AJ
Recap of the war between US-Israel and Iran, including the latest political news, and updates on attacks across the regions.
🔹 ️Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa told reporters on Tuesday that Iran had a problem of trying to manufacture ballistic missiles, the nuclear bomb, and trying to influence other countries, recommending negotiations rather than military power because it will only lead to more danger.
🔹 ️President Donald Trump said it isn’t necessary for Iran to sign any agreement in order to end the military operation, stating that the United States will leave Iran within two to three weeks, and there’s no reason for the US to stay, although any future attempt to acquire a nuclear weapon will face crushing strikes similar to what is currently happening. Bloomberg later reported that oil prices continued to fall following Trump’s statement about Washington leaving Iran within two to three weeks,’ noting that a barrel of Brent crude was now trading around $99-$100, and a barrel of WTI crude around $97.
🔹 ️Trump and his administration increasingly believe they cannot guarantee reopening the Strait of Hormuz as a condition for declaring ‘mission accomplished’ in the war with Iran, according to CNN, stating that while officials see reopening the key oil route as crucial for ending the conflict and easing raising energy prices, they also acknowledge it may take weeks or months, clashing with Trump’s goal of ending the war within four to six weeks.
🔹 ️President Trump told The Telegraph he is strongly considering pulling the United States out of NATO, describing the alliance as a ‘paper tiger,’ saying NATO’s refusal to support US-led operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz had deepened frustration in Washington, adding that US membership was now ‘beyond reconsideration,’ while also criticising allies including the United Kingdom, questioning their military capabilities, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said Washington may re-examine its relationship with NATO after the war.
🔹 ️According to Axios, a Trump administration official said the President’s approach is deliberately unpredictable, stating ‘this isn’t 3D chess – it’s 12-dimensional,’ adding that contradictions are intentional, and the report stated while Trump was publicly suggesting he may soon declare victory and withdraw from the Iran war, he is privately engaging with hawkish voices including Lindsey Graham and Mark Levin.
🔹 ️Israeli’s Defence Forces claim to have killed more than 2,000 Iranian commanders and military personnel since the beginning of the war.
🔹 ️Meanwhile, CBS reported that a total of 348 US service members have been wounded during the war, with 315 returning to service, noting that six were considered as seriously wounded.
🔹 ️UKMTO reported that an oil tanker had been struck by a projectile 17 nautical miles north of the coast of Doha, Qatar, which caused damage to the hull above the waterline. QatarEnergy later announced its oil tanker Aqua 1 had been targeted by a missile in the waters north of Qatar, with no injuries to the 21 crew members and no environmental damage reported. Qatar’s Ministry of Defence said the country had been targeted by three cruise missiles, two of which had been intercepted, but one that had impacted an oil tanker leased to QatarEnergy.
🔹 ️The UAE wants to force the Strait of Hormuz open and is willing to join the fight, according to the Wall Street Journal, noting that the UAE had begun a series of efforts to persuade the US and others to open the Strait by any means necessary, and they have also said the US should occupy islands in the Strait, including Abu Musa.
🔹 ️Bahrain’s sirens sounded out followed by multiple explosions and one confirmed impact reported by locals, who said these were the loudest explosions they’d heard since the start of the war, as smoke was seen rising from the US Fifth Fleet base. Soon after, locals reported impacts in Hamala, stating that they were told the ‘Americans are hiding in Hamala.’ Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior took to X to confirm the Civil Defence was extinguishing a fire at a facility of a company as a result of the Iranian aggression. Sources later reported that the Iranian missiles struck the Batelco headquarters in Hamala, the largest telecommunications company in the country, which hosts Amazon Web Services.
🔹 ️Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Shura Council said on Wednesday morning that the Strait of Hormuz will not open: “We have not conducted any negotiations and will not conduct them – decisions on war, peace and negotiations are within the powers of the Leader, and no permission for negotiation has been issued,” the VP of the Iranian Parliament said.
