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Footage shared by Trump showed what looked like a large explosion@realDonaldTrump<\/p>\n\t\t\t2.20am<\/p>\n
\t\tUS tech firm withholding Iran images at government request\n <\/p>\n
An American technology company will indefinitely withhold satellite images of Iran and the region of conflict in the Middle East, on the request of the US government.<\/p>\n
The California-based Planet Labs announced the decision in an email to customers on Saturday, saying it was complying with the administration\u2019s request.<\/p>\n
The firm had previously put a 14-day delay on satellite images of the conflict zone in the Middle East in order to prevent adversaries using it to attack the US and its allies.<\/p>\n
Planet Labs said in its email to customers that it would switch to a \u201cmanaged distribution of images\u201d deemed not to pose a risk to safety.<\/p>\n
Its worldwide satellite images are often used by researchers and journalists to get a fuller picture of events in areas which are difficult to reach or restricted.<\/p>\n
In a statement to The New York Times, Planet Labs said the US government request was made for \u201csafety and operational security reasons\u201d.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t1.59am<\/p>\n
\t\tKuwait\u2019s government complex targeted\n <\/p>\n
Kuwait\u2019s finance ministry said that an Iranian drone attack had targeted the country\u2019s ministries complex on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
The complex in Kuwait City includes the finance ministry, industry and commerce, and the justice ministry.<\/p>\n
There were no injuries but significant material damage, with emergency teams working on the incident.<\/p>\n
Government employees will work remotely on Sunday, said the statement.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t1.45am<\/p>\n
\t\tPrestigious Tehran university damaged in strikes\n <\/p>\n
A research centre at the prestigious Shahid Beheshti University in southern Tehran was damaged by strikes on Friday.<\/p>\n
The laser and plasma research centre was targeted during the attacks. The university has for years been sanctioned by the European Union, the UK, Australia and Canada for its involvement in nuclear weapons development.<\/p>\n
Last year, the university president Mahmoud Reza Aghamiri said that Iran \u201chas the capability to build a nuclear bomb\u201d.<\/p>\n
After the strikes on Friday, Iran\u2019s minister of science, research and technology stood in the wreckage at the university and gave a statement to reporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe enemy with no roots in history, culture and civilization is acting worse than [humans living] in the stone age and attacks a scientific center,\u201d said Hossein Simaee Sarraf on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t1.20am<\/p>\n
\t\tIranian commander\u2019s niece \u2018enjoyed lavish lifestyle in LA\u2019\n <\/p>\n
The US state department has released a statement after claiming to have arrested the family members of a dead Iranian commander.<\/p>\n
The suspected niece and grand niece of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) major general Qasem Soleimani were placed in the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and have had their green cards revoked.<\/p>\n
Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter Soleimani Afshar were residing in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile living in the United States, [Soleimani Afshar] promoted Iranian regime propaganda, celebrated attacks against American soldiers and military facilities in the Middle East, praised the new Iranian Supreme Leader, denounced America as the \u2018Great Satan\u2019 and voiced her unflinching support for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a designated terror organisation,\u201d read the statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfshar Soleimani pushed this propaganda for Iran\u2019s terrorist regime while enjoying a lavish lifestyle in Los Angeles, as attested to by her frequent posting on her recently deleted Instagram account.\u201d<\/p>\n
Afshar\u2019s husband has also been barred from entering the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Trump administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Two of Soleimani\u2019s daughters have denied that the women are relatives, according to Iranian state media.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t1.00am<\/p>\n
\t\tIsraeli strike \u2018shuts down Iranian power base\u2019\n <\/p>\n
The Israeli strike on one of Iran\u2019s largest petrochemical complexes has effectively shut down all of its production, according to Iranian state media.<\/p>\n
It targeted the Bandar Imam Petrochemical Complex in the city of Mahshahr.<\/p>\n
The attack destroyed two facilities, Fajr 1 and Fajr 2, which provide basic services, including gas, power and water, to the rest of the complex.<\/p>\n
The Israeli Defence Forces said that it had struck a complex \u201cresponsible for the production of chemical materials used for weapons\u201d and that the sites were \u201ccentral to producing materials for explosives, ballistic missiles and additional weaponry\u201d.<\/p>\n
