Iran US War News LIVE: Iran’s IRGC says it will target 18 US companies including Google, Apple, IBM, Tesla

Speaking about the ongoing conflict, Syria’s president said: “We will not be involved in war, unless we are subject to aggression and we have no diplomatic solution.”

Pope Leo said he ‘hopes Iran war could end before Easter on April 5’, and lamented the deaths in the conflict, including of “innocent children,” reported Reuters.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday the next few days in the war against Iran would be decisive and warned Tehran that the conflict would intensify if it did not make a deal, reported Reuters.

USDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday the next few days in the war against Iran would be decisive and warned Tehran that the conflict would intensify if it did not make a deal.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards hit back with a new threat, saying that they will target U.S. companies in the region in retaliation for attacks on Iran from Wednesday, listing 18 groups including Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, IBM, Tesla and Boeing.

Iranian minister Abbas Araghchi said: “The war criminals in Israel are now openly and unashamedly bombing pharmaceutical companies. Their intentions are clear.”

“What they’ve gotten wrong is that they’re not dealing with defenseless Palestinian civilians. Our Powerful Armed Forces will severely punish aggressors,” he said on X.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday that they would target leading US technology firms like Apple, Google and Meta if more Iranian leaders were killed in “targeted assassinations”, AFP news reported.

“These companies, starting from 8:00 pm (1630 GMT) Tehran time on Wednesday, April 1, should expect the destruction of their relevant units in exchange for every assassination in Iran,” the Guards said in a statement listing the names of 18 companies it alleged were complicit in the killing of officials.

“We advise the employees of these institutions to immediately leave their workplaces to preserve their lives,” it added.

The Joint Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine says the US continues to strike key Iranian manufacturing nodes, component storage sites, and research facilities: “Over the past 30 days, we’ve struck more than 11,000 targets.”

“We’ve taken out more than 150 ships, including all Jamaran class frigates inside their navy… We continue to prosecute our campaign against their defense industrial base at scale. This includes factories, warehouses, nuclear weapons R&D labs, and the associated infrastructure required for Iran to reconstitute its combat capability.”

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on negotiations with Iran: “They are very real, they are ongoing, they are active and, I think, gaining strength… We don’t want to do more militarily than we have to — but I didn’t mean it flippantly when I said in the meantime, we’ll negotiate with bombs. Our job is to ensure that we compel Iran to realize that this new regime, this regime in charge, is in a better place if they make that deal.”

US Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, says, “I had the opportunity to visit our troops fighting in Operation Epic Fury… I watched a private first class confidently calling out an enemy missile trajectory to a room full of officers. Everyone focused; the room was locked in. Two enemy missiles were successfully shot down…”

“I met a junior airman as the sun was going down and a chill was setting on the tarmac who, when asked what she needed, simply looked up at me with a smile on her face and said, more bombs, and bigger bombs. We will happily oblige her…,” he said.

“I witnessed urgency to finish the job, urgency to achieve mission success, not looking at the next rotation, only moving as fast as possible to win… A crew chief we flew with summed it up nicely. He said, it’s been a busy few weeks, sir, tough stuff, but I’m so honoured to be called up. This fight is long overdue. We need to address it for our kids. We cannot pass the buck. Please thank the President from us,” Pete Hegseth said.

Israel will destroy all homes in Lebanese villages near the border and 600,000 people who fled the south will not be allowed home until northern Israel is secure, the defence minister said on Tuesday, vowing to inflict Gaza-like destruction in the area.

Israel Katz reiterated Israeli plans to establish a buffer zone in southern Lebanon, saying that it would maintain control over a swathe of territory up to the Litani River once the war with Iran-backed Hezbollah group ended.

Iran’s foreign minister, in a call with his Turkish counterpart, warned of repeated false-flag operations aimed at undermining regional ties, the foreign ministry said, a day after NATO intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran over Turkey.

Turkey is playing a mediating role, alongside other regional countries, between Washington and Tehran to help de-escalate tensions and end the war.

Amid strikes in Dubai, Qatar has said Gulf states ‘unified’ in calling for war de-escalation.

Brussels has reportedly urged EU states to ‘coordinate measures’ in face of oil price hike

Three Chinese ships recently sailed through the Strait of Hormuz after coordination with relevant parties, a foreign ministry spokesperson told a regular daily press briefing on Tuesday, while calling for peace and stability in the Gulf Region.

The critical waterway has effectively been shut since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.

Strikes damage desalination plant on Iran island in Strait of Hormuz: media, the Associated Press quoted media as saying.

An explosion was heard Tuesday morning near the international airport of Erbil, a city in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, news agency AFP reported citing one of its journalists.

Erbil is home to a major US consulate complex, while its airport houses military advisers attached to a US-led international anti-jihadist coalition, the news agency added.

CENCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper “visited with U.S. troops deployed to multiple locations in support of Operation Epic Fury. He recognized more than 40 service members with medals for their exceptional performance during the first weeks of the operation,” a release by CENTCOM said.

The Hosseinieh Azam Zanjan Mosque, a renowned Shi’ite mosque and religious complex in Zanjan, was damaged by US-Israeli strikes, Iran’s Fars news agency reported.

The strikes damaged parts of the dome and minarets, and further inspections are being carried out to assess the damage.

Explosions were heard in Dubai on Tuesday, news agency AFP reported citing journalists on the ground.

Further details are awaited.

