Mehdi Tabatabaei, deputy for communications at the Iranian president’s office, has said Iran will open the Strait of Hormuz only after receiving compensation for war damages, paid via a “new legal regime” based on transit fees.
Tabatabaei also said Trump has resorted to profanity “out of sheer desperation and rage” and accused the US president of sparking an “all-out war in the region.”
“The Strait of Hormuz will reopen only when, under a new legal regime, the damages from the imposed war are fully compensated from a portion of the transit toll revenues,” Tabatabaei posted on social media.
Donald Trump said his deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on critical infrastructure is Tuesday evening, according to an interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal published on Sunday.
“If they don’t do something by Tuesday evening, they won’t have any power plants and they won’t have any bridges standing,” Trump told the Journal. In a social media post earlier on Sunday, Trump had said Iran would face infrastructure attacks and the country will be “living in Hell” if it did not open the strait by Tuesday.
Trump also cryptically posted “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!” on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon, probably referencing his new deadline for Iran.
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Iran's parliament speaker says 'our whole region is going to burn' due to Trump's actions
Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of the Parliament of Iran, responded to Trump’s threats in a social media post.
“Your reckless moves are dragging the United States into a living HELL for every single family, and our whole region is going to burn because you insist on following Netanyahu’s commands,” he wrote.
“Make no mistake: You won’t gain anything through war crimes. The only real solution is respecting the rights of the Iranian people and ending this dangerous game.”
Former Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati also warned that “if the White House repeats its foolish mistakes, it will quickly realize that the flow of energy and global trade can be disrupted with a single signal.”
Velayati further criticized Washington’s strategies, stating that while “the United States has learned history from Iran, it has yet to learn the geography of power.”
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is concerned that a prolonged US-Israeli war on Iran could erode America’s support for Ukraine as Washington’s global priorities shift.
Zelenskyy told the Associated Press that Ukraine urgently needs more Patriot air defense systems from the US as Kyiv tries to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks. He says he fears there will be reduced deliveries as resources are diverted to the Middle East.
“We have to recognize that we are not the priority for today,” Zelenskyy said. “That’s why I am afraid a long (Iran) war will give us less support.”
He also said that Russia benefits economically from the war and is sharing intelligence with Iran. Zelenskyy has offered Ukraine’s expertise in countering Iranian drones and defense cooperation with Gulf Arab states.
Top Senate Democrate condemns Trump for 'threatening possible war crimes'
Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic Leader responded to Trump’s rant by writing: “Happy Easter, America. As you head off to church and celebrate with friends and family, the President of the United States is ranting like an unhinged madman on social media.
“He’s threatening possible war crimes and alienating allies. This is who he is, but this is not who we are. Our country deserves so much better,” Schumer wrote.
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, meanwhile, posted his gratitude for the rescue of the second US crew member. “Thankful that the second Air Force officer whose fighter jet was shot down in Iran has been heroically rescued by US Special Operations. What a blessing on Easter Sunday morning. May God continue to watch over our troops.”
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Democrats are responding to Trump’s expletive-laden rant on Truth Social this morning.
Senator Bernie Sanders called it “dangerous and mentally unbalanced,” writing on his X account: “One month after starting the war in Iran, this is the statement of the President of the United States on Easter Sunday. These are the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual. Congress has got to act NOW. End this war.”
Senator Chris Murphy called it completely unhinged, posting on social media: “If I were in Trump’s Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment. This is completely, utterly unhinged. He’s already killed thousands. He’s going to kill thousands more.”
Representative Becca Balint said during an appearance on MS Now: “If President Biden or President Obama had said anything remotely like this, it would be nonstop coverage on every single channel and everyone on the other side of the aisle would be howling about it and demanding that they step down.”
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A US official has told investigative journalist Michael Weiss some interesting details about the high-stakes rescue mission of the weapon systems officer from the F-15E aircraft shot down over Iran:
In a post on X this morning, Oman’s foreign ministry said Oman and Iran held talks at the deputy foreign minister level to discuss options for ensuring the smooth transit of vessels through the strait of Hormuz, which in normal times carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
“During the meeting, experts from both sides presented a number of visions and proposals that will be studied,” the ministry said in a post.