Two senior officials told the New York Times that the complex\u2019s total shutdown was a huge blow to Iran\u2019s already struggling economy and that it could take two years to rebuild.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t12.35am
\n\t\t\tApril 5<\/p>\n
\t\tArchbishop of York to call Iran war \u2018pointless\u2019 in Easter address\n <\/p>\n
The Archbishop of York has called for an end to the fighting in the Middle East, calling it a \u201cliterally pointless conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n
Stephen Cottrell will deliver his plea for \u201cpeace between warring nations\u201d to a congregation at York Minster on Easter Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thirst for peace between the warring nations of the world and on this Easter morning cry out for an end to the literally pointless conflict consuming the Middle East at the moment,\u201d he is expected to say.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thirst for justice in a world where norms of international law are eroded and ignored, where basic human rights are denied.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cottrell will deliver his sermon as the war enters its sixth week.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t12.10am
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tFire erupts in Kuwait\n <\/p>\n
A fire has broken out at an oil sector complex in Kuwait after a drone attack, said a state news agency.<\/p>\n
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said a fire erupted in the Shuwaikh oil sector complex in the early hours of Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
Emergency services were dealing with the fire, with no injuries reported.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t11.39pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tIran responds to Trump: The gates of hell will open for you\n <\/p>\n
Iran\u2019s central military command rejected Trump\u2019s 48-hour threat on Saturday, with General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi describing the threat as a \u201chelpless, nervous, unbalanced and stupid action\u201d.<\/p>\n
Echoing Trump\u2019s own language, he warned that \u201cthe gates of hell will open for you\u201d.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t11.25pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tSyria: Lebanon crossing is not used by Hezbollah\n <\/p>\n
Syria has temporarily closed its border crossing into Lebanon, after the Israeli military issued an evacuation order on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
The Israeli Defense Forces said it was targeting the border due to Hezbollah\u2019s use of it for smuggling weapons. It warned civilians that remaining in the area would put them in danger.<\/p>\n
However the Syrian Authority for Border Crossings and Customs insisted it was \u201cdesignated exclusively for civilian passage\u201d.<\/p>\n
It continued: \u201cIt is not used for any military purposes, there is no presence of any armed groups or militias, and it is not permitted to be used for any activity outside civilian and legal frameworks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t11.05pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tTrump shares footage of \u2018massive Tehran strike\u2019\n <\/p>\n
Trump shared a video of apparent airstrikes on Iran this evening, describing it as a \u201cmassive strike in Tehran\u201d.<\/p>\n
He wrote on Truth Social: \u201cMany of Iran\u2019s Military Leaders, who have led them poorly and unwisely, are terminated, along with much else, with this massive strike in Tehran! President DONALD J. TRUMP.\u201d<\/p>\n
Footage shared by Trump showed what looked like a large explosion@realDonaldTrump<\/p>\n
\t\t\t10.55pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tIran war gives Netanyahu more time and a new story\n <\/p>\n
![\"Collage](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/eddf3ee3-6cb0-4bad-9060-69959b8ce308.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Back in October 2023, in the first days after Hamas\u2019s surprise attack, it seemed almost impossible that Binyamin Netanyahu would still be Israel\u2019s prime minister two and a half years later.<\/p>\n
As ministers gathered for an emergency security cabinet meeting on the afternoon of October 7, one of Netanyahu\u2019s closest political allies, finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, told him: \u201cWithin 48 hours they will ask us to resign \u2014 and they will be right to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n
Israel had just experienced the worst disaster in its history, the government and the IDF had failed, and\u00a0Netanyahu, who had spent more than a decade shaping the country\u2019s policy on Hamas, bore the brunt of the responsibility. He appeared politically finished.<\/p>\n
But he wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t10.28pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tIsrael warns of strike near Syria-Lebanon border crossing\n <\/p>\n
