KC-135 crash in Iraq, Khamenei vows revenge

1 min readUpdated: Mar 13, 2026 10:54 AM March 13 marks the fourteenth day of war between the United States-Israel and Iran. The war began on February 28 with joint US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. Around 2,000 people have been killed during the strikes on Iran the US and Israel. 

Here are the top developments as the war enters into Day 14:
A US military refuelling aircraft crashed in western Iraq while taking part in operations linked to the war with Iran. Rescue operations are under way. The aircraft involved was a KC-135 tanker used for aerial refueling. US Central Command said the crash did not result in any kind of fire.New Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first comments since the war broke out. He vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and called on neighbouring countries to close US bases on their territory if they want Iran to not attack further. A TV presenter read out his comment, “I assure everyone that we will not neglect avenging the blood of your martyrs.” Israeli Prime Miner Benjamin Netanyahu held his first news conference since the US and Israeli airstrikes started. He said, “I will not detail the actions we are taking. We are creating the optimal conditions for toppling the regime but I won’t deny that I can’t tell you with all certainty that the people of Iran will topple the [Iranian] regime – a regime is toppled from the inside.” President Emanuel Macron has announced that a Chief Warrant Officer died during an attack in Iraq’s Erbil region that also injured ‘several’ other French soldiers, and which he linked to the war with Iran.“Several of our soldiers have been wounded. France stands their side and with their loved ones,” he added. The president said French troops were based in Iraq as part of the fight against the ISIS group.An Indian sailor was killed after a US-owned tanker was attacked near Basra on March 11 amid Iran-Israel tensions.  The sailor was part of a crew on the US-owned tanker MT Safesea Vishnu. A total of 16 Indians were part of the crew. So far three Indian sailors have been confirmed dead in the ongoing West Asia war.In an effort to stabilise global energy markets, the US on Thursday issued a 30-day licence for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea. The US Secretary of Treasury said, “The temporary increase in ‌oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long-term.”The cost of the United States’s war with Iran in just six days is estimated to have been at least 11.3 billion USD. These estimates were shared in a closed briefing with Pentagon officials.However, the estimate covers only the initial cost of the war excluding resources invested in personnel buildup and military hardware ahead of the strike. The actual cost of the war is expected to go up. 
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