DUBAI (AP) — Iran launched multiple attacks early Friday on Gulf Arab states, including dozens of drones at Saudi Arabia, following warnings from its new supreme leader about hosting American bases, and US President Donald Trump threatened major new retaliation.
“Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. “Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth.”
The comments came the day after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to “not refrain from avenging the blood” of Iranians killed, and warned Gulf Arab nations to shut U.S. bases, saying the notion of American protection was “nothing more than a lie.”
A large midday explosion rocked a Tehran square filled with demonstrators who were there for the annual Quds Day event in support of Palestinians, Iranian state television reported.
The cause of the blast in Ferdowsi Square wasn’t immediately known, but came shortly after Israel had warned people to clear the area because it planned a strike. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.
