US President Donald Trump derided Iran's leaders as "deranged scumbags" and said it was his "great honour" to kill them, as the war in the Middle East approached the two-week mark on Friday with heavy exchanges of drone and missile strikes across the region. The conflict, which began with joint Israeli–US strikes on Iran at the end of February, has killed more than 2,000 people, disrupted the lives of millions of others, and shaken energy and financial markets across the globe.
In a post on social media late on Friday, Trump said the US was "totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran". "We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time – watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today," Trump said.
Meanwhile, Iran's drone swarms continue to cause havoc across the region. Here are five latest incidents involving Iranian drones as the Middle East remains tense, with the Islamic Republic refusing to bow down before Israeli–US military might:
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1. Two foreign nationals were killed in Oman's Al-Awahi Industrial Area in an incident involving drones amidst the regional war. Many others were injured in the incident, Oman confirmed on Friday. While two drones came down in the Sohar province, one hit the Al-Awahi Industrial Area while the other fell in an open area, which is why it failed to cause any damage. Reports said that it was not direct strikes, but falling debris that killed the duo.
2. A similar post-interception incident was reported in Dubai, as debris crashed into the facade of a building in Central Dubai. However, there were no reports of injury, and the incident was ruled "minor" by the authorities.
3. A couple of drones fell near a major southern Iraqi oil field, news agency AFP reported. One of the drones reportedly exploded after crashing. The oil field had already paused operations prior to the incident. "Two drones hit communications towers near the Majnoon oil field, without causing casualties or material damage," one official told AFP. It is the first instance of a field being targeted, the report added, citing Iraqi officials.
4. Lebanon's state media reported that a drone struck a residential apartment in Beirut's Burj Hammoud district on the northern outskirts of the Lebanese capital on Friday. It was the first time in this war that Beirut's predominantly Christian northern suburbs have been hit, as Israel appeared to widen its targeting.
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5. Iran launched its own barrage of missiles and drones overnight, undermining earlier US and Israeli claims to have knocked out much of Iran's stock of long-range weapons. An Iranian missile struck a Bedouin Arab town in northern Israel near Nazareth, according to the military, heavily damaging several homes. Israel's ambulance service said 58 people were injured, including one person in moderate condition with shrapnel wounds. The rest sustained minor injuries.
