Day 18 of Middle East conflict — top Iranian leaders killed, Trump administration official quits | CNN

Follow the latest updates on the war in Iran here. The US Embassy in Baghdad has been protecting its facility from incoming projectiles with a Gatling gun that has been lighting up the night skies with streams of tracer rounds. The sharp end of the C-RAM (Counter-Rocket, Artillery, Mortar) system is a 20mm Gatling gun capable of firing 4,500 rounds a minute. It’s paired with radars, sensors and communications modules and mounted on a 35-ton trailer, enabling mobility and the ability to quickly acquire and destroy incoming targets, a report for the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA) says. The gun’s 20mm rounds are both light armor and high explosive for versatility attacking air and ground targets at a range of 2,000 meters, according to manufacturer General Dynamics. They also feature a self-destruct mechanism in case the target is missed so rounds don’t do unintentional damage. The system is a derivative of the US Navy Phalanx Close-in Weapons System, a gun that’s considered the last line of defense for warships against incoming cruise missiles or surface targets that make it past a ship’s longer-range defenses. The naval system made headlines in 2024 when the guid