US & ‘Israel’ at war with Iran | Day 39 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.
Yemen’s Houthi movement entered the war early, launching missile and drone attacks toward ‘Israel’ and expanding the war beyond the Gulf and Levant theaters.
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 six 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.
Tokyo confirms Japanese national held by Iran freed
Iran freed a Japanese national held since January, Tokyo said Tuesday, with Kyodo News reporting that the person was believed to be the Tehran bureau chief of broadcaster NHK.
"The Japanese embassy in Iran has confirmed that a Japanese national who was detained by Iranian authorities on January 20 was released on April 6 local time," government spokesman Minoru Kihara said.
VIDEO - Trump hails rescue operation in White House Easter event
US President Donald Trump delivering a speech at the White House alongside the Easter Bunny
Trump highlights recent achievements of the US military, including the rescue missions of both airmen of the F-15E fighter jet that was downed over Iran.
VIDEO - Iranian missile targets southern ‘Israel’s’ Negev
Footage taken of the skies over southern ‘Israel’s’ Negev shows what appears to be an Iranian ballistic missile with a cluster warhead, after the Islamic Republic’s state television said the military launched a new salvo targeting ‘Israel’.
There are no reports of injuries or impacts following the attack, according to Hebrew media.
This is the first Iranian attack on ‘Israel’ in around 12 hours.
‘Israeli’ military announces “wave” of air strikes on Iran
‘Israel's’ military announced a "wave" of air strikes on Iran after US President Donald Trump said that a truce proposal to end the US-‘Israeli’ war on Iran from international mediators was not yet enough.
"A short while ago, the IDF completed an air strike wave with the aim of damaging Iranian terror regime infrastructure in Tehran and additional areas across Iran," the ‘Israeli’ military wrote on its official Telegram channel.
Iran targets Negev with ballistic missiles
The ‘Israeli’ military said Tuesday morning it detected ballistic missiles launched from Iran targeting the area of Negev.
“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the statement said.
Sirens were activated in southern ‘Israel’.
Drone “from Iran” crashes into Iraqi Kurdistan home killing two: authorities
A drone "coming from Iran" killed a couple in Iraqi Kurdistan after crashing into their home, local authorities reported early on Tuesday.
The autonomous region's Counter-Terrorism Service said in a statement that the incident took place on Monday "when a bomb-laden drone coming from Iran crashed into a civilian home in...the Dara Shakran subdistrict within Erbil Province".
Explosions heard in Tehran and Karaj: Iranian media
Iran’s Fars News Agency reported that explosions were heard in parts of the capital Tehran and the City of Karaj.
Saudi says missile debris fell near energy facilities: defense ministry
Saudi Arabia said Tuesday morning that debris from intercepted ballistic missiles fell near energy facilities (without providing a name), and that a damage assessment is underway, according to a statement by the defense ministry.
The statement did not add any more information.
An earlier statement by the ministry said that seven ballistic missiles were intercepted over the Eastern Province.
VIDEO - Fire at Iran's largest petrochemical facility after ‘Israeli’ strike
Fire at the Damavand petrochemical plant in Asaluyeh, in the Bushehr province.
The operator of Iran's largest petrochemical complex said the situation was "under control" after ‘Israel’ on Monday bombed the facility, with the extent of the damage being assessed.
Russia provided Iran with list of ‘Israeli’ energy targets: report
Russia provided Iran with detailed intelligence of 55 critical energy infrastructure inside ‘Israel’, according to a source close to Ukrainian intelligence cited by Hebrew media.
The report by the Jerusalem Post said the information allowed Iran to launch precision missile strikes to target ‘Israel’s’ energy grid.
The report added that the sites provided by Russia are divided into three categories based on their importance.
Level one is the critical ‘Israeli’ production facilities, whose destruction would cripple the energy system of ‘Israel’, such as the Orot Rabin power station, which is listed as a primary target.
Level two is the “Major urban and industrial energy hubs”, located in central ‘Israel’.
Level three is local ‘Israeli’ infrastructure, which include regional substations that support industrial zones and smaller power plants.
The report said that Russia assesses the ‘Israeli’ power grid as one with “high degree of isolation”, telling Iran that damaging a few central sites could trigger a total blackout.
VIDEO - Trump says will destroy all Iran bridges, power plants in “four hours” if no deal
US President Donald Trump says that the military had war plans to destroy all bridges and power plants in Iran over a four-hour period if his peace deal deadline is not met.
Iran army dismisses Trump's “rude, arrogant rhetoric”
Donald Trump's "arrogant rhetoric" on the war on the Middle East is not hindering Iran's soldiers, Tehran's army said, after the US president on Monday threatened to raze Iran's infrastructure.
"The rude, arrogant rhetoric and baseless threats of the delusional US president... have no effect on the continuation of the offensive and crushing operations of the warriors of Islam against the American and Zionist enemies," said a spokesman for the army's Khatam Al-Anbiya central command cited by the national broadcaster.
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