US & ‘Israel’ at war with Iran | Day 32 coverage

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The United States Navy started the deployment of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and its accompanying warships to the Middle East, marking the arrival of a third carrier strike group in the region amid the ongoing war with Iran.

According to US officials cited in a Wall Street Journal report, the Bush departed Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia on Tuesday and is expected to join the USS Abraham Lincoln, which is currently operating in the Arabian Sea, and the USS Gerald R. Ford, which remains at port in Croatia for repairs.

The transit could require several weeks.

The officials further stated that the United States could maintain three aircraft carriers in the Middle East for the foreseeable future.

This deployment occurs as Trump evaluates additional military options in the conflict with Iran, with US forces continuing to flow into the region.

Over the weekend, a Marine expeditionary unit embarked on amphibious warships entered Middle Eastern waters, enhancing ground and expeditionary capabilities already in the region.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth addressed the situation in a joint press conference with Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine, declaring that “the coming days in the war will be decisive.”

Hegseth also said that the number of projectiles launched by Iran in the past 24 hours represented the lowest during the conflict.

‘Israeli’ strikes in south Lebanon killed at least eight people on Tuesday, one of them a paramedic, according to the ministry of health.

In separate statements, the ministry said a strike in Tyre district killed three people and wounded 19 more, while another attack in Sidon district killed four.

A third strike in Bint Jbeil district hit a gathering point for the Risala Scouts -- a rescue organisation -- killing a paramedic and wounding 13 other people.

Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday he hoped that US President Donald Trump was looking to end the war in the Middle East, as he called for a halt to violence ahead of Easter.

"I'm told that President Trump recently stated that he would like to end the war, hopefully he's looking for an off-ramp, hopefully he's looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing," the pope told journalists as he left his residence in Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, for the Vatican.

That, the pope said, "would be a significant contribution to removing the hatred that's being created and that's increasing constantly in the Middle East and elsewhere".

"I would certainly continue to give this call to all leaders of the world to say: 'Come back to the table to dialogue, let's look for solutions of problems'," said the 70-year-old American pontiff.

With the Christian holiday of Easter approaching, "it should be the holiest, most sacred time of the whole year," said Leo.

"It is a time of peace, a time for deep reflection, but as we all know, once again in the world, in many places we are seeing so much suffering, so many deaths, even innocent children.

"We continually make an appeal for peace, but unfortunately many people want to promote hatred, violence and war."

The pope is preparing to celebrate Easter for the first time as pontiff on Sunday.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that ‘Israel’ would press ahead with its military campaign against Tehran, declaring that it would continue to "crush Iran's terror regime".

"The campaign is not over," he said in a televised statement.

“We will continue to crush the terror regime.”

Netanyahu's comments came shortly after Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had the "necessary will" to end the war with ‘Israel’ and the United States, but was seeking guarantees that the conflict would not be repeated.

Several settlers in north ‘Israel’ run across a park and parking lot toward a building, seeking to go into shelters, after a rocket salvo from Lebanon.

Hezbollah and ‘Israel’ have been embroiled in clashes since early March, after the Lebanese group retaliated for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in US-‘Israeli’ strikes.

‘Israeli’ military vehicles drive through the destruction in southern Lebanon, seen from the ‘Israeli’ borders, as ‘Israel's’ Defence Minister Israel Katz says the military will occupy a swathe of southern Lebanon even after the war against Hezbollah.

US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the Iran war is likely to end soon, in statements to the New York Post.

“We’re not going to be there too much longer. We’re obliterating the s–t out of them right now, it’s a total obliteration,” Trump said in a phone interview with the outlet.

“But we won’t have to be there much longer — but we have more work to do in terms of killing their offensive, whatever offensive capability they have left.”

“Well, I think it’ll automatically open, but my attitude is, I’ve obliterated the country. They have no strength left, and let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it… because I would imagine whoever’s controlling the oil will be very happy to open the strait,” Trump said on the Strait of Hormuz.

When asked about a report by the Wall Street Journal that he is willing to end the without reopening the strait, Trump told the New York Post:

“I don’t think about it, to be honest. My sole function was to make sure that they don’t have a nuclear weapon. They’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. When we leave the strait will automatically open.”

Overnight strikes on the city of Isfahan in Iran, which also contains a nuclear site, generated a massive explosion as shown by footage.

“I’d rather not say, but you’ll learn soon enough. They were rather large, weren’t they?” Trump said of the strike.

“It’ll come out, but it was just another one of their wonderful areas that we took care of”.

“That was a beauty. That was a beauty. That was stuff that we blew up. That was some explosion,” he continued.

“It was actually bigger than we thought, meaning they had a lot of stuff. Well, we’re taking away their nuclear capability, and we’ve achieved regime change. You know, we’re dealing right now with a totally different group of people, and they’re much more reasonable than previous, much more reasonable.

“And that is truly regime change.”

Wall Street stocks added to gains Tuesday after Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said his country had the "necessary will" to end the war with the United States and ‘Israel’ depending on conditions.

Near 1720 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.1 percent at 49,164.55.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 2.5 percent to 6,503.08, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 3.6 percent to 21,533.15.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Tuesday his country had the "necessary will" to end the ongoing war with ‘Israel’ and the United States, but was seeking guarantees that the conflict would not be repeated.

"We possess the necessary will to end this conflict, provided that essential conditions are met -- especially the guarantees required to prevent repetition of the aggression," Pezeshkian said in a phone conversation with the president of the European Council, according to a statement from his office, reiterating a key demand of Tehran's.

Multiple videos documenting an ‘Israeli’ airstrike on a building in the area of Ghobeiry in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

People in the vicinity are seen running for cover as the multi-story building is hit.

Several people were injured after an ‘Israeli’ airstrike targeted a threatened building in the Ghobeiry area of Beirut’s southern suburbs, Roya's correspondent said.

Emergency teams rushed to the scene to assist the wounded and assess the impact.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that they would target leading US technology firms like Apple, Google and Meta if more Iranian leaders were killed in "targeted assassinations".

"These companies, starting from 8:00 pm (1630 GMT) Tehran time on Wednesday, April 1, should expect the destruction of their relevant units in exchange for every assassination in Iran," the Guards said in a statement listing the names of 18 companies it claimed were complicit in the "targeted assassination" of officials.

"We advise the employees of these institutions to immediately leave their workplaces to preserve their lives," it added.

According to the list, the companies are:

• Cisco
• HP
• Intel
• Oracle
• Microsoft
• Apple
• Google
• Meta
• IBM
• Dell
• Palantir
• Nvidia
• JP Morgan
• Tesla
• GE
• Spire Solutions
• G42
• Boeing

Kuwaiti army said it detected five ballistic missiles and seven drones over the past 24 hours, adding that all threats were handled in line with established procedures.

Authorities did not report any casualties or significant damage.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had launched the 88th wave of its “True Promise 4” operations, targeting sites in ‘Israel’ as well as locations it claims are linked to US forces in the region.

Ebrahim Zolfaghar, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the operational headquarters of both of Iran's regular armed forces and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), warned ‘Israel’ and the United States that "incorrect assessments" of Iran’s military resolve have placed both nations on a "path to destruction."

Residents told Roya News English they heard explosions over Riyadh.

Four hours earlier, falling shrapnel from the interception of a drone in Al-Kharj governorate left two people with minor injuries and caused limited damage to three homes and several vehicles, the Saudi Civil Defense said.

The next days of the Iran war will be "decisive," Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who revealed he had visited US troops in the Middle East over the weekend, said Tuesday.

"The upcoming days will be decisive. Iran knows that, and there's almost nothing they can militarily do about it," Hegseth told a news conference, his first in nearly two weeks.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it struck a meeting site of 'Israeli' home-front leaders in Bnei Brak, as well as locations in Tel Aviv and Bir-a-Saba, as part of the 88th wave of operation True Promise 4 against U.S. and 'Israeli' targets.

U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the United Kingdom and France in posts on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday, accusing the allies of failing to support the United States and 'Israel' during the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Trump said countries struggling to secure jet fuel supplies due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz should purchase fuel from the United States and “learn how to fight” for access to oil shipments themselves.

“All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran… buy from the U.S., we have plenty,” Trump wrote, adding that countries should “go to the Strait, and just take it.”

He also claimed that Iran had been “essentially decimated,” saying “the hard part is done.”

In a separate post, Trump criticized France, saying it had refused to allow aircraft carrying military supplies to 'Israel' to pass through its airspace. He described the country as “very unhelpful” and warned that “the U.S.A. will remember.”

The remarks come amid escalating tensions in the Middle East and disruptions to global energy markets linked to instability around the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for a significant share of the world’s oil supply.

Defence Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday said 'Israel's' military would occupy a swathe of southern Lebanon even after the end of the current war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

"At the end of the operation, the IDF will establish itself in a security zone inside Lebanon, on a defensive line against anti-tank missiles, and will maintain security control over the entire area up to the Litani," Katz said in a video statement published by his ministry, referring to a river around 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border.

Katz said hundreds of thousands of displaced Lebanese residents would be "completely prevented" from returning until north 'Israel's' security was ensured, adding that: "All the houses in the villages adjacent to the border in Lebanon will be demolished in accordance with the Rafah and Beit Hanoun model in Gaza."

Qatar says Gulf states 'unified' in calling for war de-escalation.

Authorities dealt with a piece of shrapnel that fell near a clothing store in the Dhleil district of Zarqa governorate.

Strikes have hit a desalination plant on Iran's Qeshm island in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, putting it out of service, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.

"One of the desalination plants on Qeshm Island was targeted... and is now completely out of service, as it is not possible to repair it in the short term," the ISNA news agency reported, quoting health ministry official Mohsen Farhadi.

It was not immediately clear when the attack took place.

Four people were injured by debris from an interception that fell on residential houses in southern Dubai Tuesday, authorities said, as Iran presses its Gulf campaign a month into the Middle East war.

"Authorities confirm that they are responding to an incident caused by debris from a successful interception that fell on residential houses in southern Dubai, resulting in property damage and minor injuries to four Asian nationals," the Dubai Media Office said on X.

The Saudi Civil Defense announced on Tuesday that two people were injured by falling shrapnel after a drone was intercepted in Al-Kharj, near Riyadh, home to Prince Sultan Air Base, which hosts US military personnel, amid ongoing Iranian attacks on Gulf countries.

The Civil Defense said on X that “shrapnel from the interception of a drone in Al-Kharj resulted in two minor injuries and limited damage to three homes and several vehicles.”

Sirens sound to announce end of alert period

Air raid sirens blare across Jordan

An explosion was heard Tuesday morning near the international airport of Erbil, a city in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, an AFP journalist said.

Erbil is home to a major US consulate complex, while its airport houses military advisers attached to a US-led international anti-jihadist coalition.

Regular drone attacks by pro-Iran armed groups have usually been intercepted by air defences.

Beijing expressed "gratitude" on Tuesday as it said three Chinese ships had transited the crucial Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has all but closed during the war in the Middle East.

"Following coordination with relevant parties, three Chinese vessels recently transited the Strait of Hormuz; we express our gratitude to the relevant parties for the assistance provided," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press conference.

Explosions were heard in Dubai on Tuesday as UAE authorities warned of missile and drone attacks, one month into the Middle East war that has seen Iran launch daily attacks on Gulf countries.

"UAE air defences system is actively engaging with missiles and UAV threats," the defence ministry said in a statement on X.

Sirens sound to announce end of alert period

Six lightly injured by Iranian missile attack on centran 'Israel'

Air raid sirens blare across Jordan

Sirens sound to announce end of alert period

Air raid sirens blare across Jordan

The 'Israeli' health ministry says 6,131 injured people have been transported to hospitals since the beginning of the war, with 118 patients still receiving treatment.

The ‘Israeli’ military said Tuesday that more soldiers have been wounded in south Lebanon, raising the total to six, with one in serious condition.

Earlier, the military confirmed the deaths of four soldiers, including an officer, during clashes in the same region on Monday evening.

Alert period ends in Jordan.

The Iranian military on Monday accused ‘Israel’ of carrying out an attack on a water desalination plant in Kuwait.

The statement, issued by the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters and broadcast on state television, described the strike as “brutal aggression by the ‘Israeli’ regime” under the pretext of blaming Iran. Tehran called the attack a sign of the “baseness and depravity of the Zionist occupiers”.

Sirens blare in Jordan amid ongoing regional tensions.

'Israeli' Radio reported that four ‘Israeli’ soldiers, including an officer from the Nahal Brigade, were killed in clashes with Hezbollah fighters in south Lebanon. Two additional soldiers were wounded in the engagements.

The ‘Israeli’ military confirmed the fatalities, stating that the soldiers were killed during ground battles as part of ongoing operations along the southern border.

The ‘Israeli’ military said Tuesday its air defense systems were responding to incoming Iranian missiles, as sirens sounded across parts of the country.

The military said it had identified missile launches from Iran and was operating to intercept them, prompting residents to seek shelter in affected areas. Similar alerts have been triggered repeatedly during recent escalations, with interception systems activated to counter incoming threats

Agence France-Presse reported, citing Iranian media, that power outages have occurred in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Local reports indicate electricity cuts in multiple areas of the city, though the extent and cause of the outages remain unclear.

'Israeli' Channel 12 reported that shrapnel from interceptor missiles fell in the Beit Shemesh area west of Jerusalem, with no injuries reported.

Initial reports said the shrapnel landed following interception activity in the area, triggering alerts and emergency checks.

The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a US official, that American forces carried out a large-scale airstrike on an ammunition depot in Isfahan on Monday evening.

The official said the strike targeted a major stockpile and involved the use of a large quantity of bunker-busting munitions designed to destroy armored storage.

Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces said US-'Israeli' forces carried out airstrikes on two of its bases in Babil and Anbar provinces.

According to a PMF statement, three airstrikes hit the 45th Brigade in the Jurf al-Nasr sector of Babil province, while another strike targeted the 31st Brigade in the al-Karma sector east of Anbar. No casualties were reported.

A source from the Iraqi police said that a new attack targeted the US logistics support camp near Baghdad airport.

Data compiled by Anadolu Agency from official sources shows that since the outbreak of the regional war, Iran has launched at least 5,558 missiles and drones, alongside two fighter jet strikes, targeting seven Arab countries.

Dubai authorities said they are responding to an incident involving a Kuwaiti oil tanker that was targeted by a drone in Dubai waters.

The Dubai Government Media Office said relevant teams are handling the situation, with marine firefighting units actively working to control the blaze.

‘Israeli’ sources said several soldiers were killed and wounded during fighting in southern Lebanon over the past few hours, as clashes with Hezbollah continue to escalate along the northern front.

The reports come amid a string of recent incidents involving ‘Israeli’ forces, including earlier announcements of soldiers killed and others seriously wounded in combat operations near the border.

‘Israeli’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he believes Iran’s Islamic republic will “collapse internally,” while stressing that such an outcome is not the stated goal of the ongoing US-‘Israel’ war.

Speaking to Newsmax, Netanyahu said current efforts are focused on weakening Iran’s capabilities rather than pursuing regime change.

“I think this regime will collapse internally,” he said. “But at the moment, what we’re doing is degrading their military capacity, degrading their missile capacity, degrading their nuclear capacity, and also weakening them from the inside.”

For further updates - visit the link below.

Read more: US & ‘Israel’ at war with Iran | Day 32 coverage

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Read more: US & ‘Israel’ at war with Iran | Day 31 coverage