Iran

Live updates: US fighter aircraft downed over Iran Middle East

A US fighter jet has been brought down over Iran, thrusting Washington into a dangerous new phase of the nearly five-week-old war, with search teams recovering one of the two crew members who ejected, a US official told Reuters. It is the first known incident of its kind since the conflict began. Requests for comment to the Pentagon and US Central Command went unanswered. The possibility that a US aviator is still alive and evading capture inside Iran sharply raises the pressure on the White House in a war that opinion polls…

Two US warplanes have been brought down over Iran and the Gulf, according to Iranian and US officials, in a dramatic setback that left two pilots rescued and a third still missing as Tehran’s forces scour the area. The losses underscore the dangers still confronting US and Israeli aircraft operating over Iran, despite repeated claims by US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that allied forces had established complete control of the skies. The first aircraft, a two-seat US F-15E fighter jet, was shot…

Friday April 3, 2026 A picture released by the Iranian government's foreign media department shows graves being prepared for victims, mostly children, of a United States attack on a girls' primary school in Minab, Iran More than 100 international law scholars based in the United States have issued a sharp open letter condemning US and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying the attacks violate the United Nations Charter and could amount to “war crimes”. Published on Thursday, the letter says the conduct of US forces and remarks by…

Fears are mounting for a 30-year-old man held in Iran after his family said the case against him could end in execution, despite what they describe as glaring contradictions in the allegations. Peyvand Naimi has remained in custody since early January, when he was arrested during anti-government protests. In an interview with RTÉ's News at One, his Dublin-based cousin, Sama Sabet, said he has endured torture, mock executions and sustained pressure to admit to crimes he denies. "On 8 January 2026...he was arrested by the…

Thursday April 2, 2026 Oil markets jolted sharply higher on Thursday, with prices surging more than $5 after President Donald Trump said the United States would keep striking Iran, while stopping short of giving any clear deadline for how the war might end. The lack of a firm end point deepened investor concern that disruptions to energy supplies could stretch on. Brent crude futures LCOc1 climbed $6.33, or 6.3 percent, to $107.49 a barrel in early trading, while US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 rose $5.28, or 5.3…

Washington’s case for the US operation in Iran remains as murky as ever, with shifting explanations about its purpose and endgame leaving Americans and allied governments struggling to pin down exactly what the mission is meant to achieve. The Trump administration’s public message has repeatedly shifted, as the president and his top officials offer conflicting accounts of why the campaign began, what success looks like and when it is supposed to conclude. Since the start of March, President Donald Trump has said more than a…

President Donald Trump declared in a televised address that the US military was close to meeting its objectives in Iran, yet he offered no firm end date for the month-long war and warned that the country could be bombed back into the "stone ages". Markets recoiled after Mr Trump signalled that military action would intensify over the next two to three weeks, without setting out a concrete path to ending a conflict that has rattled global energy supplies and raised fears of a broader economic shock. Brent crude, which had…

President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested the end of the war with Iran may be coming into view, as Washington signalled room for direct contact with Tehran's leadership and indicated the conflict could wind down even without a formal agreement. The comments highlighted the administration's evolving — and at times conflicting — messaging over when and under what conditions a war that has killed thousands, engulfed the region and triggered severe energy disruption might be brought to a close. "We'll…

A stark new warning from Washington has raised the stakes in the Middle East conflict, with US President Donald Trump saying the United States would destroy Iran's energy plants and oil wells unless Tehran reopens the Strait of Hormuz. The threat came after Iran dismissed US peace proposals as "unrealistic" and launched fresh waves of missiles at Israel. The Israeli military said two drones launched from Yemen were intercepted today, while Lebanon's Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel. Israel, meanwhile, said it struck…