Trump Warns Iran Over Hormuz, Threatens Power Plants And Bridges

RFE
05 Apr 2026, 12:30 GMT+10

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15:14

Trump Warns Iran Over Strait Of Hormuz, Threatens Power Plants And Bridges

US President Donald Trump (file photo)

US President Donald Trump hasissued a stark warningto Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.

In a social media post on April 5, he suggested that the United States would launch an extensive attack on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure on April 7 if the crucial waterway was not reopened.

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14:33

US President Donald Trump has said in a Truth Socialpostthat Iranian forces were getting close to finding the downed US airman before he was rescued, adding further details to the operation he had announced earlier. He also said he would be holding a news conference with military officials at the Oval Office on April 6.

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14:11

Israeli Strikes Reported In Lebanon

Rescuers work at the site of a reported Israeli strike in Beirut's Jnah area on April 5.

Israeli strikes hit Lebanon on April 5, including an attack in south Beirut near Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the countrys largest public medical facility, Lebanese state media reported.

A medical source told the AFP news agency that the strike landed about 100 meters from the hospital in the Jnah area.

The Israeli military had earlier said it had begun targeting Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Lebanese capital.

Elsewhere, a Lebanese soldier was killed in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Army said.

In Kfar Hatta, an Israeli strike reportedly killed seven people, including a displaced family of six, according to civil defense sources.

Israel had earlier issued evacuation warnings.

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13:07

Iran's Digital Shutdown Is The Longest On Record, Says Web Monitor

Meanwhile, Iran's ongoing digital blackout is "now the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record," according to the NetBlocks web-outage monitor,

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12:54

Reports: At Least 5 Killed In US-Israeli Attacks Amid Pilot Rescue Operation

At least five people were reported killed in US-Israeli attacks in Iran during operations to rescue a crew member from a downed F-15 fighter jet, according to Iranian media.

The Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), quoted a local governor as saying five people were killed in the Black Mountain area of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.

Separately, Irans IRNA state news agency said five IRGC fighters were killed in strikes in the Moghan Plain in the northwest.

The claims could not be independently verified. US President Donald Trump said both crew members of the F-15 plane had been rescued and no Americans were injured.

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11:01

'Grave Risk Of Radiological Release' From Bushehr Nuclear Plant, Says Iranian Foreign Minister

A Russian worker walks past the Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 kilometers south of Tehran. (file photo)

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has warned of potential consequences following reported attacks near Irans civilian nuclear facilities, including the Bushehr power plant.

In aletteraddressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was published April 5, he raised concerns about what he described as repeated strikes.

Araqchi wrote that such attacks expose the entire region to the risk of radioactive contamination with grave humanitarian and environmental consequences.

He claimed the Bushehr facility was an installation devoted exclusively to peaceful purposes and operating under the IAEA's comprehensive safeguards regime, and warned that strikes nearby constitute an intolerable escalation, entailing a grave risk of radiological release.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on April 4 that Iran had informed it of a projectile striking close to the Bushehr site, killing a guard. The nuclear watchdog said that the main parts of the plant were unaffected and radiation levels remained normal.

The reported strike has not been independently confirmed, and neither the US nor Israeli militaries have confirmed any involvement in an attack on the facility.

The Bushehr plant, Irans only operational nuclear facility, was built with Russian assistance and is jointly run by Iranian and Russian personnel.

Russia state-owned energy agency said on April 4 that it hadevacuated scores of personnelfrom the facility.

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10:24

Iran Says 2 More Protesters Executed After Winter Unrest

By

RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Mohammad Amin Biglari, 19, was one of the protesters Iran said it executed on April 5. (file photo)

Iran said it executed two protesters in the early hours of April 5, according to the judiciary-linked Mizan News Agency.

The two men Mohammad Amin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast were arrested during nationwide protests at the turn of the year and accused of attempting to access a military arms depot in Tehran.

Their executions bring the number carried out over the past week to at least nine.

A third defendant in the same case, teenager Amirhossein Hatami, was executed days earlier on national-security charges.

Authorities said the sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court, though details of the trial conditions remain unclear.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have warned of a surge in executions, including cases involving minors, following protests in late December and January that were violently suppressed.

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09:57

Fires Reported At UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait Energy Sites

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates said they were battling fires at a petrochemical facility that was caused by falling debris as Iran continued to launch aerial attacks on neighboring Persian Gulf states.

"Authorities are responding to multiple fires in Borouge petrochemicals plant, caused by falling debris following successful interceptions by air defense systems," the emirate's media office said on April 5.

It added that operations at the Abu Dhabi facility have been immediately suspended while damage is assessed and that no injuries were reported.

The UAE Defense Ministry had said earlier that it was responding to missile and drone attacks.

Elsewhere, an Iranian drone attack has caused a fire at a storage tank belonging to Bahrain's state energy firm, the company said in a statement on April 5.

"Bapco Energies confirms an incident occurred at one of its storage facilities earlier today resulting in a tank fire, as a result of a hostile Iranian drone attack," the company said, without specifying the location of the blaze, adding that the blaze has been fully extinguished and that the situation is under control.

No injuries have been reported.

Also on April 5, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation said a fire broke out in its Shuwaikh oil sector complex, which houses the oil ministry and the state corporation's headquarters, KPC headquarters, after a drone attack, the Kuwaiti state news agency reported.

Kuwaiti state media said an Iranian drone hit an office complex for government ministries, causing significant damage but no casualties. Also, Kuwait's electricity and water ministry said two power generation units were shut off after Iranian drones targeted two power and desalination plants, causing substantial damage.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters.

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09:09

'We Got Him' - Missing US F-15E Crew Member Rescued In Iran

By

Alex Raufoglu

A US F-15 fighter jet (file photo)

US forces rescued the second crew member of a downed F-15 fighter jet in Iran, concluding a high-risk combat search-and-rescue mission deep inside hostile territory.

Several media outlets, including The New York Times, reported the soldier, who was recovered in southwestern Iran early on April 5, was taken to a hospital in Kuwait for medical treatment.

There was no information immediately available on whether there were any casualties from the mission, though media reports said two transport planes that were supposed to be part of the mission failed to leave a remote base in Iran. The aircraft were destroyed to keep Iran's military from obtaining them.

"We got him," US President Donald Trump posted onTruth Socialshortly after word of the rescue was made public. "He sustained injuries, but he will be just fine," he added.

The F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down by Iranian air defenses on April 3, becoming the first US aircraft lost over Iran during the five-week conflict. The first crew member was recovered within hours of ejecting from the crippled jet.

Mission accomplished, a US official told RFE/RL following the operation.

Read morehere.

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23:03

4.4.2026

Satellite Firm To Stop Publishing Imagery From War Zone At US Request

Following a request from the US government, satellite imagery company Planet Labs on April 4 said it will stop publishing high-resolution aerial pictures of the area involved in the Middle East war.

Planet said the US government had asked satellite imagery providers to implement an "indefinite withhold of imagery."

A Planet Labs satellite image from 2019.

"Effective retroactively from March 9, 2026, Planet is moving to a managed access model, extending the publication delay for all new imagery within the designated AOI (area of interest), and releasing imagery on a case-by-case basis and for urgent, mission-critical requirements or in the public interest," the company said in a message to clients.

The affected area has been defined as all of Iran and allied bases in the area, as well as Gulf states and existing conflict zones.

Vantor, the other top provider of satellite imagery, has also announced major restrictions.

Planet Lab's images were generally available to its clients within hours of their satellites passing overhead.

With reporting by AFP