Earlier in the day, Dubai authorities successfully doused a fire sparked by Iranian strikes on a Kuwaiti tanker anchored at the Dubai Port.

Two container ships belonging to the Chinese shipping giant Cosco successfully passed through the Strait of Hormuz, exiting the Gulf, news agency AFP reported citing ship tracking data.

The CSCL Indian Ocean crossed the strait at around 0914 GMT on Monday, followed by CSCL Arctic Ocean 27 minutes later, according to data from Marine Traffic.

An attack on the city of Mahallat in Iran’s Markazi province last night killed 11 people and injured 15 others, Al Jazeera reported on Tuesday citing Iran’s ISNA news agency.

Three residential units in Mahallat city were “directly hit by projectiles”, causing significant damage, the report said.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday said that it had eliminated dozens of ‘terrorists’ in southern Lebanon in the past 24 hours.

“The forces destroyed warehouses where numerous weapons caches, headquarters, underground shafts and a launcher were located towards the territory of the country. Among the weapons located were military vests, helmets, and loaded RPG weapons,” the IDF statement added.

The IDF also said that artillery operating in the area have fired more than 700 shells in recent days at targets Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.

There was no oil spill from an Iranian strike on a Kuwaiti tanker at the Dubai Port, authorities said on Tuesday, after the Kuwait Petroleum had earlier warned of a possible spillage from the attack.

Earlier in the day, the Dubai Media Office had announced that the fire on board the tanker had been successfully extinguished.

Massive 2,000-pound bunker buster bombs were used to strike a large ammunition depot in the Iranian city of Isfahan, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday citing a US official, adding that a “high volume” of such munitions were deployed in the attack.

The comment by the official came after President Donald Trump posted an uncaptioned video on Truth Social showing a massive explosion followed by a chain of explosions. The video captured the strike, the official told WSJ.

Thousands of Iranians gathered in Karaj to show support to the government and the armed forces amid the war in the Middle East, a clip shared by Iran’s Press TV showed.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on Tuesday announced the deaths of four Israeli soldiers in operations in southern Lebanon.

The IDF also said that three soldiers had been hurt.

Explosions were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some parts of the capital city on Tuesday, Iranian media reports said.

“Power outages in parts of Tehran after multiple explosions heard,” said the Fars news agency reported, while Tasnim reported hat some residents in the eastern part of the city were without electrcity.

Israel’s military on Tuesday said its air defences were responding to Iranian missiles.

“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel,” the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) posted on Telegram.

Meanwhile, news agency AFP reported that at least 10 blasts were heard over Jerusalem.

Iran’s Press TV on Tuesday shared footage reporting that Israeli air defences had failed to intercept an Iranian missile, with blasts reported across Palestinian territories.

US President Donald Trump could end the ongoing military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, which cited Trump administration officials, Washington is recalibrating its war objectives, and will focus instead on crippling Iran’s navy, degrading its missile stockpile, and reducing its ability to threaten shipping through the crucial waterway.

Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express have confirmed they will together operate 36 scheduled and non-scheduled flights to and from the West Asia region on 31 March 2026, amid the ongoing war.

Check the routes here.

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Monday (local time) released fresh footage of American strikes against Iran.

It did not specify what the targets shown were.

Authorities in Dubai extinguished a fire that had broken out after Iranian strikes on a Kuwaiti tanker at the Dubai port.

“Relevant teams continue to assess the situation and take the necessary measures, and updates will be shared as they become available,” the Dubai Media Office added.

Iran’s Press TV early on Tuesday claimed citing reports that the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia had been attacked by drones again.

It did not provide any more details.

Earlier, Iran had struck the base in Al Kharj and had shared photos claiming significant damage to an American E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday declared Saudi Arabia a “brotherly nation”, saying it deeply respected the kingdom.

Sharing photos of the destruction caused by Iran’s attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base, Araghchi explained that Tehran’s strikes were aimed at US and Israeli forces, and also urged Saudi Arabia to oust American forces.

“High time to eject US forces,” wrote Araghchi.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Dan Caine are slated to hold a press conference at 8 am EST (6.30 pm IST) on Tuesday.

US President Donald Trump on Monday local time shared a video showing a massive explosion.

Trump did not provide any description or context. Watch the video below.

Spain on Monday closed its airspace to US planes involved in attacks on Iran, a step beyond its previous denial of use of jointly-operated military bases, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported, citing military sources.

The closure of Spain’s airspace, which forces military planes to bypass the country to their targets in the Middle East, does not include emergency situations, El Pais added.

“Two UNIFIL peacekeepers were tragically killed in south Lebanon today, when an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan,” the UN force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, said.

“A third peacekeeper was severely injured, and a fourth was also hurt,” it added.

A broker acting on behalf of Pete Hegseth, the US Defence Secretary, reportedly attempted to secure a multimillion-dollar investment in a major defence-focused fund in the weeks before Washington launched military strikes against Iran, a disclosure that the Pentagon has moved swiftly to deny.

Authorities in Dubai were working to contain the fire on a Kuwaiti oil tanker struck by Iran at the city’s port, the Dubai Media Office said.

It did not clarify whether the fire had been contained.

Iran on Monday attacked a fully-loaded crude oil tanker at Dubai Port’s anchorage, Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA said, setting it ablaze and damaging its hull.

The Kuwait Petroleum Corp, meanwhile, warned of a possible oil spill.

The apparent strike by Tehran is just the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air and sea drones in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28.