Pakistan's efforts to end war at 'critical, sensitive stage': Iranian envoy

This live blog follows updates for Day 39 of the US-Israeli war on Iran. For a recap of Day 38, go here.

• Series of explosions heard in Iranian capital: Local media
• Fighter from Iraq's PMF killed in strike near Syria border: Official
• UNSC to vote on Hormuz resolution ahead of Trump deadline
• Iran ambassador to Pakistan says efforts to end war at 'critical, sensitive stage'
• Israeli army tells Iranians not to take trains until Tuesday evening for 'safety'

Strikes outside Tehran kill 18 people: Iranian media

Published: April 7, 2026 | 09:43 GMT | By AFP

Iranian media on Tuesday reported that 18 people, including two children, were killed in strikes in Alborz province neighboring the capital, citing a provincial official.

A deputy governor of Alborz province said US-Israeli strikes hit residential areas and that "the deaths of 18 of our fellow citizens have been confirmed, including two young children", the judiciary's Mizan Online website and the Fars news agency reported.

Twenty-four people were wounded in the early morning attack, the deputy governor added.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on April 6 that at least 3,597 people had been killed, including 1,665 civilians -- among them at least 248 children -- as well as 1,221 military personnel and 711 people whose status had not been classified.

Sri Lanka unveils $320M subsidy to offset energy costs

Published: April 7, 2026 | 09:43 GMT | By AFP

Sri Lanka announced on Tuesday a record $320 million relief package for farmers, fishermen and low‑income households hit hardest by soaring energy costs due to the US-Israel war on Iran.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said the package, the biggest state handout ever, would help the most vulnerable in the island nation of 22 million.

Cash grants would be paid directly into the accounts of thousands of fishermen and rice and tea farmers, he said.

Those living below the poverty line -- about 25% of the population -- would get an additional $25 this month to celebrate the traditional Sinhala and Tamil New Year festivals, and also have their electricity bills subsidized.

"The total relief package is valued at 100 billion rupees ($320 million) over three months," Dissanayake said. "We are funding this through the existing budget."

Iran's Kuwait ambassador urges Gulf to work on averting 'tragedy' before Trump deadline

Published: April 7, 2026 | 09:43 GMT | By AFP

Iran's ambassador to Kuwait urged Gulf states on Tuesday to find a way to avert a "tragedy", as US President Donald Trump's evening deadline loomed for Iran to agree a deal or face strikes on civilian infrastructure.

Trump has warned that unless Tehran allows free passage through the strategic oil chokepoint the Strait of Hormuz by midnight GMT, the United States will unleash what he called the "complete demolition" of Iran's critical infrastructure.

"We hope that the countries in the region will use all their diplomatic and political capabilities to prevent such a tragedy from befalling the region," Mohammad Toutounji told AFP.

15 Americans injured in Iranian attack on Kuwaiti air base

Published: April 7, 2026 | 08:38 GMT | By Web Desk

An Iranian drone strike on Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait overnight injured 15 Americans, CBS News reported citing two US officials.

Iran downs Israeli-made Orbiter drone in Hormozgan: State media  

Published: April 7, 2026 | 08:31 GMT | By Web Desk

Iran’s IRGC announced the destruction of an Israeli-made Orbiter drone in the village of Mishi, Sirik County, Hormozgan Province, claimed a post shared by Iranian state-run Tasnim News Agency on X.

Iranian missile strikes hit Israeli capital: State media 

Published: April 7, 2026 | 08:30 GMT | By Web Desk

Iran’s "retaliatory missile strikes" have "directly hit the heart of the occupied city of Tel Aviv", this was claimed in a post shared on X by Iranian state-run Tasnim News Agency.

Iran strongly condemns airstrikes on Tehran universities

Published: April 7, 2026 | 08:29 GMT | By Web Desk

Iran’s permanent mission in Geneva has strongly condemned the recent airstrikes on Tehran University’s AI labs and Sharif University’s data centers, calling the attacks a “direct assault on the future of knowledge”, said a post shared by Iranian state-run Tasnim News Agency on X.

Series of explosions heard in Iranian capital: Local media

Published: April 7, 2026 | 08:13 GMT | By AFP 

Explosions rocked the Iranian capital on Tuesday, according to the country's Mehr news agency as well as the newspapers Shargh and Ham-Mihan.