The Israeli military said today that it would strike an area near the main crossing between Syria and Lebanon, urging residents to evacuate immediately as it continued its attacks across Lebanon.<\/p>\n
Israel has carried out strikes across Lebanon and launched a ground invasion in the south since March 2 when Hezbollah entered the war in the Middle East on the side of its backer, Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to Hezbollah\u2019s use of the Masnaa crossing for military purposes and smuggling of combat equipment, the [Israeli army] intends to carry out strikes on the crossing in the near future,\u201d the military\u2019s Arabic language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor your safety, we urge everyone near the crossing and anyone in the area marked in red on the map to evacuate immediately,\u201d he wrote on X, sharing the marked map.<\/p>\n
A Lebanese security source at the Masnaa border crossing told AFP they were \u201ccurrently evacuating the crossing following the Israeli threat\u201d.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t10.15pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tDead Iranian general\u2019s family denies US arrest of relatives\n <\/p>\n
Iran has responded to claims by the US that it arrested two relatives of a dead Iranian commander.<\/p>\n
The state department said today it had arrested the niece and grandniece of Qasem Soleimani, the general who was assassinated in 2020 on the order of President Trump. \u201cThe Trump administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes,\u201d Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, said.<\/p>\n
Iranian media quoted Zeinab Soleimani, Soleimani\u2019s daughter, who told the Fars news agency \u201cthe people arrested in the United States have no connection to the family\u201d. Another daughter, Narjes Soleimani, who is a member of Tehran\u2019s Islamic City Council, told Iranian state TV: \u201cTo this day, no member of the family nor any relative of Martyr Soleimani has resided in the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t10.06pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tPrediction platform bans bets on US crew member rescue\n <\/p>\n
Polymarket, one of the world\u2019s largest prediction platforms, said that it would no longer allow users to place bets on whether US forces would find the missing crew member whose aircraft was shot down in Iran.<\/p>\n
There had been a market which put odds on the service member\u2019s rescue. Yesterday, Polymarket said the market did not meet its \u201cintegrity standards\u201d and it would investigate how it slipped through its \u201cinternal safeguards.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t9.52pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tAides brief Trump on legality of strikes on civilians\n <\/p>\n
Top White House aides briefed President Trump on the legal basis of striking civilian targets in Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports.<\/p>\n
The group, which included the defence secretary Pete Hegseth, privately made the case to Trump that Iranian energy facilities and bridges are legitimate military targets because their destruction could lead to a significant hit in the country\u2019s missile and nuclear capabilities.<\/p>\n
On Thursday the US struck a bridge connecting Tehran to the city of Karaj, which US officials said could transport military material. At least 13 people were killed.<\/p>\n
The rationale has been questioned by legal experts and human rights groups, though the Trump administration insists destroying these plants is a legitimate element of war.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t9.25pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tHouthis claim new missile strike on Israel\n <\/p>\n
The Houthis said they launched another missile attack against Israel today.<\/p>\n
Based in Yemen, the Iran-backed militant group entered the conflict on March 28, firing a barrage of rockets towards Israel.<\/p>\n
The Israel Defence Forces earlier said they were intercepting a missile launch from Yemen.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t9.08pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tLindsey Graham: US will press on even if Iran finds airman\n <\/p>\n
![\"Senator](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/aee08782-9116-4908-aed2-d64a518a024e.jpg\")
Lindsey GrahamANDREW THOMAS\/CNP\/SPLASHNEWS<\/p>\n
President Trump has renewed his threats to Iran but remained silent over the fate of an American airman whose fighter jet was shot down on Friday.<\/p>\n
Both the US and Iran are engaged in a race to find the American airman who remained unaccounted for after his aircraft was shot down on Friday. His pilot was rescued but, as of Saturday evening, there had been no updates from US officials regarding the status of the second crew member, who is believed to be a weapons systems officer.<\/p>\n
Senator Lindsey Graham, a vocal Republican supporter of the war and long-time advocate of military action against Iran, told The Sunday Times on Saturday morning that if the airman was captured by the Iranians, it would not change the American calculus.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t8.38pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tNetanyahu: We will continue to crush the terror regime\n <\/p>\n
