Trump calls Iran leaders ‘deranged scumbags’ as Middle East violence spirals

Tehran residents report relentless bombing with US and Israeli planes launching wave of attacks

Rescue workers search for survivors in the rubble after a strike in southern Tehran on Friday. Picture: AP Photo/Sajjad Safari

US President Donald Trump has said Iran will be hit “very hard” in the coming days, describing leaders of the regime as “deranged scumbags” who it was a “great honor” to kill, as Tehran residents reported relentless bombing and violence continued to spiral across the Middle East.

The US president’s comments, which signaled an intensification of the US-Israeli campaign, came as Israeli and US warplanes launched successive waves of attacks on the Iranian capital and elsewhere on Friday.