Iran has allowed a trickle of ships through from nations it deems “non-hostile”, such as Thailand, China, Pakistan and India.
An Iranian parliamentary committee last week approved a proposal to collect a toll on vessels travelling through the strait of Hormuz but said ships from the US, Israel and countries that imposed sanctions on Iran would not be permitted.
Iran and Oman are reportedly drafting a protocol to “monitor transit” through the strait of Hormuz. Donald Trump claims the US is unaffected by its closure because it doesn’t rely heavily on oil imports via the vital waterway. However, this ignores the fact that oil is an internationally traded commodity and that US consumers are being directly hit by a surge in energy prices resulting from the effective closure of the strait (you can read about the rising cost of gas here).
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Trump says deal with Iran possible by Monday - report
In an interview with Fox News, the US president, Donald Trump, said he believes he can reach a deal with Iran by Monday. We will bring you quotes from the interview on this when we have them.
Trump has threatened Iran that he would begin bombing its infrastructure Tuesday morning if the vital strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has effectively closed as leverage in the war, is not reopened.
Its closure is having a crippling effect on the global economy and has sent the price of energy soaring, including in the US. This fact is likely to hurt the Republicans in the midterms in November.
Trump has previously boasted of diplomatic progress in talks with Tehran, although Iran has denied any direct negotiation has taken place, only mediation efforts undertaken by intermediaries.
In the interview with Fox News, Trump also said the US sent guns to the Iranian demonstrators during the nationwide protests against the rising cost of living and the government in January.
The protests posed a major threat to the Iranian regime and an estimated 7,000 people were killed by security forces in a brutal crackdown, according to HRANA.
“We sent guns to the protesters, a lot of them,” Trump told Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst. “And I think the Kurds took the guns.”
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Former Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene condemns latest social media threat
Former Trump ally Majorie Taylor Greene has said everyone in the Trump administration who claims to be a Christian needs to “beg forgiveness from God” and intervene in the president’s “madness”.
In a lengthy post on X, which came after the US president again threatened Iran’s infrastructure if the strait of Hormuz remains closed, the former congresswoman wrote:
I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit. I’m not defending Iran but let’s be honest about all of this.
The Strait is closed because the US and Israel started the unprovoked war against Iran based on the same nuclear lies they’ve been telling for decades, that any moment Iran would develop a nuclear weapon.
You know who has nuclear weapons? Israel. They are more than capable of defending themselves without the US having to fight their wars, kill innocent people and children, and pay for it. Trump threatening to bomb power plants and bridges hurts the Iranian people, the very people Trump claimed he was freeing.
After years of loyalty, Greene broke from Trump last year as she questioned his strikes on Iran last June. She has said Trump, who campaigned on an “America first” slogan, has concentrated too much on foreign policy at the expense of domestic issues, such as those around affordability.
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US-Israeli airstrikes hit an airport in southwestern Iran earlier today, state media has reported.
“The Shahid (Qasem) Soleimani international airport was hit in an airstrike carried out by” US and Israeli forces, the official IRNA news agency said, citing the deputy governor of Khuzestan province, Valiollah Hayati. We have not been able to independently verify these claims yet.
Lebanon’s national news agency has said an Israeli airstrike on the Jnah area of southern Beirut has killed four people and injured 39 others.
In an earlier post, we cited a report of a child being among seven people killed in an Israeli airstrike on Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon.
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Summary of the day so far...
It has just gone past 16:45pm in Tehran, and 16:15pm in Tel Aviv and Beirut. Here is a quick recap of events:
The US president, Donald Trump, used abusive language to call on Iran to let ships through the strait of Hormuz as he threatened to further attack Iranian energy and transport infrastructure.
The second crew member of a downed F-15E fighter jet was rescued by the US overnight, ending a two-day search after the warplane crashed in south-west Iran.
Trump said the crew member was “seriously wounded” but “safe and sound” after a mission that was reportedly made possible with the help of CIA subterfuge.
