Welcome to RT’s live coverage of the US-Israeli war against Iran and the wider regional escalation, marked by ongoing missile and drone exchanges.
US officials have confirmed that a search and rescue operation is underway in Iran for the crew of a downed F-15E fighter jet, according to Reuters and CBS News. Iran claims it shot down another latest generation F-35.
Iranian strikes also hit Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery and caused fires in several operational units, the country’s state news agency has reported.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to step up strikes on Iran, saying Iranian power plants could be targeted next. The announcement came just hours after US forces hit the country’s tallest highway bridge linking Tehran and Karaj, rendering it inoperable.
“Our Military… hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants! New Regime leadership knows what has to be done, and has to be done fast!”
Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari responded, warning of immediate retaliation if Washington follows through.
“If the US proceeds with its threats regarding Iran’s power plants, immediate retaliatory actions will be taken,” he said in a video address, adding that Israeli energy and IT infrastructure – as well as regional companies with American shareholders – would face ”complete and utter annihilation.”
The video featured footage of the Stargate UAE project, a major AI infrastructure hub under construction in Abu Dhabi, part of a US-backed initiative led by OpenAI. Zolfaghari said Iran would ”do whatever it takes” to defend its interests, suggesting these projects could become targets.
Earlier, Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed ”in the long term” to US and Israeli ships. Trump urged Tehran to ”make a deal before it is too late.” Iranian officials have denied they are seeking a ceasefire or engaging in talks.
Latest developments:
• Search is ongoing for the crew of a fighter jet shot down over Iran. American media claims one of the two pilots has been rescued, while Tehran says the US rescue mission has failed.
• A USAF A-10C Warthog warplane has also crashed in the region, reportedly hit at around the same time as the fighter jet. The pilot was rescued, according to the NYT.
• Iranian drone strikes have hit Kuwait’s Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery, while the debris from an intercepted UAV set fire to the UAE’s largest gas processing hub, Habshan, authorities in the Gulf state have reported.
• Iran has refused a 48-hour ceasefire offer from the US, delivered via a third country, according to Fars news agency. Indirect attempts to secure an armistice have “reached a dead end,” according to the WSJ.
• Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said strikes on civilian infrastructure, including bridges, would not force Iran to surrender, calling them a sign of “defeat and moral collapse.”
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
03 April 2026
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Kamal Khazzari, head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Policy, had been targeted in an assassination attempt and that his wife had been killed.
“Let the world judge: which side engages in dialogue and negotiation, and which in terrorism?” Pezeshkian wrote on X.
Iranian media reported that Khazzari was wounded in an attack on his home on Wednesday.
Iran has refused a 48-hour ceasefire offer from the US, the Fars news agency has reported, citing an anonymous source.
The offer came on Wednesday via a third country, it said, adding that rather that replying in writing, the Islamic Republic responded with continued attacks.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that efforts to secure a US-Iranian ceasefire via regional countries, including Pakistan, have “reached a dead end.” Tehran has declared that it would not send negotiators to Islamabad for talks with Washington’s diplomats in the coming days, and that it considers US demands unacceptable, the WSJ said.
Trump has posted a short message on Truth Social, simply asking: “KEEP THE OIL, ANYONE?”
Earlier, he claimed the US could “easily” reopen the Strait of Hormuz, “take the oil and make a fortune.”
One person has died as a result of drone debris falling at the UAE’s largest gas processing hub, while four people sustained injuries, the Abu Dhabi Media Office has said in a statement.
Parts of a drone fell at the Habshan gas facilities following an air defense interception, setting two fires and causing “significant damage,” it said.
Operations at the sprawling complex have been suspended in the meantime, the media office said in an earlier statement.
When asked by NBC News if the downing of the US jet would affect potential negotiations with Iran, Trump replied: “No, not at all.”
“No, it’s war. We’re in war,” he told NBC in a brief phone interview.
Unverified footage shows Iranians shooting at two US helicopters searching for the downed F-15E crew.
According to CBS, Iranian small arms fire hit at least one of the helicopters, wounding crew members aboard.
A vessel is burning in the Persian Gulf off the Strait of Hormuz, according to unverified footage circulating online.
An unconfirmed report claims the ship is a fishing vessel.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Center, which monitors activity in the area, has reported no incidents in the past 24 hours.
Unverified footage from southern Iran shows two US helicopters carrying out search operations for the crew of the US jet downed by Iranian forces earlier in the day.
One Black Hawk helicopter sustained damage during the operation, but was able to leave Iranian territory without further incident, Newsmax has reported, citing anonymous sources.
The Iran conflict spells the end of Washington’s “empire,” US journalist Tucker Carlson has said.
“What’s happening in Iran is the end of American empire as we understand it,” he said.
“It’s not the end of the United States. It’s not the end of our influence on other nations… It’s not the end of our economy. It’s the beginning of a very rough time in our economy, of course.”
A US A-10 Warthog attack plane crashed near the Strait of Hormuz after sustaining fire over Iran, the New York Times has reported, citing anonymous American officials. The pilot has been rescued, the outlet added.
The plane was hit around the same time as the downed American F-15, according to the NYT.
Israel has postponed planned strikes on Iran so as not to interfere with US search and rescue operations for two crew members of a fighter jet downed over the Islamic Republic, CNN has reported, citing an Israeli official.
Three members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) have been injured in the south of the country, a UN spokesman has said.
Two of the peacekeepers were seriously wounded, and all have been evacuated to a hospital, UNIFIL spokesperson Kandice Ardiel has said. “We do not yet know the origin of the explosion.”
At least three Indonesian UNIFIL peacekeepers have been killed in southern Lebanon in the past week, following Israeli strikes. Jakarta has called for an inquiry.
“We demand a direct investigation from the UN, not just Israel’s excuses,” Indonesia’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, Umar Hadi, has said.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has mocked the reported downing of the US fighter jet in Iran.
”After defeating Iran 37 times in a row, this brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?🥺,’” he wrote on X. “What incredible progress.”
Israeli broadcasters have released footage of interceptions of Iranian missiles over northern Israel.
Iranians living in a southwestern Iranian province have organized search parties for the downed US jet crew, according to footage shared by the Tasnim news agency.
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said that no staff were injured in the Iranian drone strikes on its Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.
No adverse impact on air quality due to the resulting fires has been detected, it added.
Unconfirmed footage on social media purports to show smoke and fire coming from Kuwait’s Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery.
The Israeli military has detected a new launch of missiles from Iran, the IDF has said in a statement.
The IRGC has claimed that it had struck an Israeli troop concentration and combat support centers in Western Galilee, Haifa, and other areas of Israel.
Iran has claimed to have downed another US F-35 latest generation fighter jet.
Part of the alleged wreckage posted by Iranian state broadcaster IRIB sports markings that match those used by the US Air Forces in Europe.
One crew member from the downed F-15E jet has been rescued, CBS News has reported, citing two US officials.
The jet has a crew of two. Search and rescue operations are reportedly continuing.
Unverified footage from Iran purports to show a US HC-130J plane with two helicopters conducting search operations for downed American pilots.