🔹 ️Iranian drones struck multiple fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport, according to the Kuwait Civil Aviation Authority, reporting that a large fire had broken out after the fuel tanks were struck.
🔹 ️Visual confirmation was also available of large plumes of smoke rising from the Victoria Base in Baghdad, Iraq, after it was targeted by Iraqi militias overnight. Erbil was also targeted overnight with multiple drones, resulting in debris and impacts, while footage showed an interception of a drone over Khalifan in the Rawanduz district east of Erbil.
🔹 ️Later, more massive explosions occurred in Erbil, after which thick black smoke was recorded rising into the air, as reports surfaced that British company Castrol had been struck in Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan. Iraqi militia group Saraya Awliya al-Dam later claimed responsibility on the British Castrol oil storage facility, stating they targeted American interests in the region, adding that the attack was conducted using a missile rather than a drone. Reports also arose of new Iraqi militia drones soon after that were striking Duhok in Iraqi Kurdistan targeting an oil field.
🔹 ️Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Israel of bombing pharmaceutical companies, explaining that the attacks made Israel’s intentions clear, and that they will be punished severely for it.
🔹 ️66% of Americans believe the US should work to end its involvement in the Iran war quickly, even if that meant not achieving the goals set out by the Trump administration, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.
🔹 ️IDF announced it carried out a strike on a facility it claimed was supplying chemical materials to Iran’s military-linked programmes. The targeted site – identified as a factory owned by the Tofiq Daru Company – was allegedly transferring substances, including fentanyl, to the SPAND organisation, which Israel says is involved in chemical weapons research and development, stating the facility operated under civilian cover while supporting Iranian weapons programmes, and described the strike as a blow to Iran’s chemical weapons capabilities.
🔹 ️Residents of Isfahan reported that the Mobarakeh Steel Plant and the Khuzestan Steel Plant were both targeted by what was likely an Israeli strike on Monday evening, while FIRMs data registered a fire at Isfahan’s Shahid Beheshti International Airport at the same time as reports of explosions in the area. Residents of Shiraz also photographed and recorded smoke over the city on Tuesday morning as a result of strikes that reportedly targeted the Shahid Dastgheib International Airport. Meanwhile, residents of Borujen in Iran’s Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province reported explosions on Tuesday morning at the Sefiddasht Steel plant in the city from what was believed to be an Israeli strike. Around three US or Israeli airstrikes also targeted the Iranian Marine Brigade’s site in Bandar Abbas in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
🔹 ️According to an IDF statement, an airstrike carried out in the Mahallat area of Iran killed Mahdi Vafai, identified as Head of the Engineering Branch of the Quds Force’s Lebanon Corps, who was involved in developing underground infrastructure projects across Lebanon and Syria, including facilities used for weapons storage and operations linked to Hezbollah, as the IDF added the strike is expected to impact Hezbollah’s ability to expand underground infrastructure and affect broader Iranian-backed operations in the region.
🔹 ️Bahrain reported around seven explosions in the early hours of Wednesday morning even though no sirens sounded, as the Bahraini Interior Ministry took to X to report that a fire had broken out at an enterprise facility as a result of an Iranian strike.
🔹 ️Iran launched a cluster munition targeting Tel Aviv, with at least 7 impacts reported at multiple sites, including residential property damage in Bnei Brak, which injured at least 20 civilians including 2 children. A second wave of missiles was launched to northern, central and southern Israel, but the southern one appeared to be targeting Jordan instead, while the northern one was shot down near Golan Heights, however, the central missile resulted in what appeared to be one loud explosion and as usual, Israeli officials reported that the missile fell in an ‘open area.’
