Summary
- US President Donald Trump has shared a video on social media of a strike on a bridge in Karaj, Iran, which local officials say killed two people
- Trump says the under-construction bridge which is the highest in the Middle East and which connects Tehran to khan “comes tumbling down” and he warns Iran should “make a deal” before there is “nothing left”
- Meanwhile, video from a missile base near the Iranian city of Isfahan shows major explosions after an apparent air strike
- One clip, verified by the BBC, shows secondary explosions after the strikes on Wednesday – while another shows the base burning for several minutes
- On Wednesday night, Donald Trump said the US would hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks – while also saying its objectives would be met soon
- In response, Iran warns of “broader” and “crushing” retaliation, while claiming US-Israeli strikes have been “insignificant”
- And in the, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has hosted discussions on reopening the Strait of Hormuz – and has condemned Iran’s “recklessness”
- Ultimate goals of US and Israel– Sahar, an Iranian-American school teacher living in New York City says it has become increasingly clear that the war in Iran is only serving the interests of the US and Israel, not the Iranian people. “This is not about freedom, democracy, or independence for the people of Iran,” Sahar says. “Israel wants a broken Iran. The US has not been very clear about what it wants from this war, but it has generally been about power, money, and oil.”
Strait of Hormuz– The European Union may be scaling up its naval force to protect shipping routes disrupted by the war. After a 40-nation call organised by UK Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that efforts must be made to restore safe maritime passage in the Strait of Hormuz. “This waterway is a global public good. Iran cannot be allowed to charge countries a bounty to let ships pass. International law doesn’t recognise pay-to-pass schemes,” Kallas wrote on social media.
Death toll rises to 1,345 in Lebanon– The number of people killed in Lebanon since the start of the conflict in the Middle East has risen to 1,345 – the Lebanese health ministry says. In its latest report it says 125 children and 53 health sector workers have been killed. A further 4,040 people have also been injured between 2 March and 2 April and over 1 .1 million people have been displaced.