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Damaged buildings after Israeli-US airstrikes in TehranMajid Saeedi\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel\u2019s prime minister, vowed to continue strikes on Iran in a video statement this evening.<\/p>\n
He said recent attacks, which hit petrochemical and steel production facilities, were intended to target the regime\u2019s \u201ccash machine for funding the war of terror against us\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI promised you that we would continue to strike the terror regime in Tehran, and that is exactly what we are doing,\u201d Netanyahu said.<\/p>\n
He also wrote on X: \u201cContinuing to crush the terror regime. Have a good week!\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t8.23pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tFive killed in Israeli strike on petrochemical plant, Iran says\n <\/p>\n
Iranian state media is reporting that five people have been killed in strikes on a petrochemical plant, and that a further 170 are being treated for injuries.<\/p>\n
Israel claimed the facility produced a \u201ccritical component\u201d for the Iranian ballistic missiles programme.<\/p>\n
The strikes on the facility in Mahshahr, southwestern Iran occurred earlier today, according to the Israeli military.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t8.07pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tIsraeli strikes kill two girls in Lebanon\n <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/baeabcae-5ec3-40bb-aa57-8b8383bc8344.jpg\")
First responders pull an injured man from the rubble after an Israeli airstrike in Nabatieh, LebanonChris McGrath\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed at least two girls and wounded 40 people today, according to the Lebanese health ministry.<\/p>\n
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) also issued an evacuation warning for Lebanon\u2019s largest border crossing with Syria tonight, indicating that further strikes are imminent.<\/p>\n
Attacks by the IDF have intensified over recent weeks, since having launched a ground invasion on March 2.<\/p>\n
The death toll in Lebanon is about 1,300, according to authorities.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t8.00pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tIsrael strikes 140 \u2018terrorist targets\u2019\n <\/p>\n
The Israeli military has struck more than 140 \u201cterrorist infrastructure targets\u201d in Lebanon over the weekend, it said today.<\/p>\n
The Israeli military has stepped up its attack on southern Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah weapons storage facilities, training camps, rocket launch sites and its special forces command centres in Beirut.<\/p>\n
More than 1,300 people have died in Lebanon so far, according to Lebanese authorities.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t7.46pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tIran hits US targets in Kuwait\n <\/p>\n
Iran has launched a new wave of drone strikes on US assets in Kuwait, its military said in a statement. The Iranian military said it was targeting missile and combat drone detection and surveillance radars, as well as helicopter units.<\/p>\n
America has a significant military presence in Kuwait and is a key base for armoured vehicles, troops and a launch for artillery strikes.<\/p>\n
There has also been an escalation in Iranian attacks on Kuwaiti infrastructure, including strikes on Friday that damaged a power and water desalination plant and an oil refinery.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t7.27pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tTwo arrested outside RAF base\n <\/p>\n
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A demonstrator being arrested during a protest outside RAF Lakenheath PA<\/p>\n
Two people were arrested during an anti-war demonstration outside RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk this afternoon.<\/p>\n
Suffolk police said the suspects were detained on suspicion of obstructing a public highway. Demonstrators are holding a six-day \u201cpeace camp\u201d in protest against the Iran conflict until April 6.<\/p>\n
There have been reports that the US fighter jet shot down over Iran yesterday had taken off from Lakenheath.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t7.22pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tMissing crew member may not have survived, retired general says\n <\/p>\n
The missing crew member of the US jet shot down over Iran yesterday has almost certainly sustained injuries and may not have survived at all, a retired US Air Force general has said.<\/p>\n