🔹 ️Another cluster munition was launched at central Israel soon after, which was intercepted, however with cluster missiles, a few of the cluster munitions will fall, as happened in this case, causing an injury as a result of a munition fall in Ramat Gan, while several other cluster impacts were reported in the Tel Aviv area, according to reports from AMK Mapping, Sabereen News and Rerum Novarum, noting that debris fell in Yarkona and 2 cluster munitions fell in Petah Tikva. Warfront Witness later confirmed that a building had collapsed following an Iranian cluster impact, but it was hard to define which attack the damage occurred.
🔹 ️Yemeni Houthi’s released a statement about their third operation against Israel in support of the resistant fronts, stating that ballistic missiles were fired at sensitive targets in southern territories in cooperation with Iran and Hezbollah in an operation they stated was successful, adding that if the attacks continue, Houthi’s will escalate the level of conflict until the attacks stop and the seige is lifted.
🔹 ️Israel and US killed over 4,700 security forces in combined attacks, reported Iran International, stating that members of the IRGC, Basij, and police had been killed since the start of the war, noting that another 20,880 had been injured.
🔹 ️Hossein Mohseni-Ejei told Tasnim News that the United States had violated international law and committed crimes, accusing President Trump of profiting from the war, claiming the outcome of the conflict would be the expulsion of US forces from the region and the beginning of the end of Israel’s presence, adding that Iran’s judiciary will pursue legal action against the United States and Israel internationally, calling for cooperation with legal institutions across Islamic countries.
🔹 ️British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer reiterated in an address to the nation that this was ‘not our war and we will not be drawn into this conflict – that is not in our national interest,’ adding that he would act in the British interests in decisions made despite diplomatic and public pressure placed on the PM from others, including Trump, adding that: “We should strenthen our cooperation with the EU in defence, security, energy, emissions, and the economy.”
🔹 ️Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also addressed the nation on Wednesday to urge citizens to reduce fuel consumption amid disruption to the global energy supplies, encouraging Australians to instead use public transport where possible, including trains, buses and trams, as authorities prepared for potential shortages and rising prices.
🔹 ️Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Israel had removed the existential threat that had loomed over the Jewish people, citing decisions taken to counter Iran’s nuclear programme and its planned multi-front conventional attack, stating that Israel would never agree to live under the threat of annihilation, reported Haaretz: “We still have bitter and cruel enemies, but they have been struck down,” Sa’ar said, adding that while the current war may not be the last, Israel’s determination to defend its freedom is absolute.
🔹 ️US military commanders had long been concerned that bases in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states were vulnerable to Iranian missile and drone attacks and proposed relocating key aircraft to western Saudi Arabia, farther from Iran, in recent years, the WSJ reported, however, the plan was never implemented and US assets at the Prince Sultan Airbase were subsequently attacked, leading to heavily destroyed or damaged aircraft, while at least a dozen US troops were wounded in the attack.
🔹 ️Israel’s military published footage showing aerial refuelling activities by the Air Force’s 120th Squadron while releasing a statement claiming more than 2,000 separate refuelling’s were carried out over the Middle East, enabling hundreds of fighter jets to operate in Iran, more than 1,500km from Israel.
🔹 ️President Erdogan of Turkey said on Wednesday that the main party responsible for the illegal war, which has not only turned the region into ruins but also imposed an heavy economic burden on all humanity, is the Israeli regime addicted to conflict, chaos and crisis, reported iribnews.
🔹 ️The Syrian Petroleum Company, which is affiliated with Jolani, has announced the start of entry of the first convoys of iraqi fuel through the Tanf crossing heading towards the Baniyas refinery, in preparation for loading it onto the maritime carriers designated for export.
🔹 ️UAE Ministry of Defence said it was targeted by five missiles and 35 drones over a 24 hour period in their daily update, as reports suggested an interceptor missile had fallen in Umm Al Quwain while attempting to intercept an Iranian missile, injuring one person.
🔹 ️Jordanian air defence forces intercepted a missile and two drones which were launched toward the Kingdom over 24 hours, the Jordanian military said, but the Jordanian Public Security reported dealing with six incidents of falling debris and projectiles during the same period.
