Trump threatens Iran following new wave of attacks on Gulf states and Israel

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (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 U.S. President Donald Trump threatened major new retaliation.

“Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today," Trump wrote in a social media post. “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 Iran's 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.”

Intense airstrikes hit early Friday around Iran’s capital, Tehran, as well as outlying areas. It was not immediately clear what had been targeted.

The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, remained stubbornly over $100 per barrel as Iran kept its stranglehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world's oil transits on its way from the Persian Gulf to the open seas.

Brent prices have spiked as high as about $120 per barrel and are currently some 40% higher than when Israel and the United States attacked Iran on Feb. 28 to start the war.

Iran has been attacking ships that try to transit the strait, and Khamenei's comments — his first to the public since being named to replace his father, who was killed during the first day of the conflict — said Iran would continue to block the waterway.

In Iraq, recovery efforts were underway after an American KC-135 refueling plane went down, according to U.S. Central Command. And a French soldier who was stationed in the north of the country was killed in an attack, the French president said Friday.

Iran has been attacking oil and other infrastructur e around the Gulf region, and on Friday Saudi Arabia that it had downed nearly 50 drones sent in multiple waves throughout the early morning hours.

Sirens also sounded in Bahrain warning of incoming fire from Dubai, and black smoke billowed from an industrial area after authorities said debris from an interception had sparked a blaze.

Nearly 60 people were wounded in northern Israel after Hezbollah said it had fired several rocket salvoes toward the area and at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. Almost all the injuries were described as very minor.

One person was killed in southwestern Beirut in an Israeli strike, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, and another attack hit an apartment in the capital, leaving it engulfed in flames. Following the attacks, the Israeli army said it had been targeting a member of Iran-linked Hezbollah.

More than 600 people have been killed in Lebanon since the fighting began, the Health Ministry has reported. and nearly 800,000 have been internally displaced, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 deaths. The U.S. has lost at least seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.

In his Friday morning post, Trump said that "we are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise."

“They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them,” Trump said. “What a great honor it is to do so!”

The U.S. military said American forces have now struck more than 6,000 targets since the operation against Iran began, including more than 30 minelaying vessels.

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said a French soldier was killed in an attack targeting Irbil in Iraq’s northern Kurdish region. France earlier said six soldiers had been hurt in a drone strike in Irbil, where French troops are deployed as part of a multinational counterterrorism mission supporting Iraqi forces in their fight against Islamic State militants.

In the same region, British officials said several U.S. personnel suffered minor injuries Wednesday when drone strikes hit a base in Irbil that houses both British and American troops.

Italy said that a base where it has troops in Irbil was also hit Wednesday but that there were no injuries. The Italian contingent in the region trains local Kurdish troops at the request of the Iraqi government

Recovery efforts were underway in western Iraq on Friday after the American KC-135 refueling aircraft crashed. It was not immediately clear whether there were any casualties, but the aircraft had five crew on board.

U.S. Central Command said the crash was not related to friendly or hostile fire, and that two aircraft were involved, including one that landed safely.

The KC-135 is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the U.S. military’s operations against Iran. Last week, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.

Rising reported from Bangkok and Abou AlJoud from Beirut, Lebanon

Smoke from an explosion rises behind demonstrators attending the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day, rally in support of Palestinians in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 13, 2026. (Mohammad Mahdi Dehghani/Fars News Agency via AP)

Facade of a building at Dubai's financial district is seen partially damaged which, according to the authorities was caused by falling debris after a successful interception, United Arab Emirates, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

A cleric chants slogans during the annual anti-Israeli Quds Day, or Jerusalem Day rally in support of Palestinians in Tehran, Iran, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People check a house where multiple family members were killed by an Israeli airstrike, in Erkay village, south Lebanon, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

A man looks a the site struck by an Iranian missile in Zarzir, northern Israel, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Residents inspect a house destroyed by an Iranian missile strike in Zarzir, northern Israel, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Officers from Israel's Home Front Command inspect a house destroyed by an Iranian missile strike in Zarzir, northern Israel, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Residents and officers from Israel's Home Front Command inspect a house destroyed by an Iranian missile strike in Zarzir, northern Israel, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli authorities inspect homes damaged by a projectile launched from Lebanon, in Haniel, central Israel, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

Workers inspect damage caused by a drone strike overnight at the Address Creek Harbour hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

An oil tanker burns after being hit by an Iranian strike in the ship-to-ship transfer zone at Khor al-Zubair port near Basra, Iraq, late Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo)

A woman sits on rubble across from a residential building damaged last Sunday during the U.S.-Israeli air campaign in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Residents watch as smoke rises from a nearby building during an Israeli strike in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Ludvig Aberg had a dream start that carried him to a 9-under 63 and a two-shot lead Friday in The Players Championship. Scottie Scheffler had a clutch finish, but only to avoid missing the cut.

Aberg was 5 under through his opening four holes and motored his way around the TPC Sawgrass with one amazing shot after another. He chipped in twice, for birdie on No. 4 and for eagle on the par-5 ninth for a 29 to tie the front-nine record on the Stadium Course.

Even on the one chip he muffed, he limited the damage by holing an 8-foot putt for bogey.

A final birdie — the Swede made it look so easy — gave him a two-shot margin over Xander Schauffele, who hit all 14 fairways in his round of 65.

“I think my mind is very good when it’s simple, and when things are very easy, and that’s what I’ve felt like I’ve been able to do over the last couple of weeks,” Aberg said.

He was at 12-under 132 on the TPC Sawgrass he occasionally calls home, though Aberg had not played the Stadium Course this year until a practice round Tuesday. He chose Ponte Vedra Beach as home after finishing at Texas Tech.

The stress came late in the day with Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player who has the longest current cut streak on the PGA Tour at 69. He missed two birdie chances and then had into trouble in the rough on the 14th hole for a bogey. Then, he missed a 30-inch par putt on the par-5 16th.

That put him at 2 over, still having to face the island green and the hardest hole at Sawgrass.

Scheffler found land on the 17th for par. Standing on the 18th tee, he was 14 shots out of the lead and anything but par or better would have sent him home from a tournament on the weekend for the first time since August 2022.

He drilled 3-wood down the middle, hit his approach to 8 feet and made birdie for a 73.

Also making the cut with a few nervous moments was Rory McIlroy, whose back is getting better by the day but whose putter is ailing. McIlroy birdied the par-5 ninth at the end of his 71 to make sure he'd be playing the weekend. He and Scheffler, Nos. 1 and 2 in the world, were at 1-over 145.

Schauffele's lone bogey came on a careless three-putt bogey on the par-3 13th, his fourth hole of the day, when he missed a putt just over 2 feet. The rest of his round was rock solid, and the two-time major champion is starting to build some momentum.

He wasn't aware he hit every fairway until it was mentioned to him.

“Definitely nice to hit all of them, especially on this property,” Schauffele said. “For the most part I felt like I was in control and felt like I was attacking the golf course versus playing defensive.”

Sawgrass allowed for that on a gorgeous day of sunshine, a light wind and greens that were receptive, ideal for scoring on a course that provides low rounds for those who avoided big trouble.

Cameron Young, who contended at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, had a 67 and was three shots behind. Young is a big talent who finally broke through for his first PGA Tour title last summer, and then was America's best in a losing Ryder Cup cause in his home state of New York.

The Players has been a mystery to him, though. He has yet to finish in the top 50 the three times in four years that he made the cut. But he was dialed in on a course he described as “tricky.”

“I feel if you’re not decisive, if you’re unsure of what you want to do, it can really kind of rear its head at you,” Young said. “The holes where we’re strictly just trying to get it in the fairway ... I didn’t hit all of them, but I made a bunch of really good golf swings. And I feel like that kind of wins out over here.”

Justin Thomas followed his 79-79 return from back surgery at Bay Hill with a 68-68 start at The Players. He was at 8-under 136, along with Corey Conners (67).

The highlight for Thomas was following a bad miss left of the green on the par-5 11th — the pin was to the left — and hitting a perfect pitch-and-run into the cup for eagle.

“Pretty sick chip,” Thomas said. “Not one I necessarily expect to get up-and-down all the time. But I have pretty good belief in my short game, and when you’re in the fairway, you have a lot more control of the ball. Just trying to visualize it and see it and hit my spot, and luckily the hole got in the way. It was nice to steal one there.”

He played alongside Scheffler and saw him endure the final two holes with the cut at stake. Thomas has been on the cut line, and he knows Sawgrass plenty well.

“If you’re on the cut line and you’re standing on 17, if you hit it in the water, you’re all but done,” Thomas said. “Then the same kind of goes for 18 on the tee shot. It’s every bit as hard as trying to win a golf tournament.”

What he saw from Scheffler was some timing issues, but nothing he found alarming.

“He's still hitting shots that not many people on planet earth can hit in the same rounds,” Thomas said. “It’s just golf. He’s been hitting it pretty much where he wants within like a blanket size for what seems like two or three years. He’s still had a pretty damned good year.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts to his putt on the 11th green during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, March 13, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Scottie Scheffler chips onto the 11th green during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, March 13, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Cameron Young and his caddie line up a shot on the ninth green during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, March 13, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Xander Schauffele hits off the 10th tee during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, March 13, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Ludvig Aberg of Sweden acknowledges applause from the gallery after sinking his putt on the 11th green during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, March 13, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)