According to a release from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), U.S. forces have now struck over 3,000 targets during Operation Epic Fury.

Pro Hezbollah channels are reporting a clash between Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in a number of towns in the Beqaa Valley in Northeast Lebanon. Reporting indicates that the IDF conducted a helicopter insertion and after advancing someways met heavy enemy fire from fighters in surrounding towns. Pro Hezbollah channels claim that IDF forces were forced to withdraw under the cover of heavy combat air support due to the ferocity of the fire. Additional reporting from Al Jazeera indicates that Hezbollah targeted locations within the Beqaa Valley with indirect fires during efforts to repulse IDF offensive movement. At this time these reports are yet unconfirmed and the IDF has yet to confirm that a ground operation was/is underway in the Beqaa Valley.

In a post this morning on TruthSocial, President Donald J. Trump stated Iran has “apologized and surrendered to its Middle East neighbors, and promised that it will not shoot at them anymore.” Trump further stated that, “It is the first time that Iran has ever lost, in thousands of years, to surrounding Middle Eastern Countries. They have said, ‘Thank you President Trump.’ I have said, ‘You're welcome!’ Iran is no longer the ‘Bully of the Middle East,’ they are, instead, ‘THE LOSER OF THE MIDDLE EAST,’ and will be for many decades until they surrender or, more likely, completely collapse! Today Iran will be hit very hard! Under serious consideration for complete destruction and certain death, because of Iran's bad behavior, are areas and groups of people that were not considered for targeting up until this moment in time.”

Overnight, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a statement apologizing for attacks this past week against neighboring countries, claiming that some attacks were carried out independently by regional commanders without directive due to loss of communication, further stating that the Temporary Leadership Council has ordered a halt to attacks on these countries unless their territory is used to attack Iran.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) has issued a warning regarding a possible incident in the Persian Gulf, located 10NM north of Jubail, Saudi Arabia.

Despite this statement, attacks by Iran are continuing this morning against neighboring countries in the Middle East, including Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, with this statement likely aimed at a select number of countries that have unusually come under attack over the last week despite their close relationship with Iran, particularly Azerbaijan and Oman.

The Israel Defense Force has announced that overnight the Air Force targeted and destroyed a total of 16 aircraft in strikes on Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, all of which are alleged to have been used by the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for transferring weapons to the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon, and other Iranian-backed proxy groups across the Middle East. Additionally, several fighter jets with the Iranian Air Force were targeted due to the threat they posed to the Israeli Air Force.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released footage of B-52 Stratofortresses during Operation Epic Fury.

Saudi HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke today, with MBS voicing his support for potential actions that Turkey takes in response to Iranian strikes against Turkish territory.

Per a release from the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iran has again urged Gulf states to refrain from allowing the use of their bases and airspace in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on the nation. Iran again, and incorrectly claimed that its retaliatory measures are not meant to target the Gulf states but U.S. bases and infrastructure instead. Something that is clearly untrue as Iran actively targets shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz and the oil and gas infrastructure of Gulf Nations.

Reports of coordinated attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Northern Iraq and on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

After Iranian strikes against residential and commercial areas in the capital of Manama, Bahrain, Civil Defense elements are working to put out fires on houses and surrounding buildings, according to the Ministry of Interior.

Something that’s notable is Iranian-backed groups and their use of repurposed civilian platforms to attack U.S. bases and infrastructure in Iraq. Makes the targeting and destruction of such mobile launch platforms all the more difficult for the U.S. Air Force.

According to the Financial Times, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Kuwait have requested to buy thousands of drones from Ukraine’s TAF Industries. According to reports, Qatar submitted a request for 2,000 drones while the UAE submitted a request for 5,000 drones. Additionally, Kuwait also showed an interest in buying interceptor drones from Ukraine.

According to Iranian Foreign Minister Seyes Abbas Araghchi, peace efforts initiated by Iran were shot down by U.S. President Donald J. Trump. He also reiterated that Iran is not seeking to strike its neighbors, even though Iran continues to try and strike civilian and commercial infrastructure with both drones and ballistic missiles.

Video purported to show the activation of the Counter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar (C-RAM) System tonight at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, amidst a coordinated drone and rocket attack on the Embassy and U.S. Consulate in Erbil by Iranian-backed proxy forces in Iraq.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump attended the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base of the 6 U.S. Army soldiers killed during an Iranian strike on their operations center in Kuwait:

🇺🇸Capt. Cody Khork
🇺🇸Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens 
🇺🇸Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor
🇺🇸Sgt. Declan Coady 
🇺🇸Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien 
🇺🇸Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan