Iranian authorities say that more than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran, and Israel has reported 12 deaths. The US has lost at least 13 service members, while another eight have suffered severe injuries.
