Thomas L. Friedman reports that Iran has replaced Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whom Friedman says was killed early in the war, with Mojtaba Khamenei, a move Friedman warns empowers hardliners and raises the stakes for any postwar transition.Pentagon officials say Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered another "most intense day" of strikes and US Central Command reports it has sunk or destroyed 50 Iranian naval vessels while General Dan Caine says missile launches and drone attacks are down sharply after sustained US and coalition strikes.The White House is grappling with a roughly 17 percent rise in gasoline prices that advisers say is eroding Republican midterm prospects, prompting calls to tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve even as President Donald Trump threatens harsh retaliation if Iran interferes with oil exports.The
Pentagon says strikes target missiles, naval capabilities and weapons production while probing a suspected
Tomahawk strike on a girls' school in Minab that
Iran says killed scores, and
NATO has deployed
Patriot batteries to Turkey as shipping and energy markets adapt.