At least five people were reported to have been killed in US-Israeli attacks in south-west Iran during the rescue operations.
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said a number of facilities were targeted by Iranian drone attacks earlier today, resulting in fires and “significant material losses”.
Israel has launched deadly airstrikes on Lebanon and Gaza as its assault on both countries continues. An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon’s Kfar Hatta killed at least seven people, including a four-year-old girl, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.
Hezbollah said it launched missiles towards northern Israel, which the IDF says it has intercepted, according to reports.
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Trump uses abusive language in new post threatening Iranian infrastructure
In a follow-up post on Truth Social, Trump has used abusive language to call on Iran to let ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and threatened to further attack Iranian energy and transport infrastructure. He said:
Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP
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Donald Trump has posted a new message on his Truth Social platform about the rescue of the second US airman, in which he says Iran was “getting close” to finding the F-15 crew member. He also announced a news conference with the military at the Oval office on Monday.
We have rescued the seriously wounded, and really brave, F-15 Crew Member/Officer, from deep inside the mountains of Iran. The Iranian Military was looking hard, in big numbers, and getting close. He is a highly respected Colonel.
This type of raid is seldom attempted because of the danger to ‘man and equipment.’ It just doesn’t happen! The second raid came after the first one, where we rescued the pilot in broad daylight, also unusual, spending seven hours over Iran.
“An AMAZING show of bravery and talent by all! I will be having a News Conference, with the Military, at the Oval Office, on Monday, at 1:00 P.M. God Bless our great MILITARY WARRIORS! President DONALD J. TRUMP
Iranian drone attacks cause 'significant material losses' at Kuwait energy facilities
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said a number of its facilities were targeted by Iranian drone attacks on Sunday, resulting in fires and “significant material losses”.
It said facilities at the Kuwait National Petroleum Company and the Petrochemical Industries Company were targeted. There were no reports of any injuries and specialised teams are working to contain the fires, according to a statement posted on X.
Kuwaiti state media has also reported that two power and water desalination plants sustained “significant material damage” after being attacked by Iranian drones.
Child among seven people killed by Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon - report
Lebanon’s national news agency is reporting that an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon’s Kfar Hatta killed at least seven people, including a four-year-old girl.
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The rescue of the second F-15E crew member was made possible with the help of CIA subterfuge, according to reports in the US media. Here is some detail from the Guardian’s defence and security correspondent, Dan Sabbagh, who has filed a story about the mission:
The CIA took more than a day to locate the missing airman, according to a report in Axios, and launched a disinformation campaign in Iran to give the impression that he had been found in order to fool Iranian forces on the ground. After more than a day the intelligence agency located him, the report added.
Uncrewed Reaper drones were used to protect the airman once he had been located, by “striking Iranian military-aged males believed to be a threat who got within three kilometer” according to a correspondent with the US Air & Space Forces Magazine, who said he had been briefed on the operation.
We have some images of what appears to be the wreckage of a destroyed helicopter in central Iran. It is not clear what make the aircraft is or the circumstances under which it was reportedly shot down. The US has not commented on the images yet.
The Associated reports that US troops blew up two transport planes due to a technical malfunction, forcing them to bring in additional aircraft to complete the rescue of the missing American crew member of the F-15E fighter jet that was shot down over southern Iran on Friday.
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Israel reportedly strikes building in south Beirut after warning
Israel has hit a building in south Beirut after issuing an evacuation warning (see previous post), according to reporting in Lebanese state media.
“The enemy targeted the threatened building in the Ghobeiry area towards Bir Hassan-Jnah,” Lebanon’s state-run national news agency reported. We will bring you more on this as soon as we have it.
Israel orders residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs to flee ahead of an attack
In a post on X, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee sent out an “urgent” warning for people in Beirut’s southern suburbs, particularly in the Ghobeiry neighbourhood, to flee ahead of a military attack.
Below the post is a graphic featuring a building marked in red which Adraee said is “affiliated” with Hezbollah, without providing any evidence to support his claim. He said everyone in that building – and the ones adjacent to it on the map – should leave immediately (before airstrikes).
Israel has repeatedly launched deadly strikes on Beirut’s densely populated southern suburbs since its renewed assault on Lebanon that began on 2 March – killing over 1,360 people, including at least 125 children, injuring over 4,130 others, and displacing over a million, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
The renewed Israeli war on Lebanon was launched after Hezbollah – the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group – fired rockets into northern Israel in response to the killing of the former Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in joint US-Israeli airstrikes.
Bahrain’s defence force has said its air defence systems have intercepted and destroyed 466 drones and 188 missiles since 28 February, when Israel and the US started the war with a a series of strikes on Iran, killing the former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
In response, Iran has since launched retaliatory airstrikes against Israel and at Gulf countries, where they have targeted American military bases as well as striking civilian and energy infrastructure.
In its latest update, published on Sunday, Gaza’s health ministry said at least 72,292 Palestinian people have been killed and 172,073 others injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since 7 October 2023.
At least 716 Palestinian people have been killed in Israeli attacks since a ceasefire came into effect in October 2025, according to the ministry, whose figures the UN generally find reliable.
Most of the people killed have been civilians and the true death toll is likely much higher given the number of those still buried under rubble across the Gaza Strip.
Local health authorities said an Israeli airstrike killed at least four Palestinian people in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday. Medics said the airstrike targeted a group of people in Jaffa Street, near the Darraj neighbourhood in Gaza City.
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Bahrain’s Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company has said a fire at its operating units has been brought under control following an Iranian drone attack, with no injuries reported.
In an earlier post, we reported that Bahrain’s civil defence officials were working to contain a fire after an Iranian attack.
The Egyptian foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, has spoken by phone with US envoy Steve Witkoff, and Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, as well as with his Turkish and Pakistani counterparts.
The Egyptian foreign ministry said earlier today that Abdelatty on Saturday discussed “ideas and proposals to achieve the required calm” and warned of an “unprecedented explosion” in the Middle East, without elaborating on what that meant.
Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan have emerged as active intermediaries in trying to de-escalate regional tensions, reopen the strait of Hormuz and ultimately bring the US-Israeli war on Iran to an end.
On Saturday, Donald Trump threatened to rain “hell” down on Iran if it refuses to “make a deal or open up the Hormuz Strait” in the next 48 hours.
Iran has rejected any proposal for a temporary ceasefire and wants a permanent end to the war with robust guarantees the US won’t attack again, according to a report in Axios.
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At least five people killed by US-Israeli attacks during US pilot rescue operations in Iran - report
At least five people were killed in US-Israeli attacks in south-west Iran during rescue operations for the then missing US crew member from the downed F-15 jet, a local governor has been quoted as having said by the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The governor of the mountainous provinces of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad said all five people were killed after an attack in the “black mountain” area of Kohgiluyeh.
As we have been reporting, both crew members from the downed F-15 fighter jet have now been rescued. The US president, Donald Trump, said no Americans were killed or injured in the rescue mission, about which few details have been officially confirmed.
Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group and political party, said that its fighters targeted an Israeli warship 68 nautical miles off the coast of Lebanon early this morning, according to the Tasnim news agency.
Hezbollah was quoted as saying that the warship was preparing to launch attacks on Lebanese territory.
“The targeting operation was carried out with a naval cruise missile after hours of monitoring the target, and a direct hit was confirmed,” it added in a statement. We have not yet been able to independently verify the information in this report. The IDF says it is unaware of the alleged incident.
Operations at petrochemicals company Borouge’s factory in Abu Dhabi have been suspended because of fires that started by falling debris after successful interceptions by air defense systems, but production at the plant has halted.
The plant is in Ruwais, near the UAE’s western border with Saudi Arabia. It is a joint venture of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. and Borealis of Australia.
Authorities in the UAE capital said on Sunday no injuries had been reported, according to Reuters.
Updated
Aid groups are warning that the war in the Middle East has upended their ability to get food and medicine to millions of people around the world who are in need, and that the suffering will deepen if the violence continues.
The conflict has cut vital shipping routes, creating a global energy crisis and forcing aid groups to use costlier, more time-consuming routes.
