US-Israel Iran War Live Updates

Conversations with locals have revealed a sense of urgency and desperation since the recent price hike was announced, with long queues forming at fuel stations.
Many individuals we spoke to expressed their inability to prepare for the sudden increase, citing the country’s history of receiving fuel supplies from the Strait of Hormuz. They are perplexed by the government’s decision to reduce subsidies, which they see as a vital lifeline.
Pakistan has reportedly been providing a subsidy of approximately $500 million over the past four weeks, but officials claim the country is facing a severe financial crisis. They argue that it is unsustainable to continue offering unlimited subsidies, and the rising fuel costs must be passed on to consumers.
According to government insiders, Pakistan’s fuel reserves are dwindling rapidly, with estimates suggesting the country has only 20 to 24 days’ worth of supplies left. Unless the government takes drastic action, the war continues, or the supply lines are secured, fuel prices are likely to continue escalating.

Following a five-day stay in Croatia, the USS Gerald R Ford has set sail, the US Navy has confirmed, though the destination of the world’s largest aircraft carrier remains undisclosed.
According to the US Navy, the carrier stands ready to undertake full-scale missions in support of national interests, wherever required. The ship has completed scheduled maintenance and replenished its supplies, enabling it to sustain operations effectively.
The USS Gerald R Ford played a pivotal role in the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, but was forced to divert to Crete and subsequently Croatia after a laundry fire erupted on March 12.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces have reportedly intercepted and downed a hostile warplane in the vicinity of Qeshm Island, according to official Iranian media outlets.
Details of the incident remain unclear, with no information provided on the nationality of the targeted aircraft.
Following the engagement, the fighter jet reportedly plummeted into the waters of the Gulf between Hengam Island and Qeshm Island.

In a candid assessment, Tom Davis, a veteran Republican Congressman, emphasizes that sustained military spending is indispensable to the nation’s identity, given the inherent dangers of the global landscape.

President Trump has consistently maintained that the United States is not heavily reliant on oil shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a perspective that underpins his stance on how the waterway should be reopened. He believes that countries most affected by the closure – predominantly Asian nations – should spearhead the efforts to revive maritime traffic in the region. Trump has explicitly urged these nations to “take the lead,” implying that the US should not be directly involved in reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Furthermore, he has suggested that the waterway could potentially reopen automatically once the conflict subsides. However, it’s worth noting that despite the US being less dependent on Strait of Hormuz oil, its economy remains intertwined with the global oil and financial markets, thereby indirectly affecting US consumers, regardless of the president’s assertions.

In a scathing rebuke, three UN human rights experts have demanded a comprehensive and impartial probe into the Israeli military’s recent lethal assault on three journalists in Lebanon, branding the incident a “flagrant assault on press freedom perpetrated by Israeli forces.” UN special rapporteurs Irene Khan, Morris Tidball-Binz, and Ben Saul expressed their outrage on Thursday, underscoring that journalists engaged in their professional duties during armed conflict are entitled to protection as civilians and should not be targeted or made the subject of attack.

The experts emphasized that the deliberate killing of journalists not directly involved in hostilities constitutes a grave infringement of international human rights and humanitarian law, and a war crime. Their statement highlighted the Israeli military’s lethal strike on March 28 against the car of Al Mayadeen journalist Fatima Ftouni, her brother, freelance photojournalist Mohamad Ftouni, and Al-Manar’s Ali Shoaib in southern Lebanon. Al Mayadeen and Al-Manar are media outlets affiliated with the Lebanese group Hezbollah, and Israel had accused Shoaib of being a fighter without providing any evidence, a claim that the experts have not validated.

Iranian state media reports that the naval command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has taken credit for a strike against a data storage facility operated by Oracle, a prominent US-based technology company, in Dubai. This development follows a previous statement from the IRGC, in which it claimed to have successfully targeted an Amazon cloud computing hub in Bahrain.

In a stark warning, UN Undersecretary-General for Human Rights Tom Fletcher cautioned Al Jazeera that Lebanon’s precarious situation is marked by ominous indicators, underscoring the urgent need for a peaceful resolution to the escalating conflicts.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Araghchi has responded to the recent US-Israeli strike on civilian infrastructure, stating that such actions will not intimidate Iran into submission.
Araghchi’s assertion was made on X, where he posted a photograph of the damaged B1 bridge in Karaj, west of Tehran, which was targeted in the strike that claimed the lives of at least two individuals and left multiple others injured.
In a scathing critique, Araghchi described the US strikes as a manifestation of an enemy’s internal disarray and moral collapse, rather than a strategic move to pressure Iran.

Iran’s Khatam-al Anbiya military command has issued a stern warning to the US and Israel, stating that their understanding of the country’s military prowess is woefully inadequate and that a decisive victory over their adversaries is all but assured.
According to a statement carried by the Tasnim news agency, a spokesperson for the command asserted that the US and Israel’s knowledge of Iran’s military capabilities is severely limited, and that they are woefully unaware of the country’s vast and strategic capabilities.
The spokesperson emphasized that the destruction of several strategic missile production centers and advanced military systems has had little to no impact on Iran’s overall military capabilities, as these facilities are merely “insignificant” compared to the country’s extensive and clandestine military infrastructure.
Iran’s military has vowed to unleash even more devastating and far-reaching attacks, with the ultimate goal of securing a “permanent, definitive, and final” surrender from its enemies.