People inspect the site of a destroyed branch of the Hezbollah-run non-bank financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hasan, which was hit by an Israeli airstrike, in central Beirut, Thursday, March 12, 2026.
Hussain Malla/AP
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Hussain Malla/AP
Four crew members were killed when a refueling plane crashed in western Iraq, US Central Command said on Friday.
Rescue operations are continuing and the military said the loss of the KC-135 was not caused by hostile or friendly fire.
At this time there were six crew on board. No additional details were provided regarding the fate of the remaining two members.
The incident comes as the war with Iran, which has stretched across the Persian Gulf, is nearing its two-week mark. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a grim prediction Thursday night: Israel may have weakened Iran’s rulers, but its war effort will not be enough to topple them.
Netanyahu said Israel was working to create conditions that would allow the Iranians to overthrow the country’s regime. But when asked if the goal could fail, he admitted that he couldn’t “say with all certainty” that it would work.
“We are creating the right conditions to topple the regime,” Netanyahu said in his first press conference since the start of the war with Iran. “But I don’t deny that I can tell you with certainty that the people of Iran will topple a regime — a regime toppled from within.”
A senior official in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss internal discussions, told NPR Israeli leaders were preparing the public for a protracted conflict and ending the strikes without a negotiated agreement.
The official said Israel worries Iran and its allies could normalize repeated missile fire, creating an intolerable “battle routine” of periodic missile warnings and tit-for-tat retaliation.
Iranian and Lebanese health officials and Israeli officials reported more than 1,300 deaths in Iran, 687 in Lebanon and 12 in Israel. Wednesday’s plane crash over Iraq brings the US death toll to 11.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is scheduled to hold a Pentagon press conference Friday morning as questions mount about next steps.
Here are more updates on 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 he was not authorized to discuss internal discussions, told NPR that he expected the war to last at least another week and that Israeli leaders largely believed the US and Israel would end the war unilaterally without a negotiated agreement. In such a scenario, Iran and allied groups, including the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and Houthi rebels in Yemen, could establish a new normal of repeated fire on Israel, prompting repeated Israeli retaliation, the official said.
The tit-for-tat exchange leaves Israelis living with an intolerable “routine of war” even as the intensity of the conflict fades, the official said.
The official said Israel is not ruling out an extended ground operation in southern Lebanon, but explained that Israel is backing away from hitting broad civilian infrastructure because the US sees Lebanon as a partner.
-Daniel Estrin, Cary Conn
Israel Expands Strikes in Iran and Hits Hezbollah Targets in Lebanon
Israel’s air force said on Friday it had struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, including ballistic missile launchers, air defense systems and weapons production sites.
The military said the attacks included simultaneous attacks in Tehran, Shiraz and Ahvaz. They targeted administrative infrastructure, including an underground site used to produce and store ballistic missiles and a central air defense base.
In Lebanon, Israel said it struck Hezbollah command centers in southern and central Beirut.
A senior official in the region, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the strike near the prime minister’s office in Beirut’s bustling Bachura neighborhood was symbolic and intended to send a message that Israel would not tolerate Hezbollah’s fire for long.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has called for direct talks with Israel to end the bombing. Israel has not publicly commented on this.
The Israeli military said it hit the al-Jraria bridge over the Litani River, describing it as a key crossing used by Hezbollah fighters and an area where launchers are kept.
-Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Rebecca Roseman
Iran and Hezbollah attacks hit Israel overnight, with dozens treated for minor injuries
According to Magen David Adam, Israel’s emergency services agency, dozens of people were lightly injured when an Iranian ballistic missile hit the northern Israeli town of Zarzir.
One person is reported to be in critical condition and receiving treatment after being hit by shrapnel. Another 57 people are being treated for minor injuries, mostly from broken glass.
Hezbollah continued to shell northern Israel overnight, and Israel’s military said its air defenses and strike operations were responding on both fronts.
-Rebecca Roseman
The US has temporarily eased Russian oil sanctions for cargoes already at sea
The Trump administration issued a temporary authorization allowing countries to buy Russian oil already stuck at sea. It argued that the move was a narrowly tailored step to stabilize energy markets.
In a post on X, Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said the move would only apply to oil “already in transit” and would not provide Russia with a significant economic benefit.
In a statement published last week, several top Senate Democrats warned that such a move would weaken sanctions and benefit Russia as energy prices rise.
-Rebecca Roseman
French soldier killed in Iraq attack
French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday that a French soldier was killed in an attack in Iraq’s Erbil region that wounded several French soldiers.
Macron called the attack “unacceptable” and said the war in Iran could not justify an attack on troops 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 from Beirut, Jane Arraf from Erbil, Rebecca Rossman and Eleanor Beadsley from Paris.
