Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Friday that Iran's new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is wounded and likely disfigured, questioning Khamenei's ability to lead. Khamenei has not been seen by Iranians since his selection by a clerical assembly on Sunday, and his first comments came in a statement read out by a television presenter on Thursday.

All six crew members aboard a U.S. military refuelling aircraft have been confirmed dead after it crashed in western Iraq, U.S. Central Command said on Friday. CENTCOM ruled out the cause of the crash as either hostile fire or friendly fire. The identities of the deceased service members are being withheld until next of kin have been notified.