🔹 ️Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister and Head of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, called Iran’s blockage of the Strait of Hormuz a ‘global economic extortion,’ saying the effective closure of the key waterway is a ‘threat the world cannot tolerate,’ urging the international community to act together to protect the free flow of energy and safeguard economic stability.
🔹 ️Head of Iran’s parliamentary national security committee Ebrahim Azizi said access to the Strait of Hormuz will be subject to new conditions set by Tehran: “The Strait of Hormuz will certainly be opened; but not for you!” he said in a post addressing US President Trump.
🔹 ️French President Emmanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi affirmed the importance of safe navigation in the Strait, the stable supply of essential goods and the early de-escalation of the situation, Takaichi told reporters following their meeting in Tokyo, as Macron reiterated his call for a ceasefire and a return to peace.
🔹 ️Senior Houthi leaders have largely disappeared from public view and curtailed phone communications, people familiar with the matter told the WSJ, stating that they were taking precautionary measures amid fears of Israeli retaliation, noting that officials have relocated to more secure areas, including mountainous regions, while key government offices in Houthi-controlled territories have been largely vacated.
🔹 ️Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Israel’s authorisation of the execution of Palestinian prisoners would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention, describing the move as a regression into barbarism and accusing Israel of undermining international norms.
🔹 ️As afternoon came, President Trump took to Truth Social saying: “Iran’s New Regime President, much less radicalised and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a ceasefire! We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear, until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!! President DJ Trump.
🔹 ️Bloomberg was told by a UAE official that the country remained ready to support collective international efforts aimed at ensuring the uninterrupted flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz, noting that any such engagement would have to be conducted in full coordination with international partners and in strict adherence to international law, because the UAE maintained a defensive posture focused on protecting its sovereignty, its people and its infrastructure, the official added.
🔹 ️Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine continued to work with the states in the Middle East and the Gulf, noting that their military expertise and interceptors were already yielding results, while commenting that the blocking of normal navigation in the Strait of Homuz is in fact the same challenge Ukraine faced in 2022, when Russia attempted to block ports and access to the sea, only on a more dangerous scale – no nation should be left alone with terrorist attacks, he added.
🔹 ️Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that Iran currently controlled the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, and the United States doesn’t have the ability to challenge this despite its military power, noting that Iran was constructively agreeing to allow ships from countries not involved in the conflict to pass, while adding that no initiatives related to the navigation system should be implemented without the approval of the coastal states, reported @alsaa_plus.
🔹 ️Iran’s Abbas Araghchi released a statement declaring only Tehran and Oman would decide the future of Hormuz, while confirming there was no negotiation but only messages from US through Witkoff, and warned that Iran is more than ready for a ground war. IRGC later said the Strait of Hormuz would not be opened to ‘our people’s enemies with the ridiculous theatrical performances of the American president,” according to Iranian Naya News.
🔹 ️Executive director of the IEA Fatih Biral said the current energy crisis linked to the Iran war is more severe than both the oil shocks in the 1970s and the 2022 loss of Russian gas combined, warning that global energy markets were under intense pressure as disruptions in the Middle East continued to escalate: “Oil loss in April is expected to be twice as high as in March,” he said, adding that “if we think there is a need for crude oil or products, we may intervene.”
🔹 ️Iran’s Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf took to X to say: “Out-of-context quotes + manufactured FOMO = War profiteering 101 – do your own research.”
🔹 ️President Trump told Reuters the US would be out of Iran ‘pretty quickly’ and could return for ‘spot hits’ ifneeded, although when asked when the US would consider the Iran war over, Trump replied: “I can’t tell you exactly… we’re going to be out pretty quickly,” adding that Iran won’t have a nuclear weapon because they are imcapable of that now, and then Trump will leave, but if the US has to go back to do spot hits, they would.
