Live updates: Israeli strikes hit Tehran as Iranian drones target Gulf energy facilities

Iran insisted Friday that it would deny its opposition their security almost three weeks into U.S.-Israeli strikes that have killed several of Tehran’s top leaders and damaged its weapons and energy industries.

A spokesperson for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard told the Associated Press Friday that Tehran was still building missiles.   The AP noted that Naeini also said the Iran war would continue, but a short time later, Iranian state television reported Naeini was killed in an airstrike.

Israel hit the Iranian capital Tehran with airstrikes Friday, with the attack coming as Iranians marked Nowruz, or the Persian New Year, according to the AP. 

U.S. and Israeli leaders have said that weeks of strikes have destroyed Iran’s military. Airstrikes have also killed its supreme leader, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and other top-ranking military and political leaders.

According to the Associated Press, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday Iran no longer has the ability to enrich uranium or make ballistic missiles. Israel will hold off on any further attacks on the Iranian gas field, Netanyahu added, at the request of President Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, has soared since Israel and the U.S. started the war with Iran. 

Here’s the latest from Friday: 

Trump says he won’t deploy troops to Iran

What they’re saying:

On Thursday, President Donald Trump told reporters he would not be sending troops “anywhere.” 

This came after Trump requested Israel not attack South Paris. He also warned on social media that if Iran continued striking Qatar, the U.S. would “massively blow up the entirety” of the field.

Asked later about the possibility of U.S. ground troops being deployed to Iran, Trump responded: “No. I’m not putting troops anywhere.”

Death toll from the Iran war

Big picture view:

So far, more than 1,300 people in Iran have been killed during the war. 

The Lebanese government confirmed more than 1,000 people have been killed.

In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. Four people were also killed in the occupied West Bank by an Iranian missile strike overnight.

At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed.