Iran, US-Israel War Highlights | US-Israeli strikes hit two Iranian nuclear facilities

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran Guards say it carried out attacks on Israel and US forces in Gulf

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had carried out missile and drone strikes the previous day targeting sites in Israel and military facilities in the Gulf used by US forces, reports AFP.

The strikes involved long- and medium-range missiles and "destructive and roaming drones", and targeted sites in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, the Guards said in a statement carried by the IRNA and Fars news agencies.

The statement said a maintenance facility for US air defence system Patriot was targeted in Bahrain.

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Oil prices fall as Trump pauses attacks on Iranian energy plants

Oil prices fell in early trade on ​Friday and were down over a volatile week after US President Donald Trump said talks with Iran to end the war were going "very well" and announced he would pause attacks on the country's ⁠energy plants for 10 days.

Brent futures fell 90 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $107.11 per barrel ⁠as of 0024 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures ‌lost 83 cents, or 0.88 per cent, to $93.65 ​per barrel, trimming gains from a bullish previous session.

(Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran forbids its sports teams from traveling to 'hostile' countries: Report

Iran has banned its sports teams from traveling to countries it considers "hostile," Iranian state TV reported Thursday ahead of Tractor FC's scheduled soccer game in Saudi Arabia, reports Associated Press.

The ban announced by Iran's Ministry of Sports in Tehran didn't mention the World Cup which starts June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The ministry's statement singled out the Tractor game against Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai that was set to be played in Saudi Arabia. It's a playoff game in the Asian Champions League Elite.

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Trump weighs sending another 10,000 ground troops to the Middle East: Report

The Pentagon is looking ⁠at sending up ⁠to ‌10,000 additional ​ground troops to the ​Middle ⁠East to give President Donald Trump ⁠more ‌military options even as ‌he ⁠weighs peace talks with Tehran, ‌the ‌Wall Street ‌Journal ‌reported on Thursday, citing Department ⁠of ⁠Defense officials with knowledge of the planning.

(Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Rupee hits record low past 94/USD as prospect of prolonged Iran war deepens energy risks

The Indian rupee hit a record low past the 94-per-dollar mark on ⁠Friday, hammered by worries that the energy ⁠supply crisis sparked ‌by the ​Middle East war will drag on, deepening the pressure on energy importing economies.

(Reuters)

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Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Rubio holds call with Iraqi Kurdish leader, State Department says

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani ⁠on Thursday, the State Department said, adding he expressed "gratitude" ⁠to KRG for enabling oil from Iraq, ‌including from Iraq's Kurdistan, ​to reach global markets.

"The secretary also expressed his gratitude to the Kurdistan Regional Government for enabling oil from Iraq, including from the Iraq Kurdistan Region, to reach ​global markets," the ⁠State Department said in a statement.

(Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | EAM Jaishankar, Canadian FM Anand discuss West Asia crisis on G7 sidelines

The West Asia crisis and its consequences figured prominently during a conversation between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Canadian counterpart Anita Anand on the margins of a G7 meeting in France.

Jaishankar arrived here on Thursday for the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting.

On its sidelines, he met Anand, and the two followed up "on the partnership our Prime Ministers advanced during our visit to India earlier this year," the Canadian Foreign Minister said in an X post.

(PTI)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Vietnamese airlines to cut flights due to fuel supply constraints

Vietnamese airlines ​plan to cancel flights on domestic and international routes from next month due to fuel supply constraints caused ⁠by the Middle East conflict, state media reported citing ⁠a report from the regulator.

Flag ‌carrier Vietnam Airlines ​will suspend seven domestic routes from April 1 and reduce flight volumes by 10 per cent to 20 per cent per month in the next quarter if jet ​fuel prices rise ⁠to $160-$200 per barrel, state-run Nhan Dan newspaper reported.

(Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Blasts heard as Lebanese state media says Israel strikes Beirut suburbs

Lebanese media reported an Israeli strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs early Friday, as AFP correspondents heard several explosions from the Hezbollah stronghold that Israel has repeatedly struck since war erupted this month.

AFPTV footage showed smoke billowing from the area after the raid.

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | UAE willing to join international force to reopen Strait of Hormuz: Report

The United Arab ⁠Emirates has told Washington ⁠and ‌other ​western allies that it would ​participate ⁠in a multinational maritime task force ⁠intended ‌to reopen the Strait ‌of ⁠Hormuz, the Financial Times ‌reported ‌on Friday, ‌citing people ‌familiar with the matter.

(Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Indonesia's fuel, LPG supplies secure, minister says

Indonesia's ⁠liquefied petroleum ⁠gas ‌and fuel ​supplies are ​secure, ⁠its energy minister said on ⁠Friday, ‌amid ‌an ⁠ongoing conflict in ‌the ‌Middle ‌East ‌that has disrupted shipments. 

(Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | UN Security Council to meet on Iran Friday: Report

The UN Security Council will hold closed-door consultations on Friday to discuss strikes on Iran at Moscow's request, Russian state media reported, as the Middle East war nears its second month, reports AFP.

Iran has come under near-daily bombardment since US-Israeli strikes on February 28 triggered the war, which has since widened to large parts of the region.

"The Russian Federation has requested closed-door consultations with the UN Security Council due to the ongoing strikes on civilian infrastructure in Iran, including educational and healthcare facilities," said Evgeny Uspensky, spokesman for Russia's envoy to the United Nations, according to state news agency TASS.

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | There has been indirect contact between United States and Iran: German FM

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Kuwait's Shuwaikh port hit by drones causing material damage, no injuries reported

Kuwait's ⁠Shuwaikh ⁠port ‌was ​hit ​by drones, ⁠causing material ⁠damage ‌with ‌no ⁠injuries reported, Kuwait ‌ports ‌authority ‌said ‌on ⁠Friday. 

(Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Trump's Iran war pushes India to rekindle old friendship with Russia

As India's diplomats negotiated an accord that would ease punitive U.S. tariffs on the South Asian country's exports in January, New Delhi slashed its purchases of Russian crude oil in a move that was widely seen as a painful concession to President Donald Trump.

Just two months later, however, Delhi and Moscow are deepening their energy cooperation, with ⁠both sides agreeing to prepare for Russia to resume direct sales of liquefied natural gas for the first time since the start of the Ukraine war, according to two people familiar with the matter. If India decides to pursue ⁠the deal, which risks violating Western sanctions, negotiations could be concluded in weeks, one of the people said.

(Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Israel military says carried out 'wide-scale' strikes on Tehran

Israel's military said it carried out strikes on targets in Tehran early Friday, nearly a month into the Middle East war.

A brief military statement said Israeli forces "completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran".

The military said in a separate statement that it had also struck "ballistic missiles and aerial defense systems production sites across Iran".

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran says hotels housing US soldiers in region will be targeted

Iran's military has warned that hotels housing US soldiers across the region would be targets in its war with the United States and Israel, reports AFP.

"When all the Americans (forces) go into a hotel, then from our perspective that hotel becomes American," armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi told state television on Thursday.

"Should we just stand by and let the Americans strike us? When we respond, naturally we have to strike wherever they are."

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Sirens sounded, Israeli military says it identified missiles launched from Iran

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | IRGC urge civilians to leave areas near US forces in region

 Iran's Revolutionary Guards urged civilians across the region on Friday to stay away from areas near US forces, nearly a month into the war with the United States and Israel, reports AFP.

"The cowardly American-Zionist forces... are attempting to use civilian locations and innocent people as human shields," said the Guards in a statement on their Sepah News website.

"We recommend that you urgently leave locations where American forces are stationed so that no harm comes to you."

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | UN demands 'justice' after Iran school strike

The deadly bombing of an Iranian school spurred "visceral horror", the UN rights chief said Friday, urging Washington to conclude its probe and demanding justice "for the terrible harm done," reports AFP.

Speaking at the start of an urgent debate in the UN Human Rights Council focused on the February 28 strike on an Iranian elementary school in Minab on the first day of the Middle East war, Volker Turk said that "whatever differences countries have, we can all agree they will not be solved by killing schoolchildren"

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | School strike 'calculated' assault by US: Iran foreign minister

The deadly bombing of an Iranian school on the first day of the Middle East war was a "calculated" assault by the United States, Iran's foreign minister said Friday, reports AFP.

In a video address to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Abbas Araghchi slammed the "calculated, phased assault" on an elementary school "in the city of Minab, south of Iran, where more than 175 students and teachers were slaughtered in cold blood".

"The United States' contradictory remarks aimed at justifying their crime could not, in any manner, elude their responsibility," he said, describing the February 28 attack as "a war crime and a crime against humanity".

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran says US, Israeli strikes damage 120 museums, historic buildings

US and Israeli strikes on Iran have damaged at least 120 museums and cultural and historic sites across the country since the start of the war, the head of Tehran city council's cultural heritage committee said, reports AFP.

"At least 120 museums, historical buildings and cultural sites across various provinces were directly targeted and sustained serious structural damage," said Ahmad Alavi.

He was quoted by state TV as naming UNESCO-listed Golestan Palace along with other sites damaged in the war, including Saadabad Palace, the Marble Palace and Teymourtash house, also known as the War Museum.

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Strait of Hormuz is closed, any transit will face 'harsh measures', warns IRGC

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on ⁠Friday that shipping "to ⁠and from ‌ports ​of allies and supporters of the Israeli-American enemies" ​is prohibited through ⁠any corridor or to any destination, Iranian ⁠state ‌media reported.

The IRGC added that ‌the Strait of ⁠Hormuz is closed and ‌any transit through ‌the waterway will ‌face "harsh ‌measures".

(Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Israel Defence Minister warns "heavy and increasing price for targeting Iranian civilians

Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz warns that Israeli attacks on Iran 'will escalate and expand'.

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Kuwait says main port damaged in drone attack

Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port infrastructure was hit by drones and missiles, causing material damage.

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | More than 1,900 dead in Iran since start of US-Israel strike, IFRC says

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Israel launches new wave of strikes on Iran with no sign of diplomatic breakthrough

Israel launched a new wave of strikes on Iran on Friday even after US President Donald Trump claimed talks on ending the war were going well, extending his self-imposed deadline to Tehran on opening the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran has shown no signs of backing down.

Air raid sirens sounded in Israel too as the military said it was working to intercept Iranian missiles in what has been a daily occurrence.

-AP

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Overnight petrol queues in Ethiopia as West Asia crisis leads to shortage

Ethiopians said that they slept in their cars in hours-long queues for petrol as shortages caused by the Middle East war began to take their toll.

Drivers waiting in an enormous queue at a petrol station in the Summit 72 area of the capital Addis Ababa said the wait was 'more than a day'.

-AP

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Tehran accuses US of 'calculated' assault on school

Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi branded a deadly strike on an Iranian school on the first day of the Middle East war as a "calculated" US assault.

The strike, he said "was a war crime and a crime against humanity, one that demands unequivocal condemnation by all, and unambiguous accountability for the culprits".

-AFP

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran will pay 'heavy price' for targeting Israeli civilians: Israel Katz

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said that Israel would step up strikes against Iran as a result of its continued missile fire, warning the Islamic republic would pay a "heavy price".

-AFP

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran says US, Israeli strikes damage 120 museums, historic buildings

US and Israeli strikes on Iran have damaged at least 120 culturally or historically significant sites across the country since the start of the war, the head of Tehran city council's heritage committee said.

-AFP

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Talks would help restore Hormuz transit: China

Initiating peace talks in the Iran war "is no ⁠easy task", but ⁠it would ‌be "conducive to restoring ​normal navigation through the Strait of Hormuz", Chinese Foreign Minister ​Wang Yi ⁠said during a call with his Pakistani counterpart on ⁠Friday.

The ‌two "agreed to jointly promote a ceasefire ‌and cessation of ⁠hostilities and the resumption of peace ‌talks, to ‌ensure the safety of ‌non-military targets ‌and waterways".

-Reuters

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Putin cynically hopes Iran conflict will be distraction: Germany's foreign minister

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | UN rights chief urges US to conclude probe into deadly Iran school strike

The UN rights chief urged Washington to conclude its investigation into a fatal strike on a primary school in Iran ⁠at a UN Human Rights Council meeting on Friday, with some states voicing outrage ⁠over the incident.

-Reuters

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran Guards say Strait of Hormuz 'closed' to hostile shipping

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that they had turned back three ships trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, adding the route was closed to vessels travelling to and from ports linked to its "enemies".

-AFP

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Trump's Iran war pushes India to rekindle old friendship with Russia

As India's diplomats negotiated an accord that would ease punitive US tariffs on the South Asian country's exports in January, New Delhi slashed its purchases of Russian crude oil in a move that was widely seen as a painful concession to President Donald Trump.

-Reuters

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran cautions civilians as Trump says talks 'going well'

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned civilians across the Middle East to stay away from areas near US forces, in a mark of defiance after President Donald Trump claimed talks to end the month-long war were "going well".

The Guards' warning came after Trump again extended a deadline for Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy assets, pushing it from Friday to April 6.

-AFP

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | US intelligence shows one out of three of Iran's missiles destroyed in US strikes

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | US-Israeli air attacks target steel plants in Iran

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Pak PM Shehbaz, Kuwait leadership discuss West Asia peace efforts

The Kuwait Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Al Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah on Friday called Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offering support for Pakistan's "mediation" effort to end the conflict in the West Asia.

The prime minister received a telephone call from Al Sabah, who appreciated the Prime Minister's leadership.

-PTI

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran starts to formalise its chokehold on Strait of Hormuz with 'toll booth' regime

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | PM Modi chairs meeting with CMs as West Asia crisis continues

Election-going states are not part of this meeting due to the model code of conduct. There will be a separate meeting for Chief Secretaries of the election-going states, which will be held through the Cabinet Secretariat.

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Chinese ships halt attempt to exit Hormuz despite Iran safe passage assurances

Two Chinese container ships turned backed after trying to exit the Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, ship-tracking data showed, ⁠despite assurances from Iran that Chinese vessels could pass.

The CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean, both Hong Kong flagged, have been stuck in the Gulf since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.

-Reuters

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Israeli evacuation orders uproot 370,000 children in Lebanon: UN

More than 3,70,000 children have been forced from their homes in Lebanon in just ⁠three weeks, as intensified Israeli strikes and mass evacuation orders trigger one of the ⁠fastest and largest population displacements in the country's history, UN ‌officials said.

Israel has ​launched heavy air strikes and a ground assault on Lebanon in parallel with the war in Iran, after Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militia fired into Israel in solidarity with Tehran on March 2.

-Reuters

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Indian fuel shipment to arrive in Sri Lanka

A combined shipment of 38,000 metric tonnes of diesel and petrol is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka from India.

The fuel shipment will arrive at the Colombo Harbour as a result of the telephone conversation held on March 24 between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The shipment of 38,000 MT comprising 20,000 MT of diesel and 18,000 MT of petrol will arrive here as emergency support through the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) local operation, Lanka IOC (LIOC).

-PTI

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | US-Israeli airstrikes target two steel plants in Iran

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran-linked hackers claim breach of FBI director's personal email

Iran-linked ⁠hackers have publicly ⁠claimed ‌the ​breach of FBI Director Kash ​Patel's personal ⁠inbox, publishing photographs of the ⁠director ‌and his purported resume.

A ‌Justice ⁠Department official confirmed ‌that Patel's emails ‌were ‌compromised.

-Reuters

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Hezbollah says clashed with Israeli forces in two south Lebanon villages

Hezbollah said that its fighters had clashed directly with Israeli forces in two south Lebanon villages, as Israeli airstrikes on several areas killed at least six people.

-AFP

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Attacks on Iran 'will escalate and expand': Israel as Trump claims advances in ceasefire talks

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran's Khondab heavy water research reactor targetted in air attack, no casualties

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Iran's counter-proposal to likely arrive: Trump, top White House officials told

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Air attack injures 2 at Iran cement plant

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | US expects Iran operation to conclude in weeks, not months, says Rubio

Secretary of ⁠State Marco Rubio ⁠said on ‌Friday ​the US expects its ​operation ⁠in Iran to conclude in "weeks, not ⁠months" ‌after he met ‌with ⁠G7 foreign ministers in France.

Rubio ‌also ‌said ‌Iran ‌may decide to set up ⁠a ⁠tolling system for the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | At least 13 killed in two US-Israeli attacks on residential areas in Iran's Kermanshah province, per Iranian media. (Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | US-Israeli strikes hit two Iranian nuclear facilities (AFP)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Israel military reports missiles fired from Iran

"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the IDF said on its official Telegram channel. (AFP)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Houthis warn US-Israel of joining the war if attacks on Iran continue

Yemen's Houthis warned that they would join the the Middle East war if US-Israeli attacks continue to hit its ally Iran or if more countries join the conflict.

"We affirm that our fingers are on the trigger for direct military intervention," the group said in a statement, warning that it would act if another nations joined the US-Israeli fight or if the Red Sea was used for "hostile operations". (AFP)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Atomic agency takes stock of attack on Iran's nuclear plant

"IAEA informed by Iran of a new strike in the area of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, the third such incident in 10 days. No damage to operating reactor nor any radiation release reported, and condition of plant is normal, Iran says," the IAEA posted on X.

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | US envoy hopeful on Iran talks as strikes target nuclear facilities

US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Friday he believes Iran will hold talks with Washington "this week" to end the month-long war, as US-Israeli strikes hit two Iranian nuclear facilities.

"We think there will be meetings this week, we're certainly hopeful for it," Witkoff told a business forum in Miami. Washington expected Tehran to respond to a 15-point US peace plan, he said. "It could solve it all." (AFP)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Twelve US troops wounded in Iran strike on base in Saudi Arabia, US official says

Twelve US troops were wounded, two of ⁠them seriously, in ⁠an Iranian ‌military ​strike on Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, ​a U.S. ⁠official said.

The latest casualties add ⁠to ‌the more than 300 U.S. ‌military service members who ⁠have been wounded since the ‌war ‌against Iran started on ‌February 28. ‌Earlier on Friday, the US military said 273 ⁠of ⁠them had already returned to duty. Thirteen US troops have been killed in ​the conflict. (Reuters)

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | UAE intercepts another barrage of missiles fired from Iran

Iran, US-Israel War Live Updates | Israeli military says it identified missiles launched from Iran towards Israel (Reuters)