Iran vs US-Israel War News Highlights: Iranian strike reportedly injures 12 American soldiers at US base in Saudi; Rubio expects war to end in weeks

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The Ministry of Defence has said the country’s air defence and fighter jets are responding to an “incoming missiles and [drones] threat from Iran”.

The ministry added that “sounds heard are the result of” the cruise missiles and drones being shot down.

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has issued to two public notices in the past hour warning people to “head to the nearest safe place” and remain calm.

The warnings follow after the ministry said a fire at an unidentified facility in Bahrain was under control after being targeted in an earlier Iranian attack.

The Reuters news agency, citing an unnamed US official, is reporting that 12 ⁠US ⁠troops have been injured, two of them seriously, in ⁠an Iranian strike on Prince ⁠Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.

Reuters said the latest casualties add to the more than 300 US military service members who have ⁠been wounded since the ⁠war on Iran started four weeks ago.

Earlier ⁠on Friday, the US ⁠military said 273 of ⁠the 300 wounded service members had returned to duty.

Thirteen US troops ‌have been killed in the conflict so far, Reuters said.

The US President has said that since NATO countries have not helped the US in its war on Iran the United States may no longer have to be there for its allies.

“We would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?” Trump told an investment forum in Miami, Florida.

“That sounds like a breaking story? Yes, sir. Is that breaking news? I think we just have breaking news, but that’s the fact. I’ve been saying that. Why would we be there for them if they’re not there for us? They weren’t there for us,” Trump said.

Washington’s European allies were not consulted by the US on its decision to attack Iran late last month together with Israel, and many leaders in the NATO alliance have opposed the action.

A 15-year-old boy has succumbed to wounds suffered when he was shot in the abdomen by Israeli soldiers in the Dheisheh refugee camp, south of Bethlehem, the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Health said, according to Wafa news agency.

Adham Dahman was one of three Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Friday, Wafa added.

Israeli forces also shot and killed Sufian Ahmed Saleh Abu Leil, 46, and Mustafa Hamad, in the Qalandiya refugee camp, Wafa reported.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday discussed the possibility of a diplomatic settlement in the Iran war with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, Lavrov’s ministry said.

“The ministers discussed in detail the most difficult military-political crisis in the Middle East, which erupted as a result of unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against Iran,” the statement on the ministry website said.

“There was an exchange of views on the prospects of shifting the conflict into a channel for a political-diplomatic settlement based on international law and taking into account the legitimate interests of all countries in the region.”

The statement also said Lavrov outlined details of Russia’s most recent shipment of humanitarian assistance to Iran.

Lebanon’s Public Health Ministry says the attack happened in the town of Sarafand, in Lebanon’s Sidon district, according to NNA.

NNA also reported that an Israeli drone targeted an ambulance belonging to the Islamic Health Authority, at the roundabout of the town of Kfar Tebnit in Nabatieh, without providing any details on injuries.

The attacks occurred as Israeli forces continued to bombard southern Lebanon and Israeli officials threaten to invade and occupy the country up to the Litani River.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says it has been informed by Iran of the strike in the area of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, in the “third such incident in 10 days”.

“No damage to operating reactor nor any radiation release reported, and condition of plant is normal, Iran says,” the IAEA said on X.

“Director-General Rafael M Grossi again expresses deep concern about recent reports of military activity in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant, says it could cause major radiological incident if reactor were to be damaged. DG Grossi reiterates call for maximum military restraint to avoid risk of a nuclear accident,” it added.

Hezbollah's relentless pressure on northern Israel has raised questions about the Israeli army's strategy in southern Lebanon. Israel's Defence Minister has been pushing for a security buffer zone in Lebanon, with plans to occupy areas south of the Litani River, potentially taking up 15% of Lebanese soil.

This comes as Israel faces intense war with Iran, with millions of Israelis displaced and life disrupted. However, Israeli defence officials acknowledge that disarming Hezbollah won't be achieved through ground invasion alone, but rather through an agreement with the Lebanese government, which seems unlikely.

The United States Embassy in India on Friday shared a remark by US President Donald Trump praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a leader who "gets things done," while expressing confidence that bilateral ties will grow stronger in the future. The post on the embassy’s official social media handle has drawn attention for its timing and messaging amid evolving geopolitical dynamics.

"Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that get things done, something that cannot be said for most. - President Donald J. Trump," the US Embassy in India posted on X, along with a photo of PM Modi and Trump during their last meeting at the White House.

India is closely monitoring global developments and taking necessary steps to ensure uninterrupted availability of fuel, energy, and essential commodities, Minister Hardeep Singh Puri assures.

Under PM Narendra Modi's leadership, the government is prepared to handle emerging challenges. Puri dismisses lockdown rumors as "completely false", urging citizens to remain calm and united.

The Houthi-founded Humanitarian Operations Coordination Centre (HOCC) – which manages Houthi maritime security in the Red Sea – has told maritime intelligence company Lloyd’s List that there is no reason for concern regarding oil tankers transiting the waterway via the Bab-al Mandeb Strait.

“There is no cause for concern in this regard, and at present there is no reason to prevent this trade from continuing,” the HOCC was quoted as saying in a Lloyd’s report on Friday.

“As you can see, dozens of vessels, including oil tankers, transit the Bab al-Mandeb Strait every day. In this context, the Republic of Yemen remains committed to safeguarding navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab-al Mandeb Strait, as well as ensuring the free flow of trade,” the centre said.

British consumer sentiment weakened to its lowest in nearly a year in March as households fretted about the potential impact of the Iran war on the economy and the possibility of sharp price rises, according to a closely watched monthly survey.

GfK's consumer confidence index, the longest-running survey of its kind in Britain, fell to -21 in March from -19 in February.

This was its lowest reading since Britons were ⁠hit ​by a wave of increases in household bills in April 2025 but less of a decline than economists polled by Reuters had forecast.

The Saudi Ministry of Defence said the drones were detected and destroyed in the kingdom’s eastern region, which is home to key oil facilities and has been constantly targeted by Iran since the outbreak of war.

Iran has banned its sports teams from traveling to countries it considers "hostile," Iranian state TV reported Thursday ahead of Tractor FC's scheduled soccer game in Saudi Arabia.

The ban announced by Iran's Ministry of Sports in Tehran didn't mention the World Cup which starts June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The ministry's statement singled out the Tractor game against Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai that was set to be played in Saudi Arabia. It's a playoff game in the Asian Champions League Elite.

"The presence of national and club teams in countries that are considered hostile and are unable to ensure the security of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice," it said.

A US-Israeli air strike targeting three residential houses in the Iranian city of Qom has killed six people, according to a local media report.

Qom’s deputy governor told the Fars News Agency that the number of injured remains unknown.

The Reuters news agency reports that Vietnam’s Finance Ministry has ⁠suspended an environmental protection tax and special consumption ‌tax on fuels to stabilise the domestic market amid rising oil and gas prices due to the war on Iran.

The removal of ⁠the taxes on ⁠petrol, diesel and jet ⁠fuel will be ⁠effective ⁠until April 15, the ministry ‌said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio slammed NATO allies for not supporting the US in its conflict with Iran, saying "The US is constantly asked to help in wars and we have.

But when we had a need, it didn’t get positive responses from NATO." Rubio pointed out the hypocrisy, noting that while Ukraine isn't America's war, the US has contributed more to that fight than any other country.

An Israeli airstrike hit Beirut's southern suburbs early Friday, with multiple explosions reported and smoke rising from the area, according to Lebanese media. The strike, part of Israel's ongoing conflict with Hezbollah, targeted a building in the Hezbollah stronghold, with no specific warning issued beforehand, despite previous evacuation warnings for the area.

The Pentagon is considering the deployment of up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give US President Donald Trump more military options, even as he talks up peace negotiations with Iran, US media report.

According to The Wall Street Journal, citing Department of Defense officials with knowledge of the planning, the force, which would likely include infantry and armoured vehicles, would be added to the roughly 5,000 Marines and some 2,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division who have already been ordered to the region.

A Thai-flagged cargo ship that was hit by unknown projectiles in the ⁠Strait ​of Hormuz earlier this month has ​run aground ​off ⁠Iran's Qeshm Island, Iran's Tasnim news ‌agency said on Friday.

Thailand said 20 crew members ⁠were ⁠rescued by the Omani navy, ