US & ‘Israel’ at war with Iran | Day 27 coverage
The 2026 Iran War began on February 28 when the United States and ‘Israel’ launched an operation dubbed Epic Fury by the US and Lion's Roar by ‘Israel’, unleashing nearly 900 airstrikes in 12 hours on Iranian missile systems, air defenses, nuclear facilities, military bases, and leadership targets.
This direct assault followed years of shadow war, including the first-ever Iran-‘Israel’ missile exchanges in April and October 2024 and a limited 12-day war in June 2025 that damaged Tehran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of top officials were killed in the opening salvo, while a US Tomahawk strike on a school adjacent to a naval base near Bandar Abbas killed about 170 civilians, mostly children.
Iran responded within hours by firing hundreds of ballistic missiles and launching thousands of drones at ‘Israel’, US bases in the Gulf, and targets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait.
Tehran restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz—through which 20% of global oil flows—disrupting shipping and spiking oil prices.
The retaliation reignited fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon, prompting ‘Israeli’ strikes there and spreading the conflict regionally while hitting civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, airports, and heritage sites.
Over the next three weeks, US-‘Israeli’ forces conducted sustained air campaigns that destroyed much of Iran’s air-defense network, missile production sites and navy assets.
Iran appointed Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader, but pragmatic senior official Ali Larijani was assassinated in an ‘Israeli’ strike on March 17.
More than 80,000 civilian sites were hit, including 260 medical facilities and UNESCO-listed buildings, causing widespread blackouts, fuel shortages, toxic pollution, and over 2,000 total deaths across Iran, ‘Israel’, Lebanon, and Gulf states.
The war remained active in its fourth week with ongoing US-‘Israeli’ airstrikes on remaining Iranian targets and Iranian retaliatory barrages, including recent cluster-munition attacks on ‘Israel’ and a failed long-range missile attempt at Diego Garcia.
Trump has threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz reopens fully but has signaled possible winding down or deals, which Tehran denies pursuing.
Trump extends deadline on hitting Iranian power plants
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he would not yet strike Iranian power plants as previously threatened after a request from the government in Tehran, and added that talks with the Islamic republic were "going very well."
"As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well."
More troops needed on Lebanese front: ‘Israeli’ army
The ‘Israeli’ military said on Thursday it requires additional troops for deployment in southern Lebanon, where they are currently creating what they claim is a “buffer zone” during fighting with Hezbollah.
"On the Lebanese front, the forward defensive zone that we are creating requires additional IDF forces," military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said in a televised briefing, noting that the military is “operating” simultaneously across multiple fronts, including the West Bank, Gaza and Syria.
VIDEO - Massive rocket salvo by Hezbollah at Haifa, Galilee
Iron Dome interceptors working against a massive rocket salvo fired by Hezbollah towards northern ‘Israel’, with the military saying they fired some 20 rockets.
Warning sirens were activated in Haifa and across the Galilee.
According to the ‘Israeli’ military, most of the rockets were intercepted, and the others were “allowed” to hit open areas.
Lapid warns of looming “security disaster” in ‘Israel’
‘Israel's’ main opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the government Thursday of steering ‘Israel’ toward a "security disaster" due to a shortage of combat soldiers.
"The IDF is stretched to the limit and beyond. The government is leaving the army wounded out on the battlefield," Lapid said in a televised statement, echoing a warning delivered a day earlier by military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir to the security cabinet, according to Hebrew media reports.
"The government is sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means, and with far too few soldiers," Lapid said.
Another ‘Israeli’ soldier killed in south Lebanon: army
The ‘Israeli’ army announced the death in combat on Thursday of a soldier in south Lebanon, just hours after reporting another death from its ranks.
"Sergeant Aviaad Elchanan Volansky, 21, from Jerusalem, a soldier in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade, was killed in action in southern Lebanon," a military statement said.
Four ‘Israeli’ soldiers have now been killed in fighting in south Lebanon since Hezbollah began launching rocket attacks against ‘Israel’ on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader.
Ukraine, Saudi Arabia to sign air security deal Thursday: AFP
Ukraine and Saudi Arabia will sign an agreement on Thursday on aerial security, during a visit to the kingdom by President Volodymyr Zelensky, a senior official with knowledge of the matter told AFP.
The two sides meeting in Jeddah are due to ink an accord on "security cooperation -- in particular the protection of the skies", said the official.
VIDEO - Houthi leader warns of “military response” if Iran war requires it
Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement, warns of a "military response" should the Middle East war require it.
At least three loud blasts in northern Tehran: AFP
Warplanes could be heard overhead in northern districts of Tehran on Thursday, shortly before three loud explosions rang out, an AFP correspondent in the Iranian capital said.
The blasts were heard after dark, during rain, and it was not immediately possible to identify what had been hit.
‘Israel’, which earlier said it had killed a senior Iranian naval commander, has announced it plans more "wide-scale" strikes against targets in the Islamic republic.
Taking control of Iran’s oil an “option”, says Trump
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that taking control of Iran's oil was an "option," comparing it to the deal Washington made with Venezuela after capturing Nicolas Maduro.
"It's an option," Trump told reporters at a cabinet meeting when asked if he was looking to take control of Iran's oil, saying that the United States had done "very well" with Venezuela's reserves.
VIDEO - Netanyahu says IRGC Navy chief killed
‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that his forces killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) navy - Alireza Tangsiri - who oversees the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Netanyahu.
Jordan activates all-clear alarm
Jordan activates all-clear alarm
Trump said Iran allowed passage of ten oil tankers as a “present”
Iran allowed 10 oil tankers to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz as a "present" to show it was serious about negotiations to end the war, US President Donald Trump said Thursday.
Referring to cryptic comments earlier this week about a "gift" from Tehran, Trump said Iran allowed eight "big boats of oil" to transit the waterway earlier this week, followed by two
VIDEO - Two Palestinians survive Iranian missile strike in Kfar Qasim
CCTV recording captures the moment two individuals barely survive after a projectile hits a car in Kfar Qasim, ‘Israel’.
Sirens activated in Jordan amid danger
Sirens activated in Jordan amid danger
Iran can be convinced to make deal: Witkoff
US envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday there were "strong signs" Iran could be convinced to make a peace deal, confirming that Washington had passed a 15-point plan to Tehran through mediator Pakistan.
"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them, other than more death and destruction. We have strong signs that this is a possibility," Witkoff told a cabinet meeting.
All-clear sirens sound across Jordan
All-clear sirens sound across Jordan
Trump insists Iran operations “extremely” ahead of schedule
Donald Trump said Thursday that US military operations against Iran are "extremely" ahead of schedule, citing an original timeframe of four to six weeks for the war that began nearly a month ago.
"We estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve our mission. Twenty-six days in we're extremely, really, a lot ahead of schedule," Trump told his first cabinet meeting since the start of the conflict.
Sirens activated in Jordan amid danger
Sirens activated in Jordan amid danger
Iran navy commander killed in ‘Israeli’ strike: US
The US military on Thursday said an ‘Israeli’ airstrike that killed the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' navy "makes the region safer."
Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), added in a statement that every Iranian serving in the IRGC navy should "abandon their post and return home to avoid further risk of unnecessary injury or death."
The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards' navy is Alireza Tangsiri.
Iran has not issued any statement on the matter yet.
Houthi leader warns of “military response” in war on Iran
Abdul Malik al-Houthi, leader of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement, warned on Thursday of a "military response" should the Middle East war require it.
The Houthis, a key part of Iran's "axis of resistance", have so far refrained from joining the war sparked by US-‘Israeli’ strikes on Iran, and which has engulfed much of the region.
"As the people of Yemen, we repay loyalty with loyalty," the Houthi leader said. "Any development in the battle that requires a military response, we will promptly undertake it... just as we did in previous rounds."
