Iran, US-Israel War News Live Updates: One crew member rescued after US aircraft shot down in Iran, officials say

Combat support and assembly centers were targeted in Israel's Western Galilee, Haifa, Kafr Kanna, and Kiryat, Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported.

The U.S. embassy in ⁠Beirut said ​on Friday that ​Iran ​and its ⁠aligned armed ‌groups "may intend to target universities in ⁠Lebanon".

In ⁠a ⁠security ‌alert, the ​embassy ‌also urged ‌U.S. ​citizens ​to depart ​Lebanon "while commercial ​flight options ⁠remain available". — Reuters

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday spoke with Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and discussed the five-point peace plan proposed by Islamabad and Beijing to end the conflict in West Asia.  The peace proposal was put forward on Tuesday after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Dar, who undertook a one-day visit to Beijing to discuss regional developments.

Dar, also the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, called the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia on the phone to discuss the regional situation, according to a statement by the Foreign Office. — PTI

The Qatari Ministry of Defense on Friday said the State of Qatar was targeted "by a number of drones launched from Iran".

On a US fighter jet being shot down over Iran, the governor of Iran's ​Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad ⁠province said whomever captured or killed the crew "would be specially commended," ‌the Reuters reported citing semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA.

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A US official told Reuters that a fighter jet was shot down over Iran and a search is underway for the crew. The official, who spoke on condition of ‌anonymity, did not offer further details.

The Pentagon and U.S. Central Command did not respond to requests for comment.

The prospect of U.S. pilots ⁠being alive ⁠and on the run inside Iran during an ⁠ongoing ‌conflict greatly raises ​the stakes for the ‌United States in the conflict. Iranian officials called on ‌civilians ​to be ​on ​the lookout for survivors.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni flew to Saudi Arabia on Friday for a previously unannounced trip that will ⁠also ​include meetings in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, government sources ​said.

The ​sources said ⁠the visit would reaffirm Italy's support for ‌the three nations in the face of Iranian attacks on their territories, and was also aimed ⁠at ⁠bolstering Italy's national energy security through closer ⁠engagement ‌with Gulf ​producers.

It is ‌the first trip to the region ‌by a ​leader ​from ​the European Union since the conflict ​was launched by ⁠the United States and Israel at the end ‌of ⁠February. — Reuters

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted a video on X and wrote, "Together with our American friends, we continue to crush the terror regime in Iran. We are eliminating commanders, bombing bridges, bombing infrastructure." He added, "In full coordination between myself and President Trump, between the IDF and the United States Army, we will continue to crush Iran."

Watch the video here:

The UAE air defences on April 3 engaged 18 Ballistic missiles, 4 cruise missiles and 47 UAVs launched from Iran, the UAE Ministry of Defence informed on Friday.

Our suggestion – based on our experience – was as follows. The war and the negotiations on reopening the Hormuz Strait can go in parallel. It’s worth trying to find a diplomatic solution, and this could be beneficial for both sides in the war. An alternative step would be to control the Strait unilaterally, as Ukraine did with the Grain Corridor. Achieving this would require interceptors, military convoys to escort the vessels, a large integrated electronic warfare network, and other tools. We stand ready to help with this. — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

US President Donald Trump on Friday took to Truth Social and posted, "With a little more time, we can easily OPEN THE HORMUZ STRAIT, TAKE THE OIL, & MAKE A FORTUNE. IT WOULD BE A “GUSHER” FOR THE WORLD??? President DONALD J. TRUMP".

A drone strike in southern Iran hit a warehouse holding aid containers and emergency vehicles, a spokesperson for the International Federation ⁠of ​Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Friday.

The strike in the ​southern ​province of Bushehr ⁠early on Friday destroyed two containers, two ‌buses and an unspecified number of emergency vehicles, the spokesperson said. She did not attribute blame and Reuters could ⁠not ⁠immediately establish responsibility.

The IFRC is the only humanitarian ⁠group ‌working across ​the country and has ‌100,000 responders. — Reuters

A Japanese liquefied natural gas tanker has crossed the Strait of Hormuz, its joint owner Mitsui ⁠O.S.K. ​Lines said on Friday.

Crew members on the ​Panama-flagged ship, "SOHAR ​LNG", remain safe, ⁠a Mitsui O.S.K. Lines spokesperson ‌told Reuters, while declining to disclose when it crossed the strait and whether there was ⁠any ⁠kind of negotiations to ⁠do so.

The ‌Asahi ​newspaper earlier on ‌Friday reported that the ship was ‌the ​first ​Japanese ​vessel to have exited the ​Strait of Hormuz since ⁠the onset of the Iran ‌war. — Reuters

Pope Leo XIV has urged Israeli President to "reopen all paths of dialogue to end Iran War", the Reuters reported quoting a statement issued by the Vatican.

Britain will deploy its Rapid Sentry air defence system to Kuwait to help protect British and Kuwaiti ⁠interests ​in the Gulf, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said ​on ​Friday, after ⁠an overnight Iranian drone attack on a ‌Kuwaiti oil facility.

Starmer discussed the deployment in a call with Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh ⁠Meshal ⁠al-Ahmad al-Sabah on Friday morning, a ⁠Downing Street ‌spokesperson ​said.

"The Prime ‌Minister began by condemning the reckless overnight ‌drone ​attack ​on ​a Kuwaiti oil refinery," the spokesperson ​said. "He reiterated that ⁠the UK stands with Kuwait and all ‌our ⁠allies in the Gulf." — Reuters

Kuwait said on Friday an Iranian attack damaged a desalination plant.

The attack came after an oil refinery was hit by drones on Friday morning.

Kuwait said without elaborating that the attack on the desalination plant caused "material damage to some of the plant's components." Desalination provides the majority of the water for the Gulf Arab states and Iran, drawing the salty waters of the Persian Gulf into drinking water for the desert region. — PTI