Important pathways such as the strait of Hormuz have been effectively closed and routes from strategic hubs such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi have also been affected.
The World Food Program says it has a huge amount of food stuck in transit, while the International Rescue Committee has $130,000 worth of pharmaceuticals intended for war-torn Sudan stranded in Dubai and about 670 boxes of therapeutic food meant for severely malnourished children in Somalia stuck in India. The UN Population Fund says it’s delayed sending equipment to 16 countries.
More images of the conflict engulfing the Middle East have come into the newsroom today.
Iranian media has claims that a US aircraft was destroyed while searching for the crew member of a missing US F-15 fighter jet.
“An American enemy aircraft that was searching for the pilot of a downed fighter jet was destroyed by the fighters of Islam in the southern region of Isfahan,” the Tasnim news agency quoted Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as saying. The Guardian was unable to verify their claim.
US President Donald Trump said that the second crew member from the jet that crashed inside Iran was “SAFE and SOUND” after a search and rescue operation. Trump said the US rescued both airmen “without a SINGLE American killed, or even wounded”.
Updated
A US air force weapons officer whose fighter jet was shot down in Iran on Friday was rescued by US Special Operations forces in a Saturday night mission that took commandos deep into enemy territory, the New York Times has reported.
US commandos extracted the officer – who had been hiding with just a pistol as defence – in an operation that involved hundreds of troops, and dozens of US warplanes and helicopters, the Times reported, citing US officials.
The crew members of the F-15E Strike Eagle, the first lost to enemy fire in the war, ejected from their cockpit on Friday after they were attacked by Iranian forces. The jet’s pilot was soon rescued.
Then, late on Saturday night, US attack aircraft reportedly dropped bombs and opened fire on Iranian convoys as US forces converged on the airman’s location and engaged in a firefight with the enemy, two former senior military officials briefed on the operation told the Times.
Emirati air defences are responding to missile and drone attacks, the United Arab Emirates’ defence ministry has said, as Iran said it was targeting “aluminium industries” in the Gulf nation.
“UAE Air Defences … are actively engaging with missiles and UAV threats,” the ministry posted on X, providing no details about the origin of the attack.
Iran’s army said it was targeting “aluminum industries” in the UAE and US military infrastructure in Kuwait, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.
Trump confirms on Truth Social rescue of second F-15 crew member
US President Donald Trump has confirmed on Truth Social that the US has rescued the second crew member from a F-15 fighter jet shot down over Iran on Friday.
Identifying the crew member as a colonel, Trump wrote that US forces were monitoring his location “24 hours a day” and planning for his rescue.
“WE GOT HIM! My fellow Americans, over the past several hours, the United States Military pulled off one of the most daring Search and Rescue Operations in U.S. History, for one of our incredible Crew Member Officers, who also happens to be a highly respected Colonel, and who I am thrilled to let you know is now SAFE and SOUND!”
Trump said that at his direction, “the US Military sent dozens of aircraft” to retrieve him, and claimed “not a single American” was killed during the operation.
The jet’s pilot was rescued on Friday.
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US forces rescue second crew member of downed F-15 fighter jet, Reuters reports
Reuters is reporting it has been told by US officials that US forces have rescued the second crew member of a downed F-15 fighter jet in Iran. On Friday, the pilot was rescued after the F-15E Strike Eagle became the first plane to be downed over Iran during the five-week-long war.
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A former director of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has urged Gulf nations to prevent Donald Trump from turning the region into “a ball of fire”, after the US president’s latest threat to Tehran.
Mohamed El-Baradei, who led the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from 1997 to 2009, also tagged UN and European Union accounts, as well as French president Emmanuel Macron, in his posts online.
“Nothing can be done to stop this madness?!” he wrote, also tagging the Chinese and Russian foreign ministries.
Trump said Saturday that Iran must make a deal or reopen the vital strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has effectively blocked since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran in February.
“Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them.”
