What we know on the 14th day of the US and Israel’s war with Iran

By Jessie Yeung, CNN

(CNN) — Nearly three weeks into the US-Israel war with Iran, the economic fallout is growing with little sign of relief, as Tehran’s new supreme leader vows to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed.

Casualties are mounting, with a French soldier in Iraq and two academics in Lebanon among those killed in the past day – plus a US Air Force refueling tanker lost over western Iraq.

Israel, Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah continued trading strikes overnight into Friday.

Here’s what to know on day 14.

What are the main headlines?

• Oil costs: The US government on Thursday issued a new license allowing countries to purchase certain Russian oil products, the same day Brent crude prices settled above $100 per barrel for the first time since 2022. That will be a boost to the Kremlin as it pursues its own war in Ukraine.
• Further threats: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned it would set the region’s oil and gas “on fire” if Iranian energy infrastructure and ports are attacked.
• Trump’s declaration: US President Donald Trump suggested oil tanker crews should “go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts” in an interview set to air Friday morning. At least 16 oil tankers, cargo ships and other vessels have been attacked in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman since the war began two weeks ago, according to the UK’s maritime agency.
• Crashed aircraft: A US Air Force refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq on Thursday, the US military said, adding the incident was “not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.” It did not say whether any US service members were hurt or killed. At least five crew members were on board, a US official told CNN.
• Supreme leader’s message: Mojtaba Khamenei issued his purported first message as Iran’s new supreme leader on Thursday, warning that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed as a “tool of pressure” – though the Iranian ambassador to the UN claimed otherwise just hours later.
• Asia stocks down: Main markets lost ground on Friday, tracking overnight falls in global markets.

What’s happening on the ground?

• Strikes on Israel: A fresh wave of missiles were launched at Israel early Friday, injuring two people and damaging buildings in the country’s north. Earlier, Iran said it was firing missiles at Israel, and that Hezbollah had launched a simultaneous attack from southern Lebanon, according to Iranian state media.
• Tehran and Beirut targeted: Heavy explosions were felt in several parts of Tehran on Friday morning, Iranian state media said. Israel’s ambassador to the US said strikes had hit checkpoints linked to Iran’s paramilitary forces. Israel also expanded operations targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon late Thursday night, including in the capital Beirut. Mass evacuation orders in Lebanon could push the number of displaced people to more than 1 million within the next few days, one expert said.
• Regional strikes: Gulf states repelled fresh Iranian attacks on Friday morning, with explosions heard in central Dubai as air defenses intercepted a projectile. Saudi Arabia also intercepted dozens of drones, while sirens sounded in Bahrain.
• Mounting casualties: The toll of civilian deaths and injuries continues to climb, with two academics killed by an Israeli airstrike at a Lebanese university on Thursday, two foreigners killed in Oman on Friday, and three Red Crescent aid workers wounded in Iran. Close to 2,000 have been killed in Iran and Lebanon, according to authorities from both countries, with dozens more killed elsewhere in the region.
• French forces attacked: One French soldier was killed and several others wounded in an attack in Iraqi Kurdistan, President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday. The drone attack targeted a base hosting Kurdish forces and international coalition troops, according to the governor of Erbil. There was no immediate claim of responsibility – but afterward, an Iran-backed militia in Iraq threatened to target French interests in Iraq and the wider region.

What’s the latest in Washington?

• An underestimation: When planning the ongoing operation, the Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US strikes, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
• Senate hearing: A key US Senate chairman is planning to hold the first public oversight hearing of the war soon with top Department of Defense officials testifying, CNN has learned. To date, there have been no open oversight hearings of the conflict in the GOP-led Congress – though there have been several classified sessions for members.

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