🔹 ️IRGC published a statement in the afternoon: “At dawn today, several squadrons of target-destroying drones were also launched towards the distressed ‘Abraham Lincoln’ carrier group in the northern Indian Ocean. According to documents and satellite images, it has fled from its previous location and retreated into the depths of the Indian Ocean,” adding that as a result of yesterday’s naval attack by the IRGC on the secret gathering place of American officers in the UAE, at least 37 people were definitely killed, while many others were injured and transferred to city hospitals.
🔹 ️An Israeli airstrike targeted the Sepid Farab Kavir Steel Company in Kashan located in Iran’s Isfahan province on Wednesday afternoon, while strikes were also registered across Tehran, but despite the constant bombardments of Iran’s missile sites such as Yadz on Wednesday morning, missiles were still being fired from the underground launch facility in the afternoon, while two more were launched from the missile base in Shiraz.
🔹 ️US military officials are currently weighing up to potential ground assaults in Iran as thousands of additional troops arrive in the Persian Gulf, with one option to target Kharg Island, the country’s main energy hub, while the other is aimed at seizing enriched uranium to disrupt Iran’s nuclear program, and US planners are preparing the operations but are only awaiting the approval of President Trump before moving forward.
🔹 ️Iran launched a ballistic missile towards central Israel during the afternoon on Wednesday, as scenes published showed various impact sites around Tel Aviv and a fall of a cluster munition on a playground in Petah Tikva. Israel announced that around 10 ballistic missiles had been launched at the country on Wednesday, some of which were intercepted, while others were deliberately allowed to land in ‘open areas’ in accordance with ‘protocol’ according to the Times of Israel, citing the IDF, noting that one of the missiles carried a cluster warhead that dispersed droplets over central Israel including Rosh HaAyin.
🔹 ️United States Navy has lost 16 MQ-9 Reaper drones since the Iran war began, including two near Isfahan this week, according to CBS News, citing two US officials, noting that depending on the variant, a single Reaper drone can cost more than $30 million, meaning total losses are potentially nearly $500 million.
🔹 ️IDF announced a fourth wave of strikes were being carried out in Iran on Wednesday evening, with reports and footage soon after verifying smoke plumes across Tehran, as well as heavy strikes targeting Shahinshahr in Iran’s Isfahan province, and later updates revealed one of the strikes was carried out on the 15th Khordad Barracks in southern Isfahan.
🔹 ️Vice President JD Vance has been in contact with Pakistani intermediaries about the Iran conflict as recently as Tuesday, according to Reuters, where he privately indicated that President Trump is open to a ceasefire if key US demands are met, including the reopening of the Strait, but Vance also delivered what was described as a ‘stern message,’ warning that pressure on Iranian infrastructure would increase if no agreement is reached, with Pakistan serving as a go-between in the talks.
🔹 ️Finland’s President Alexander Stubb held a conversation with President Trump: “We exchanged thoughts on NATO, Ukraine, and Iran – it’s good to seek out solutions to problems together,” the President said on X.
🔹 ️IDF claimed that Israeli Air Force had struck around 400 targets over a two-day period, including dozens of sites in central Tehran, stating that around 15 weapons production facilities were hit, including a key Defence Ministry complex involved in missile development, along with air defence systems, launch sites, and missile storage and production facilities.
🔹 ️Following the recent attacks on American diplomatic sites in Iraq, including the embassy in Baghdad, the consulate in Erbil, and the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Centre, the US State Department is offering up to $3 million reward for information about the attacks through its Rewards for Justice program, and is seeking any details on Iran-aligned militias or other groups believed to be behind the attacks.
🔹 ️Two airstrikes targeted the headquarters of the Popular Mobilisation Forces in the Tal Afar District, west of Mosul, the centre of Nineveh province, reported Al-Mayadeen, as Naya reported that a Saudi-American aggression targeted the 14th Brigade of the PMF at the same time.
🔹 ️Deputy of the Communications for the Iranian President, Mehdi Tabatabai, announced that a letter from Iranian President Pezeshkian to the US will be released in the coming hours.