El-Baradei, an 83-year-old former Egyptian vice-president, led the IAEA during the start of the public controversy surrounding Iran’s nuclear program. He and his organisation were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for their efforts to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
South Korea’s finance minister met with envoys from Gulf countries to shore up energy security and the safety of Korean vessels near the strait of Hormuz, the ministry said on Sunday, as the escalating Iran war disrupts shipping.
In the meeting on Friday, Koo Yun-cheol asked the Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors to ensure a steady supply of oil, liquefied natural gas, naphtha, urea and other critical resources, and to ensure the safety of Korean vessels and crew near the vital strait, the ministry said in a statement.
The envoys said South Korea is a “top priority” nation and pledged to communicate closely with Seoul to ensure stable supply, the statement said.
Like other Asian economies, South Korea relies heavily on energy imports, including through the strait of Hormuz, which was a conduit for 20% of the world’s oil before the US and Israel launched the war in February.
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Bahrain’s interior ministry has said civil defence officials are working to contain a fire after an Iranian attack.
It comes as the government in Kuwait says energy infrastructure and water desalination plants were damaged in Sunday morning drone attacks by Iran.
The attacks resulted in “significant material damage and the shutdown of two electricity generating units”, Kuwait electricity and water ministry said in a post on X, adding there were no deaths or injuries.
Iran rejects Trump's demand to make a deal within 48 hours
Iran has rejected Donald Trump’s demand that the regime cut a deal in 48 hours or face “all hell”.
On Saturday, the US president posted on social media: “Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” referring to an ultimatum issued on 26 March.
“Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them.”
Iran’s central military command rejected the ultimatum, with Gen Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi saying Trump’s threat was a “helpless, nervous, unbalanced and stupid action”.
Echoing Trump’s language, he warned that “the gates of hell will open for you”.
Trump later posted a video showing explosions lighting up a night sky along with text that said: “Many of Iran’s Military Leaders … are terminated, along with much else, with this massive strike in Tehran,” without specifying when it took place.
Summary
Welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel and Kuwait early on Sunday, a day after Donald Trump said the Islamic republic had 48 hours to cut a deal or face “all Hell”.
Kuwait and Israel said their air defences were responding to the latest attacks from Iran, part of the war that erupted more than a month ago with US-Israeli strikes that triggered retaliation by Tehran.
The war has spread conflict throughout the Middle East and convulsed the global economy. Iran’s forces maintain a tight grip on the strait of Hormuz shipping lane – a vital conduit for oil and gas – and strike economic targets in Gulf neighbours they see as linked to the US-Israeli war effort.
Elsewhere today:
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, confirmed that Israel attacked Iran’s petrochemical plants after reports from Iranian media saying at least five people were killed in an attack on the Mahshahr petrochemical zone.
US search and rescue efforts for the missing second crew member of the downed F-15E fighter jet continued into a second day as Iran came under heavy bombing. A pilot had been rescued on Friday after the F-15E Strike Eagle became the first US plane to be downed over Iran during the five-week-long war.
American and Israeli fighter jets targeted multiple strategic and civilian sites inside Iran’s capital on Friday afternoon, including Shahid Beheshti University, one of the country’s leading academic institutions, Iranian state media reported.
The death toll in Lebanon has reached 1,422 since the conflict with Israel began on 2 March, according to data from the Lebanese health ministry and reported by the Associated Press. In just the past 24 hours, Israeli strikes have killed 54 people and wounded 156.
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Defense said on Saturday that its air defense forces successfully intercepted eight ballistic missiles and 19 drones over the last 24 hours. However, on Sunday a fire has erupted in the Shuwaikh oil sector complex that houses the oil ministry and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation headquarters, after a drone attack, and Kuwaiti state media reported that two power and water desalination plants sustained “significant material damage” after being attacked by Iranian drones.
A Lebanese security source at the main crossing between Syria and Lebanon, said they were evacuating the crossing after Israel threatened to attack it. The Israeli military said on Saturday it would strike an area near the Masnaa crossing urging residents to evacuate immediately as it continued its attacks across Lebanon.
Residents of southern Lebanon’s Kfar Hatta were told on social media by Israel to immediately leave the area, and warned that the Israeli military would soon act “with force” in the area.
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