Brigadier General Houston Cantwell, who flew combat missions during his career, told Times Radio that the physical toll of ejecting from a downed war plane was severe. \u201cA missile just blew up within 10 to 15 feet of your body,\u201d he said. \u201cYou never know what the status of the pilot is going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cantwell said the ejecting pilot would have likely experienced several traumas: shrapnel from the missile strike, the ejection itself \u2014 which can subject the body to more than 20G of force \u2014 followed by wind blast and a parachute landing in hostile terrain.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult to survive all of those things unscathed and then to find yourself, again, unscathed on the ground [and] able to move around,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the first thing, is what physical condition is he in? If he\u2019s in good mental and physical condition, then obviously try to find a good hole up spot to stay low and keep a low profile.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd obviously we hope this is not the case but there\u2019s a possibility he may not have survived.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t7.12pm
\n\t\t\tApril 4<\/p>\n
\t\tIran\u2019s plan B to get its oil out\n <\/p>\n
![\"Satellite](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/d8908afc-df0b-4a92-8056-f4b479670cc9.jpg\")
Jask sits on the Gulf of Oman, 95 miles east of the Strait of HormuzAFP<\/p>\n
Iran is increasing activity at a \u201cforgotten\u201d oil port after threats that the US could invade its main export facility on Kharg Island.<\/p>\n
Jask port, which has been largely inactive for years, has shipped millions of barrels of oil since the start of the war, according to an analysis of satellite imagery. The volume of oil stored at its terminal has also increased.<\/p>\n
Jask, which is 95 miles east of the Strait of Hormuz, offers a plan B, experts say \u2014 especially if\u00a0President Trump acts on his threats<\/a>\u00a0to seize Kharg Island, through which Iran exports 90 per cent of its oil.<\/p>\n \t\t\t6.37pm \t\tIsraeli protesters gather in Tel Aviv\n <\/p>\n Hundreds of Israelis gathered in central Tel Aviv today to protest the war with Iran.<\/p>\n Demonstrators assembled in Habima Square where they waved anti-war banners and chanted slogans against Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister.<\/p>\n \u201cPolice are trying to silence our voice,\u201d Alon-Lee Green, the co-director of the Israeli-Palestinian grassroots group Standing Together, told AFP. \u201cWe are here to demand an end to the war in Iran, the war in Lebanon, and the war in Gaza which is still going on, as well as an end to the pogroms in the West Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n Protesters held the rally despite restrictions on mass gatherings imposed since the start of the war.<\/p>\n \t\t\t6.05pm \t\tIsraeli soldier killed in Lebanon\n <\/p>\n The Israeli military said a soldier had been killed today during fighting in southern Lebanon, where its forces are engaged in clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.<\/p>\n \u201cSergeant First Class Guy Ludar, aged 21, [\u2026] fell during combat in southern Lebanon,\u201d an Israel Defence Forces spokesperson said.<\/p>\n The latest fatality brings the number of Israeli soldiers killed in south Lebanon to 11 since the army began ground operations against Hezbollah last month.<\/p>\n \t\t\t5.40pm \t\tTehran grants Iraq free passage through Strait\n <\/p>\n Iranian military officials have said Iraq is to be exempt from any restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported today.<\/p>\n The announcement, made by Iran\u2019s main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya, signals preferential treatment for Baghdad as Tehran tightens control over the strategic waterway.<\/p>\n Iran is also permitting Indian and Chinese ships transporting oil exports to travel through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \t\t\t5.06pm \t\tIDF intercepts Iranian barrage over Jerusalem\n <\/p>\n Several blasts have been reported over Jerusalem after the Israeli military warned it had detected missiles inbound from Iran.<\/p>\n The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said the missiles had been \u201cengaged by air defences\u201d. Israeli Channel 12 reported that shrapnel had fallen onto the city as a result of the interceptions.<\/p>\n One Iranian rocket, the IDF added, had been intentionally allowed to hit an open area \u201caccording to protocol\u201d. It did not say where the missile had landed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe results of the interception are still under review,\u201d an IDF spokesperson said. No injuries have been reported so far. It is the seventh ballistic missile salvo fired by Iran on Israel today, local media reported.<\/p>\n \t\t\t4.38pm \t\tUS agents arrest assassinated Iranian commander\u2019s relatives\n <\/p>\n US federal agents have arrested the niece and grandniece of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general who was assassinated in 2020 on the order of President Trump.<\/p>\n Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, said he had revoked the green cards of Hamideh Soleimani Afshar and her daughter earlier this week.