Trump Claims Iranian Military Leaders Killed in Strike
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- Donald Trump claimed in a Truth Social post that a 'massive strike' on Tehran killed several top Iranian military leaders, accompanying the claim with a 1:07 video purportedly showing explosions lighting up the night sky.
- Trump had issued a fresh 48-hour ultimatum warning Iran that 'all hell will rain down' unless Tehran strikes a deal or reopens the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global oil shipping route.
- Two US warplanes were brought down over Iran in a single day — the first such losses of the nearly six-week-long war — with one crew member still missing inside hostile territory, triggering a high-risk search operation.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asked Army Chief of Staff General Randy George to step down and retire with immediate effect, with Pentagon officials providing no public reason for the shake-up.
- Iran's embassies in South Africa and Pakistan turned Trump's 'regime change' rhetoric back on Washington, with the South Africa post branding 'The regime change happened successfully' over images of US military leaders, while the Pakistan embassy claimed captured US servicemen were 'more in danger with DJ Trump than in custody in Iran.'
Why it matters: The US is absorbing its first aircraft losses of the six-week war with a pilot still missing behind enemy lines, the Pentagon is replacing its Army chief mid-conflict, and a 48-hour ultimatum now hangs over the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for global oil shipments — while Trump markets the conflict with unverified video claims on social media.
