'Two aircraft were involved in the incident,' CENTCOM said in a brief statement.
President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israel strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said. Iranian state television confirmed that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes.
His sonIran is responding to the operation with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.US refueling aircraft goes down in western Iraq: CENTCOM A U.S. refueling aircraft "went down" in friendly airspace in western Iraq, with rescue efforts ongoing, U.S. Central Command said Thursday. A U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft refuels from a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft during a mission in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 8, 2026. "Two aircraft were involved in the incident," CENTCOM said in a brief statement. "One of the aircraft went down in western Iraq, and the second landed safely."Two-thirds of Iran's ballistic missile launchers neutralized: IDF The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that two-thirds of Iran's ballistic missile launchers have been neutralized and about 80% of the regime's defense systems have been neutralized."We've been able to neutralize hundreds of missile launchers and create a real bottleneck," IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said. "That is one of the main reasons why their launchers towards Israel and other countries in the region have diminished heavily."The first purported message from Mojtaba Khamenei, the newly installed supreme leader of Iran, was read on state TV on Thursday.The message said that the "key is to overcome our enemy," and he said attacking neighboring countries was necessary because they're cooperating with the U.S. Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen on Sunday to replace his father, Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader, who was killed on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli strikes.Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC that the U.S. Navy is "not ready" to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, but he said it could happen by the end of the month. Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Mina Al Fajer, United Arab Emirates, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. "It will happen relatively soon, but it can't happen now," Wright said. "We're simply not ready. All of our military assets right now are focused on destroying Iran's offensive capabilities and the manufacturing industry that supplies their offensive capabilities." In an interview on CNN, Wright was asked if the U.S. can declare victory without the Strait of Hormuz being reopened. "No, the Strait of Hormuz needs to be and will be reopened. The U.S. military is there for the -- is there to solve a long-term problem," he said, pinning the blame on the Iranian regime.
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