🔹 ️Twelve US A-10C jets landed at RAF Lakenheath in the UK on a quick stop before reaching the Middle East as US ground operation assets continue to move into position to prepare for escalation, and while Trump talks about ending the war, he amasses his pieces waiting for the right moment to strike again, but the arrogance of the US could be its own downfall and it could result in a suicide mission for US forces if it goes ahead, reported Resistance Trench.
🔹 ️Explosions were reported in Dubai, likely from drones, heard in the direction of the airport and Sharjah, as alerts were issued minutes after the explosions sounded, while five explosions were also heard in Ajman, north of Sharjah at the same time as the previous explosions, and Dubai authorities took to X confirming the explosions heard across the city were from successful situations, minutes before the all clear alerts sounded out.
🔹 ️President Trump is discussing the possibility of a ceasefire with Iranian, along with officials inside and outside of Trump’s administration, while indirect contacts continue through mediators, reported Axios, noting that Trump raised the issue during a call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as US VP Vance has been engaging with mediators, signalling that Washington is open to a ceasefire if conditions were met, including the reopening of the Strait, but US officials say Iran has been warned failure to reach a deal could result in further strikes on its infrastructure.
🔹 ️KAN News Israel was concerned that Trump was looking to declare the negotiations with Iran are ongoing and a potential ceasefire could happen, referring to Trump saying that the entire senior Iranian leadership has been replaced, but noted that negotiations showed little progress so far.
🔹 ️Iranian President Pezeshkian issued a public message addressed to the American people, defending Iran’s historical record and accusing the United States of fuelling conflict and misinformation, saying that Iran had never initiated war in its modern history and described the country’s military development as a ‘measured response’ to foreign pressure, pointing to the presence of US forces around Iran as a source of instability. Pezeshkian highlighted long-standing grievances, including the 1953 coup and US support for Iraq during the 1980s war, saying these events deepened distrust between the new nations, while also criticising sanctions and recent military actions, arguing that they harm civilians and damage Washington’s global standing.
🔹 ️The US Embassy in Kuwait warned that Iran and its aligned militias may still intend to target universities in Kuwait, after Tehran threatened American universities across the Middle East, but don’t appear to have carried out attacks on any so far, while the US issued a Level 4 advisory for Iraq, stating that Iraqi militias may be planning to carry out attacks on American infrastructure in central Baghdad within 24-48 hours.
🔹 ️Head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and a former foreign minister Kamal Kharazi was severely wounded and his wife was killed in a strike on their home in Tehran, reported Ynet, noting that Kharazi had said last month ‘the Americans must understand that they need to take new paths, because previous approaches have not yielded results.’
🔹 ️In what appeared to be a fifth wave of strikes on Iran on Wednesday evening, a strike by either the US or Israel targeted an electronics facility in Shiraz, southern Iran.
🔹 ️Multiple US intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran is not currently willing to engage in substantial negotiations to end the war, believing it holds a strong position and does not need to concede to US demands, reported the New York Times, noting assessments say Tehran remained open to maintaining communication channels but deeply distrusts Washington, particularly after previous US strikes were carried out during nuclear negotiations, while the situation is further complicated by internal dynamics with Iran’s leadership, communication disruptions caused by ongoing strikes, and uncertainty over who holds authority to negotiate, as well as fears that any agreement could be short-lived.
🔹 ️Around 400 cargo ships and others are standing behind the Strait of Hormuz or around the Iranian islands waiting for an Iranian permit to pass safely, reported Iranian outlet Mehr News.
🔹 ️Residents of the Damavand area east of Tehran recorded an Iranian missile climbing after a launch but its destination was unknown, however, soon after there were reports of alerts and explosions in Bahrain, while an Iranian launch targeted Samaria and central Israel, which appeared to be a cluster munition and resulted in several impacts, including debris damage in Bnei Brak.
