Updated March 13, 2026 at 5:06 AM MDT
The U.S. Central Command said Friday four crew members were killed when a refueling aircraft went down in western Iraq.
The military said the rescue efforts were ongoing and that the loss of the KC-135 aircraft was not due to hostile or friendly fire.
Six crew members were onboard at the time. There were no additional details provided on the fate of the two remaining members.
The incident came as the war with Iran, which has expanded throughout the Persian Gulf, approached its two-week mark. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a sobering forecast Thursday night: Israel may have weakened Iran's rulers, but its war effort may not be enough to topple them.
Netanyahu said Israel is working to create conditions that could enable Iranians to overthrow the country's regime. But when asked whether the goal could fail, he acknowledged he could not "say with all certainty" it would work.
"We are creating the optimal conditions for toppling the regime," Netanyahu said in his first press conference since the start of the war with Iran. "But I won't deny that I can't tell you with all certainty that the people of Iran will topple the regime — a regime is toppled from the inside."
A senior official in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations, told NPR Israeli leaders are preparing the public for a longer conflict — and for an end to strikes without a negotiated agreement.
The official said Israel worries Iran and its allies could normalize intermittent missile fire, creating an intolerable "war routine" of periodic missile alerts and tit-for-tat retaliation.
President Trump, in a post on Truth Social, claimed the U.S. is "totally destroying" Iran's military and economy and insisted the war is being won. He also warned of more strikes ahead, writing "watch what happens" today.
Iranian and Lebanese health officials and Israeli authorities have reported more than 1,300 people killed in Iran, 687 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel. Wednesday's aircraft crash over Iraq brings the number of U.S. casualties to 11.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to hold a Pentagon press conference Friday morning, as questions mount over next steps.
Here are further updates about the conflict.
Officials brace for an end without a deal — and the risk of a "war routine"
A senior official in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal deliberations, told NPR they expected the war to last at least another week, and that Israeli leaders increasingly believe the U.S. and Israel will end the war unilaterally, without a negotiated agreement. In such a scenario, the official said, Iran and allied groups, including the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Houthi rebels in Yemen, could establish a new normal of intermittent fire at Israel, prompting repeated Israeli retaliation.
The official said that kind of tit-for-tat exchange would leave Israelis living with an intolerable "war routine" even if the intensity of the conflict fades.
The official also said Israel is not ruling out an expanded ground operation in southern Lebanon, but described Israel as holding back so far from striking broad civilian infrastructure, largely because the U.S. sees Lebanon as a partner.
— Daniel Estrin, Carrie Kahn
Israel expands strikes in Iran and hits Hezbollah targets in Lebanon
Israel's air force said Friday it struck more than 200 targets over the past day in western and central Iran, including ballistic missile launchers, air defense systems and weapons manufacturing sites.
The military said the strikes included simultaneous strikes in Tehran, Shiraz and Ahvaz. They targeted regime infrastructure, including an underground site used to produce and store ballistic missiles, as well as a central air-defense base.
In Lebanon, Israel said it hit Hezbollah command centers in the country's south and in central Beirut.
A senior official in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the strike on Beirut's bustling Bachura neighborhood, located near the prime minister's office, was symbolic, and meant to send a message that Israel will not tolerate Hezbollah's fire much longer.
Lebanon's president, Joseph Aoun, has called for direct talks with Israel to end the bombing. Israel has not responded publicly on the matter.
The Israeli military also said it struck the Al-Zrariya Bridge over the Litani River, describing it as a key crossing used by Hezbollah fighters and an area from which launchers had been positioned.
— Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Rebecca Rosman
Iran and Hezbollah attacks hit Israel overnight; dozens treated for minor injuries
An Iranian ballistic missile in the northern Israeli town of Zarzir left dozens lightly wounded, according to Israel's emergency services organization, Magen David Adom.
One person was reported to be in moderate condition and was being treated after being hit with shrapnel. Another 57 people were being treated for minor injuries, mostly from glass shards.
Hezbollah also continued firing into northern Israel overnight, and Israel's military said its air defense and strike operations were responding across both fronts.
— Rebecca Rosman
U.S. temporarily eases Russian oil sanctions for cargoes already at sea
The Trump administration issued a temporary authorization allowing countries to purchase Russian oil already stranded at sea. It argued the move is a narrowly tailored step to stabilize energy markets.
In a post on X, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measure applies only to oil "already in transit" and will not provide significant financial benefit to Russia.
In a statement published last week, a number of top Senate Democrats warned such a move would weaken sanctions and benefit Russia as energy prices rise.
— Rebecca Rosman
French soldier killed in attack in Iraq
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday a French soldier was killed in an attack in the Irbil region of Iraq that left several other French soldiers wounded.
Macron called the attack "unacceptable" and said the war in Iran cannot justify strikes on forces deployed in Iraq as part of the fight against ISIS.
— Eleanor Beardsley
Daniel Estrin and Carrie Kahn contributed to this report from Tel Aviv, Hadeel Al-Shalchi contributed from Beirut, Jane Arraf from Irbil, Rebecca Rosman and Eleanor Beardsley from Paris.
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