Tehran has held a huge pro-regime march in defiance of Donald Trump’s threat that he could ‘annihilate’ Iran, reports BritPanorama.
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians rallied in a government-organized event on Friday, pledging their readiness to take up arms in the biggest such demonstration since the United States and Israel attacked in February.
This demonstration follows a UN accusation earlier this week, which claimed Tehran committed crimes against humanity during a crackdown on anti-regime protests that resulted in thousands of deaths earlier this year.
The state-sanctioned march also occurred the day after Trump warned that he could “annihilate” Iran, with no resolution to the conflict in sight. “I have a big decision coming up,” Trump told reporters Thursday. “Do I want to go in and annihilate them [the Iranian regime] or do I not? It’s a big decision. Anything could happen with me.”
On the same day, an unknown projectile struck a tanker in the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route, as reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.
IRGC commander warns regional oil exports will be halted if Iran’s exports stop
Iran would not permit other countries in the region to export oil if its own exports were halted, according to a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Friday, as reported by IRNA.
Aziz Ghazanfari, the IRGC’s deputy political commander, stated, “If oil is not exported from Iran, oil will not be exported from any other country either.” He emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz was under the “complete surveillance” of IRGC naval forces, insisting that Iran must strengthen its control over this strategic waterway.
“If Iran is to be insecure, there will be no secure point in the region, and if the people of Iran live in insecurity, the people of the region will not be spared insecurity,” Ghazanfari added.
Trump ‘bans’ media groups from White House for reporting of ‘fake news’
President Donald Trump claimed on Friday to have “banned” three major news outlets from the White House, opting to restrict coverage of his administration as his popularity wanes ahead of the midterm elections.
On Truth Social, he wrote he would “effective immediately” be “banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW … and Politico … from the White House as a result of their constant ‘reporting’ FAKE NEWS.” He asserted that media outlets should not be able to spread “Fiction and Lies” about the President or the United States.
US troop deaths during Iran war exceed Pentagon count
Reports indicate more U.S. troops have died during the conflict with Iran than the Pentagon has publicly acknowledged, with at least 22 military fatalities cited, surpassing the official count by four. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denied the allegations, which suggest that not all undisclosed deaths were directly linked to the conflict.
Responding to these claims, he described the report as “a complete LIE.” The Washington Post, which reported the discrepancies, indicated that it had reached out to the Pentagon for comments regarding casualty accounting, but with no immediate response.
Houthis report escalation of Saudi airstrikes in Yemen
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis stated on Friday that Saudi Arabia had conducted 26 airstrikes on Houthi positions within the last 24 hours, marking a total of 300 strikes over the past week as hostilities escalate between the Houthis and Yemen’s Saudi-backed government.
The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching a significant offensive in southwestern Yemen as they advanced towards the Red Sea coast. Saudi forces, in retaliation, have intensified air support to help reclaim territory and safeguard maritime infrastructure.
With millions of barrels of oil transiting regularly through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Riyadh’s strategic interests remain highly vulnerable amid the ongoing conflict.
This sequence of events underscores the intensifying dynamics in the region, as Iran and its adversaries continue to navigate a turbulent landscape marked by escalating military engagements and geopolitical maneuvering.