An AFP journalist confirmed that a series of blasts were heard coming from the north of the city.

Fighter from Iraq's PMF killed in strike near Syria border: Official

Published: April 7, 2026 | 08:13 GMT | By AFP 

A strike killed a fighter from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed al-Shaabi, or Popular Mobilization Forces, in Iraq near the border with Syria on Tuesday, the alliance said, blaming the United States and Israel.

"At 4 am (0100 GMT) this morning the 45th Brigade... was subjected to a treacherous Zionist-American aggression in the Qaim district of Anbar province," the alliance said.

The strike resulted in "the martyrdom of one of the fighters of the 45th Brigade", which belongs to the US-blacklisted, group Kataeb Hezbollah.

UNSC to vote on Hormuz resolution ahead of Trump deadline

Published: April 7, 2026 | 07:57 GMT | By Web Desk 

The UN Security Council is expected to vote on Tuesday on a resolution on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, but diplomats say it has been significantly diluted after opposition to the authorized use of force, The National reported.

The vote comes after more than five weeks of war, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran that have raised oil prices and disrupted traffic through one of the world’s most critical energy corridors.

Pakistan's efforts to end war at 'critical, sensitive stage': Iranian envoy

Published: April 7, 2026 | 06:50 GMT | By Web Desk 

Iran's Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amir Moghadam has said "Pakistan positive and productive endeavours in Good Will and Good Office to stop the war is approaching a critical, sensitive stage ..."

He said his in a post on X on Tuesday.

"Stay Tuned for more," Moghadam added. 

Israeli army tells Iranians not to take trains until Tuesday evening for 'safety'

Published: April 7, 2026 | 05:56 GMT | By AFP

Israeli army tells Iranians not to take trains until Tuesday evening for 'safety', AFP reported. 

Bridge connecting Saudi Arabia, Bahrain temporarily closed: Authorities

Published: April 7, 2026 | 05:56 GMT | By AFP

Bridge connecting Saudi Arabia and Bahrain has been temporarily closed, AFP reported citing authorities. 

Attacks hit petrochemical complex in Saudi industrial area: Source on the ground

Published: April 7, 2026 | 05:40 GMT | By AFP

Overnight attacks on Saudi Arabia hit a petrochemical complex in a sprawling industrial area in the eastern city of Jubail, a source on the ground told AFP on Tuesday, hours after similar installations in Iran were struck.

"An attack caused a fire at the SABIC plants in Jubail. The sounds of explosions were very loud," the source told AFP, referring to the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation.

Jubail in eastern Saudi Arabia is home to one of the world's largest industrial cities, where steel, gasoline, petrochemicals, lubricating oil and chemical fertilizers are produced.

Jewish synagogue destroyed in Tehran in US-Israeli attacks, says state media 

Published: April 7, 2026 | 05:40 GMT | By Web Desk

Iranian state media reported that a Jewish synagogue was leveled to the ground in Tehran in US-Israeli attacks. 

"Not even synagogues were spared in US–Israeli attacks: one in central Tehran was leveled to the ground," state-run Press TV reported.

"Iran is home to the second-largest Jewish population in West Asia, where they have lived in peace and harmony — at least until Israel attacked Iran," it said. 

Iranian missiles hit targets in Negev: State media 

Published: April 7, 2026 | 05:40 GMT | By Web Desk

Iranian missiles strike "Zionist targets in the occupied Negev as Israel's defense system fails to intercept them", Iranian state-run Press TV reported.

Iranian media shares footage of attack on 'US base' in Syria

Published: April 7, 2026 | 05:35 GMT | By Web Desk

Iranian state-run Press TV shared a purported footage showing the moment "a suicide drone attacks the US Qasrak base in Syria's Hasakah province".

'Another residential building' in Tehran hit, says state media 

Published: April 7, 2026 | 05:30 GMT | By Web Desk

The US and Israel attacked "another residential building" in Tehran, where members of Iran’s Red Crescent Society rushed to save people trapped under the rubble, Iranian state-run Press TV reported.

Trump threatens to take out Iran 'in one night' as Hormuz deadline looms

Published: April 7, 2026 | 05:00 GMT | By Web Desk

US President Donald Trump has threatened to take out Iran "in one day" if the country fails to reopen the Strait of Hormuz before his deadline of 20:00 EDT Tuesday (00:00 GMT Wednesday). 

