John Ganz: “In the past, propaganda served the purposes of war; now war serves the purposes of propaganda.”

Washington Post: “Trump’s decision to assassinate Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while Iran was in active negotiations with the president’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner has reinforced a growing sense among hard-liners in Moscow that diplomacy is fragile — perhaps even pointless — in a world in which the United States is willing to use military force to achieve its goals.”

“They gave me a list of names. ‘Sir, you can pick the name you’d like, sir.’ I said, the name of what? ‘The name of the attack! On Iran, sir.’ And they gave me like 20 names. And I’m like falling asleep. I didn’t like any of them. Then I see Epic Fury.”

— President Trump, at a campaign rally.

“A cyberattack on a U.S.-based manufacturer of medical equipment, Stryker, has heightened concerns that Iran or hacking groups linked to it might target civilian companies and infrastructure as the war continues,” the New York Times reports.

“Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new supreme leader, struck a defiant tone on Thursday in what Iranian state media said were his first public comments since succeeding his slain father, vowing that Iran would continue to block the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil route, and that it would not refrain from ‘avenging the blood of the martyrs,'” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Khamenei has not appeared on video or in public since he was appointed on Monday to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei… His written comments came as Iran continued to threaten attacks on oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz that benefit the United States and its allies.”