State Department tells Americans worldwide to 'exercise increased caution'

President Donald Trump said on Friday that the U.S. strikes against Iran have eliminated several layers of the country’s leadership, and added that it was making it difficult to find members of the government for the U.S. to talk to.

“Their leaders are all gone. The next set of leaders are all gone. And the next set of leaders are mostly gone,” the Trump said as he spoke before a crowd of Naval Academy midshipmen who gathered in the East Room to celebrate their football team winning the Commander in Chief's Trophy.

“And now nobody wants to be a leader over there anymore. We're having a hard time. We want to talk to them and there's nobody to talk to. We have nobody to talk to. And you know what? We like it that way," Trump said.

This comes despite Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifying before Congress Wednesday that “the regime in Iran appears to be intact but largely degraded by Operation Epic Fury.”

Since the start of the war in Iran, 232 U.S. troops have been wounded, according to a U.S. official.

The majority of those injuries are traumatic brain injuries.

Of that, 207 have been returned to duty, 10 are considered “seriously wounded.” Seriously wounded is defined in Defense Department medical policy as when death from the injury is possible.

-ABC News' Steven Beynon

The Red Crescent in Jerusalem said it is treating several injuries after shrapnel of an Iranian missile landed in the Old City. Those who are Injured are being transferred to the hospital.

It is unclear if the shrapnel is from direct missile hits or if it is interception debris.

-ABC News' Nasser Atta

Energy Secretary Chris Wright elaborated on the possibility of the U.S. lifting sanctions on Iranian oil already out at sea, dismissing concerns of Iran profiting from the move by arguing that the oil was “going to be monetized anyway," in a Fox News appearance Friday morning,

Asked how the administration justifies Iran monetizing oil amid the ongoing conflict. Wright insisted that the oil would have been “monetized other ways,” regardless of U.S. potentially lifting sanctions, and he echoed Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s comments on Thursday that suggested Iranian oil would have been going to China.

This would be a major reversal in U.S. policy, which has sanctioned Iranian oil for decades. And – in the middle of the war – it would mean Iran stands to make more money by selling its oil to the highest bidder.

Bessent floated the possibility of this move on Fox Thursday.

Regarding the expected timeline of unsanctioned oil becoming usable supply, Wright was confident that this would happen “pretty quickly.”

“Well, with un-sanctioning, I mean within days, within three or four days that oil will start to arrive in ports and of course most refineries are near ports. So pretty quickly,” he said.

Wright also said he believes most of the unsanctioned oil would “be absorbed in the next 30 to 45 days.”

Asked about some projections that predict oil to rise beyond $180 a barrel if disruptions persist until late next month, Wright pivoted to slam the Iran’s retaliatory attacks, saying “this destruction certainly is not helpful for global oil prices” before arguing that that this further justifies the need for the U.S. military to “finish the job.”

-ABC News' Emily Chang