US-Israel Iran War Live Updates

In a bid to strengthen diplomatic ties, the United Nations has dispatched Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy Jean Arnault to the affected area, as part of a concerted effort to promote dialogue and resolve the ongoing conflict.

With a distinguished career spanning over four decades, Arnault has been entrusted with spearheading the UN’s initiatives aimed at addressing the devastating consequences of the war.

The UN has repeatedly called for an immediate shift towards peaceful negotiations, with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressing grave concerns over the latest inflammatory remarks made by a high-ranking official.

According to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Guterres is deeply disturbed by statements suggesting that entire civilian populations or entire civilisations might be held accountable for the consequences of political and military decisions.

Guterres has unequivocally stated that no military objective justifies the deliberate infliction of suffering on civilians or the destruction of a nation’s critical infrastructure.

A somber procession took place in Lebanon as mourners laid to rest Pierre Mouawad, a prominent figure in the Lebanese Forces (LF), a Christian party, who tragically lost his life along with his wife Flavia and another woman on Easter Sunday. The devastating loss has sparked outrage among family members, particularly Pierre’s sister Raymonda Mouawad, who expressed her deep-seated frustration at the Israeli missile strike that took her brother’s life.

Speaking at a church just outside Beirut, Raymonda Mouawad voiced her indignation, stating that her family should not be held accountable for the mistakes of others. Her sentiments were echoed in a simple yet powerful statement: “We’re done with Israel and Hezbollah. That’s all I want to say.” The strike occurred in a residential building in Ain Saadeh, east of Beirut, marking the latest Israeli military operation outside Hezbollah’s traditional stronghold areas.

The LF party, a long-standing adversary of Hezbollah, has been at odds with the militant group since Hezbollah’s provocative rocket fire towards Israel on March 2, which drew Lebanon into the broader Middle East conflict in support of Iran. This provocative act triggered an Israeli military invasion, resulting in the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people and an air campaign that has claimed the lives of over 1,500 individuals, according to Lebanese authorities.

The Israeli military has imposed a maritime exclusion zone, encompassing approximately 20 nautical miles along the Lebanese coastline, stretching from Ras Naqoura near the Israeli border to the southern edge of the city of Tyre, where I am currently reporting. This region is home to numerous towns and villages that rely heavily on the sea for their livelihoods, with many fishermen venturing out to catch fish for local markets and export. This latest warning appears to be a direct response to Hezbollah’s attack on an Israeli naval vessel in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tyre yesterday. Despite ongoing negotiations and discussions about a potential ceasefire, the situation continues to deteriorate, with Israel showing no signs of halting its land and air operations.

A seasoned nuclear security expert has cautioned that a direct strike on Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant could unleash a calamity akin to the devastating disasters at Chernobyl or Hiroshima.
Tariq Raoul, a former director of nuclear verification and security policy coordination at the International Atomic Energy Agency, shared his concerns with Al Jazeera, stating that while nuclear power plants like Bushehr are engineered to withstand impact, the actual outcome remains uncertain.
Raoul highlighted the severe repercussions of a Gulf-wide contamination, which could persist for an extended period, painting a dire picture of the potential consequences.
“The desalination plants would cease to function, fish supplies would be severely depleted, and vast areas would become uninhabitable,” he noted, underscoring the far-reaching impact.
He also emphasized the potential health risks associated with radiation exposure, including severe blistering, loss of consciousness, blood loss, and cancer.
Raoul deemed it irresponsible to intentionally or inadvertently target the facility, warning that it’s only a matter of time before an errant drone or other object might crash into the reactor.

The Iranian delegation to the United Nations has extended gratitude to China and Russia for casting their vetoes on a proposed resolution endorsed by Gulf states, which sought to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement posted on X, the Iranian mission credited the two nations with upholding the principles of the UN Charter by blocking a draft resolution that it deemed flawed. This move, according to the Iranian delegation, prevented the Security Council from being exploited to justify US military actions under the guise of freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.

APM Terminals Bahrain, the entity overseeing Bahrain’s primary port, Khalifa Bin Salman Port, has announced that it will temporarily cease operations at the crack of dawn on April 8. This decision coincides with the looming deadline set by Trump, who has warned of a comprehensive assault on Iranian infrastructure unless Tehran agrees to a mutually acceptable agreement. According to a statement released to the AFP news agency, the port’s operations will be put on hold from early April 8, as the operator continues to assess and adjust its operations in response to changing circumstances.

Jean-Noel Barrot, France’s Foreign Affairs Minister, has expressed his hope that a threatened attack on Iran by Donald Trump will not materialize, following a statement in which Trump ominously declared, “a whole civilization will perish this evening.”

In a preliminary assessment, the United Nations has identified potential culprits behind recent attacks on its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where Israeli forces are engaged in a conflict with Hezbollah.
According to a UN spokesperson, a projectile fired by an Israeli tank towards the Ett-Taibe area on March 29 resulted in the death of a UN peacekeeper serving with the Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The incident occurred just hours before the loss of two more UNIFIL peacekeepers, who were killed the following day by an explosive device that the UN believes was likely planted by Hezbollah.
All three victims were Indonesian nationals. The UN spokesperson emphasized that the organization’s assessment is based on initial physical evidence and that a full investigation is ongoing.
The spokesperson characterized the incidents as “unacceptable” and noted that attacks on United Nations peacekeepers may be considered war crimes under international law.

In a recent operation, the Israeli Defence Forces have asserted that they successfully targeted Iran’s primary manufacturing site for its sonar and underwater surveillance equipment.
According to the Israeli military, the attack on Shiraz, a city in southwestern Iran, has severely compromised the Iranian government’s ability to monitor and defend its maritime borders, as well as its capacity to design and maintain submarines and naval electronic systems.

A recent alert from Israel’s defense forces indicates that a fresh wave of Iranian missiles is en route to the country.
This marks the fourth missile salvo in a span of just four hours, according to the Israeli military’s latest updates.