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The American military has ordered 2,500 Marines and an amphibious assault ship to the Middle East, a US official said Friday, in a major addition of forces in the region after nearly two weeks of war with Iran. Hours later, President Donald Trump said US forces had "obliterated" military targets on Iran's Kharg Island - the primary terminal that handles Iran's oil exports - and warned that the island's oil infrastructure there could be next. A day earlier, the speaker of the Iranian parliament warned that such a strike would provoke a new level of retaliation. Meanwhile in the Iranian capital, a large explosion rocked a central square where thousands were gathered for an annual state-organised rally to support the Palestinians and call for Israel's demise. Israel had warned that it would target the area in central Tehran. There were no reports of casualties. But the decision to proceed with the mass demonstration attended by some senior government officials, and Israel's threat to .
The US military says a KC-135 refuelling aircraft supporting operations against Iran crashed in western Iraq and rescue operations are underway. The US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said the crash followed an unspecified incident involving two aircraft in "friendly airspace," and that the other plane landed safely. Here's what is known so far about the tanker, which is the fourth publicly acknowledged US aircraft to crash during the war against Iran: The KC-135 is a long-serving tanker plane =========================== The KC-135 Stratotanker is a US Air Force aircraft used to refuel other planes in midair, allowing them to travel longer distances and maintain operations longer without landing. The plane is also used to transport wounded personnel during medical evacuations or conduct surveillance missions, according to military experts. Based on the same design as the Boeing 707 passenger plane, the tanker has been in service for more than 60 years, supporting
An American military refuelling plane taking part in the operation against Iran crashed in Iraq and rescue efforts were underway, US Central Command said Thursday. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. A US official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the KC-135 aircraft that crashed had at least five crew members aboard. The crash was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire, the military said in a statement, which described the plane as "a loss." US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said that two aircraft were involved and that one landed safely and the other went down in western Iraq. A second US official, who similarly spoke on condition of anonymity, said the other plane involved also was a KC-135 tanker. "More information will be made available as the situation develops," Central Command said. "We ask for continued patience to gather additional details and provide clarity f
The US military said it killed six men on Sunday in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean as part of the Trump administration's campaign against alleged traffickers. Sunday's attack brought the death toll to at least 157 people since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls "narcoterrorists" in small vessels in early September. As with most of the military's statements on the more than 40 known strikes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, US Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. It posted a video on X that showed a small boat being blown up as it floated on the water. President Donald Trump has said the US is in "armed conflict" with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States. But his administration has offered ..
An Iraqi Shiite militia claimed a drone attack Monday targeting US troops at the airport in Iraq's capital, Baghdad, further widening the retaliation over the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The group, Saraya Awliya al-Dam, is one of a group of Shiite militias operating in Iraq following the 2003 US-led invasion of the country that toppled Saddam Hussein. The US and Iraq did not immediately comment on the claim. The attack comes as Iranian-supported militias including the Lebanese group Hezbollah have entered the war started by the U.S. and Israel launching an airstrike campaign targeting Iran's theocracy.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth gave Anthropic's CEO a Friday deadline to open the company's artificial intelligence technology for unrestricted military use or risk losing its government contract, according to a person familiar with their meeting Tuesday. Anthropic makes the chatbot Claude and is the last of its peers to not supply its technology to a new US military internal network. CEO Dario Amodei repeatedly has made clear his ethical concerns about unchecked government use of AI, including the dangers of fully autonomous armed drones and of AI-assisted mass surveillance that could track dissent. Defence officials warned they could designate Anthropic a supply chain risk or use the Defence Production Act to essentially give the military more authority to use its products even if it doesn't approve of how they are used, according to the person familiar with the meeting and a senior Pentagon official, who both were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of ...