“The entire country could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” President Trump said in a press conference from the White House on Monday.

Tehran dismisses Trump’s 'arrogant rhetoric' after threats against civilian infrastructure

Published: April 7, 2026 | 00:01 GMT | By Web Desk

Donald Trump's "arrogant rhetoric" on the war in the Middle East is not hindering Iran's soldiers, Tehran's army said, after the US president threatened to raze Iran's infrastructure.

"The rude, arrogant rhetoric and baseless threats of the delusional US president [...] have no effect on the continuation of the offensive and crushing operations of the warriors of Islam against the American and Zionist enemies," said a spokesman for the army's Khatam Al-Anbiya central command cited by the national broadcaster.

Second Philippine national killed

Published: April 7, 2026 | 03:39 GMT | By AFP

A second Philippine national has been killed in the Middle East war after a missile struck a residential building in northern Israel, according to Manila's foreign affairs department.

The woman was killed in the port city of Haifa on Sunday, "alongside her Israeli husband and elderly parents-in-law", the department said.

Israeli rescue services said Monday that the bodies of four people had been recovered from the rubble of a residential building in the city, after it was struck by an Iranian missile the previous day.

US military says more than 13,000 ‘targets struck’ in war on Iran

Published: April 7, 2026 | 03:29 GMT | By AFP

US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is responsible for US military operations in the Middle East and is leading the attacks on Iran, said its forces have attacked more than 13,000 Iranian targets, Al Jazeera reported.

In a post shared on social media, CENTCOM also said that more than 155 Iranian vessels have been damaged or destroyed, noting that US nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines are taking part in Operation Epic Fury, as well as a fleet of aircraft ranging from F-35 stealth fighter jets to B-52 bombers.

Relief and rescue effort under way in Tehran after another strike

Published: April 7, 2026 | 01:45 GMT | By AFP

The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) says its aid workers are carrying out a “relief and rescue” mission in the Iranian capital after another US-Israeli air strike.

In a post on X, the IRCS said that another residential area was “targeted” by the latest strike.

A video clip posted alongside the statement on X showed rescue workers working through the rubble of collapsed buildings and assisting injured residents after the strike.

UN says more than 1.1 million people displaced in Lebanon

Published: April 7, 2026 | 01:13 GMT | By AFP

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has said that the number of men, women and children registered as displaced in Lebanon has now reached 1.1 million, close to one-fifth of the country’s population.

About 137,000 of those people are living in shelters, Dujarric told reporters, while “most displaced people are dispersed across host communities or informal settings, often with very limited access to the most basic services.”

Explosions heard in parts of Tehran and nearby Karaj: Report

Published: April 7, 2026 | 00:31 GMT | By AFP

Explosions were heard in parts of Tehran and the nearby city of Karaj, Iranian media reported.

"Moments ago, explosions were heard in parts of Tehran and Karaj," local media outlets Fars and Mehr said on Telegram, without giving further details.

Israeli military announces 'wave' of air strikes on Iran

Published: April 7, 2026 | 00:44 GMT | By AFP

Israel's military announced a "wave" of air strikes on Iran after US President Donald Trump said that a truce proposal to end the US-Israeli war on Iran from international mediators was not yet enough.

"A short while ago, the IDF completed an air strike wave to damage the Iranian terror regime's infrastructure in Tehran and additional areas across Iran," the Israeli military wrote on its official Telegram channel.

Saudi Arabia says downed 7 missiles, debris fell near power facilities

Published: April 7, 2026 | 00:16 GMT | By AFP

Saudi air defenses intercepted and destroyed seven ballistic missiles launched toward the country's east, the defense ministry's spokesperson said.

The ministry said on X that seven "ballistic missiles launched toward the eastern region were intercepted and destroyed. Parts of ballistic missile debris fell around power facilities; damage assessment is underway."

Israel military says air defenses responding to Iranian missiles

Published: April 7, 2026 | 00:36 GMT | By AFP

Israel's military said that its air defenses were activated in response to missiles fired by Iran, shortly after it announced that it had launched a "wave" of air strikes on Iran.

"A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat," the Israeli military said on its official Telegram channel.