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are now in ICE custody, pending removal from the United States,\u201d he wrote on X. \u201cThe Trump administration will not allow our country to become a home for foreign nationals who support anti-American terrorist regimes.\u201d<\/p>\n Soleimani, who led the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps\u2019s foreign operations, was killed in a US drone strike while he was visiting Baghdad, Iraq.<\/p>\n \t\t\t4.15pm \t\tUS president\u2019s shifting deadlines for Iran\n <\/p>\n Trump initially issued a 48-hour ultimatum for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on March 21.<\/p>\n He then postponed his threatened strikes on Iranian energy facilities after claiming the US and Tehran had \u201cproductive conversations\u201d.<\/p>\n On March 27 Trump said the pause would last ten days, effectively setting the deadline for April 6. The president\u2019s latest threat is framed as a reminder of that date.<\/p>\n \t\t\t3.50pm \t\tTrump gives Iran 48 hours before \u2018all hell will rain down\u2019\n <\/p>\n President Trump has warned that Iran has 48 hours to \u201cmake a deal\u201d or reopen the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n In his latest Truth Social post, he wrote: \u201cRemember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out \u2014 48 hours before all Hell will reign [sic] down on them. Glory be to GOD! President DONALD J. TRUMP.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t3.33pm \t\tIran claims it downed US F-15 with \u2018new\u2019 air defence system\n <\/p>\n Iran used a new air defence system to target a US fighter jet yesterday, the country\u2019s top joint military command has said.<\/p>\n A US F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down as it flew over the southwest of Iran, prompting a frantic effort to locate its two-strong crew. One of the crew members was rescued but another remains missing.<\/p>\n Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the Iranian military spokesman, said the downing of the jet was a \u201chumiliation\u201d for the US and Israel and credited new \u201cdomestically-produced\u201d air defence systems, according to Iran\u2019s state-affiliated IRNA news agency.<\/p>\n He added that the new, unspecified air systems were being rolled out across Iran and would help the regime to \u201cachieve full control of our country\u2019s skies\u201d.<\/p>\n \t\t\t3.12pm \t\tTrump boasts about US jobs figures\n <\/p>\n President Trump claimed he was \u201cgetting rid of a nuclear Iran\u201d as he boasted about the latest US jobs figures.<\/p>\n In a Truth Social post, Trump highlighted yesterday\u2019s statistics showing 178,000 new jobs. He also claimed there had been a 55 per cent drop in the trade deficit, which he said was \u201cthe biggest drop in history\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump added: \u201cTHANK YOU MR TARIFF! All of this and, simultanesouly, getting rid of a Nuclear Iran. MAGA!!!\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t2.58pm \t\tRussia evacuates 198 staff from Iran nuclear plant\n <\/p>\n Evacuations are under way at Iran\u2019s Bushehr nuclear power plant after an airstrike close to the facility.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s state nuclear company, Rosatom, which is constructing new power units at the site as part of an agreement it has with Tehran, evacuated 198 of its staff on Saturday, according to Russian news agencies.<\/p>\n Saturday\u2019s evacuations had been planned before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a post on X that one of the plant\u2019s physical protection staff had been killed by a projectile fragment. The IAEA also said that a building at the plant had been affected by shockwaves and fragments.<\/p>\n Alexey Likhachev, the Rosatom chief, said developments near the facility were unfolding in line with the worst-case scenario. Specifics were not provided.<\/p>\n Rosatom said it had informed President Putin on the situation surrounding the plant, according to the TASS news agency.<\/p>\n \t\t\t2.43pm \t\tHegseth removes dissenting voices\n <\/p>\n The purge of the US military\u2019s top generals began within weeks of Pete Hegseth\u2019s arrival at the Pentagon.<\/p>\n The decision on Thursday to remove General Randy George, the army\u2019s chief of staff, at a critical time in the Iran war marks a new chapter in his campaign to oust dissenting voices.<\/p>\n George\u2019s departure a year before he was due to retire means that six of the eight members of the joint chiefs of staff, the committee of top generals that advises the president, have left since President Trump returned to the White House.<\/p>\n \t\t\t2.08pm \t\tIsrael blows up Iranian truck \u2018used to launch missiles\u2019\n <\/p>\n Israel\u2019s airforce has released a video of a strike on a truck it claims was being used to launch ballistic missiles. The truck was targeted in the Tabriz area of northwestern Iran.<\/p>\n \t\t\t1.55pm \t\tNobel peace prize winner fought for prisoners in Iran. Now she is one\n <\/p>\n The last time Narges Mohammadi was seen in public was in December, when she was standing on the roof of a car in Mashhad in northeastern Iran, scattering daffodils into a crowd.<\/p>\n The Nobel peace laureate had been attending a memorial service for Khosrow Alikordi, a prominent rights lawyer who had been found dead in his office. His death was declared a suicide by the Iranian authorities but his friends and colleagues, including Mohammadi, had their doubts.<\/p>\n \u201cNarges wanted to hold the regime accountable,\u201d Mohammadi\u2019s husband, Taghi Rahmani, said. \u201cShe believed it should be investigated.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t1.37pm \t\tIran claims to have destroyed American \u2018Chinook\u2019\n <\/p>\n The Iranian state broadcaster has shared pictures of an American \u201cChinook\u201d helicopter it claims was damaged during a drone strike.<\/p>\n \u201cAn Iranian drone strike destroyed an American CH-47 \u2018Chinook\u2019 in Kuwait yesterday,\u201d the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting posted on X on Saturday.<\/p>\n \t\t\t1.30pm \t\tWhat has US-Israeli operation achieved so far?\n <\/p>\n As the sun went down and a \u201cchill was setting on the tarmac\u201d in an undisclosed Middle Eastern country, Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, asked a junior airwoman what she needed to fight Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cShe simply looked up at me with a sly smile on her face and said, \u2018more bombs, sir, and bigger bombs\u2019,\u201d he recounted in a Pentagon news conference on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Hegseth, an army National Guard veteran, said the message from troops fighting in Operation Epic Fury was: \u201cGet us even more bombs. Bigger bombs, more targets. Let us finish this.\u201d<\/p>\n But almost five weeks after the US and Israel launched their attack,\u00a0the war appears far from finished. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, suggested in an interview with Newsmax this week that the operation was merely \u201cbeyond the halfway point\u201d.<\/p>\n \t\t\t1.13pm \t\tCapture of US officer \u2018would change the game\u2019\n <\/p>\n Iran capturing the missing American officer would \u201cchange the game\u201d, a former White House chief of intelligence has said.<\/p>\n Marc Gustafson, a national security official who served under Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, told Times Radio on Saturday that Iran claiming an American hostage would make it \u201ca lot more difficult\u201d for Trump to pull out of the war.<\/p>\n Iranian officials are offering rewards of about $66,000 (\u00a350,000) to citizens who help capture the missing officer, according to state media reports.<\/p>\n Gustafson said: \u201cI think it does change the game \u2026 it makes it a lot harder to pull away, declare victory and take an off-ramp, which some people expected President Trump to do in the next couple of weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t12.53pm \t\tThree hurt in strike on BP-operated oilfield in Iraq\n <\/p>\n Two drones hit a BP-operated Iraqi oilfield in the southern city of Basra, injuring three workers, sources have told Reuters.<\/p>\n The attack took place shortly after another drone strike on facilities west of Basra that belong to foreign oil companies, according to the energy and security sources.<\/p>\n The drone strikes had no impact on operations in this part of Iraq\u2019s giant Rumaila oilfield, as they targeted an equipment storage facility, said two Iraqi engineers working at the field.<\/p>\n Foreign staff were evacuated following an earlier drone strike on the oilfield, sources told Reuters last month.<\/p>\n \t\t\t12.30pm \t\tIsrael urges Tyre residents to evacuate\n <\/p>\n Israel issued an urgent evacuation warning on Saturday to residents of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre as it prepares to strike Hezbollah targets.<\/p>\n \u201cUrgent warning to the residents of the city of Tyre \u2026 Hezbollah\u2019s terrorist activity compels the IDF to operate against it with determination,\u201d the military\u2019s Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said on X.<\/p>\n \u201cFor your safety, we call on you to evacuate your homes immediately, according to the area shown on the map, and move north of the Zahrani River,\u201d he said, adding that the area extended to the Burj al-Shamali refugee camp.<\/p>\n \t\t\t12.15pm \t\tIran criticises strike near nuclear plant\n <\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign minister has criticised Israel and the US for a strike near the country\u2019s Bushehr nuclear plant.<\/p>\n In a post on X, Abbas Araghchi said: \u201cRemember the Western outrage about hostilities near Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine? Israel-US have bombed our Bushehr plant four times now. Radioactive fallout will end life in GCC [Gulf Co-operation Council] capitals, not Tehran.\u201d<\/p>\n The US and Israel have not yet confirmed that they were involved in the attack.<\/p>\n \u201cAttacks on our petrochemicals also convey real objectives,\u201d Araghchi added.<\/p>\n \t\t\t12.03pm \t\tUS rescue force \u2018looking for a needle in a haystack\u2019\n <\/p>\n American rescue helicopters searching for a missing airman may be \u201ceffectively looking for a needle in a haystack\u201d, a former head of the British Army said on Saturday.<\/p>\n Lord Dannatt, who served as chief of the general staff from 2006 to 2009, told Times Radio: \u201cI think what\u2019s a little worrying or very worrying is that whereas one was picked up almost straight away \u2026\u00a0 it would appear that the other one \u2014 if he is still alive, and of course one has no guarantee of that \u2014 could well be stranded out there.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact they had not yet been detected by the rescue mission could suggest their transmitter equipment was issuing no signal and therefore helicopters were \u201ceffectively looking for a needle in a haystack\u201d, Dannatt said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t11.53am \t\tHow Iran prepares traps for aircraft\n <\/p>\n Iran will have wargamed seducing aircraft into vulnerable areas before the downing of the US jet, a former air vice-marshal has said.<\/p>\n Sean Bell told Times Radio: \u201cIran is not stupid. Iran has wargamed this and they will have set SAM traps \u2014 surface-to-air missile traps \u2014 where they will seduce aircraft into an area, maybe turning on radars, maybe putting lucrative targets on the ground.<\/p>\n \u201cIran\u2019s never going to shoot down the whole of the United States airforce but they only have to get lucky once and I think what\u2019s happened with the F-15,\u201d Bell said.<\/p>\n He warned that the extraction team looking for the missing weapons system officer will be \u201call the more vulnerable\u201d as they\u2019re having to fly low for visibility during the search.<\/p>\n \t\t\t11.40am \t\tIran \u2018allows essential goods through Hormuz\u2019\n <\/p>\n Iran has authorised the passage of vessels carrying essential goods to its ports through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a letter cited by Iran\u2019s Tasnim news agency on Saturday.<\/p>\n The letter indicates that ships heading to Iranian ports, including those in the Gulf of Oman at present, must co-ordinate with authorities and comply with established protocols to transit the strait, Tasnim said.<\/p>\n Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world\u2019s total oil trade, in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks that began on February 28.<\/p>\n \t\t\t11.36am \t\tBlast at pro-Israel centre in Netherlands\n <\/p>\n Police are investigating an explosion at a pro-Israel centre in the Netherlands late on Good Friday that caused minimal damage and no injuries.<\/p>\n A police spokeswoman told AFP on Saturday that no one was inside the site run by Christians for Israel, a non-profit in the central city of Nijkerk, when an explosive device detonated outside its gate late on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cInvestigations revealed that a person dressed in black placed the explosive device,\u201d the police added in a statement, appealing for witnesses to come forward.<\/p>\n Christians for Israel said it was \u201cshocked\u201d by what it described as part of \u201ca worrying pattern\u201d of incidents targeting Jewish and pro-Israel sites in the Netherlands and neighbouring Belgium.<\/p>\n
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Israeli protesters calling for an end to the war in Tel Aviv todayMaya Levin\/AP<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/fa2abe4f-6fc6-430c-b120-5cc61f8efbcf.jpg\")
Israeli police take cover in an underground parking used as a bomb shelter after warning sirens while intervening during a protest at Habima Square in Tel Aviv todayIlia YEFIMOVICH\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
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A protest in Basra, Iraq, against US and Israeli actions in the regionMohammed Aty\/Reuters<\/p>\n
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Narges MohammadiNARGES MOHAMMADI FOUNDATION\/AFP\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n
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IRIB<\/p>\n
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The aftermath of the drone strike west of Basra<\/p>\n
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The aftermath of a strike in Maarakeh, near the city of Tyre, on SaturdayKawnat HAJU\/AFP\/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
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Police officers at the Israel Centre in Nijkerk PERSBUREAU DE BREIJ\/ANP\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
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Giorgia Meloni and Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on FridaySaudi Press Agency\/Reuters<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2c1adad9-d010-4989-8f5f-025174e748d1.jpg\")
A satellite image of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in December last yearPlanet Labs PBC\/AP<\/p>\n![\"Plane](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3c34b587-ccf5-4514-9e23-fc8de82f1197.gif\")
Footage appears to show a US aircraft and two helicopters conducting a rescue operation in Iran<\/p>\n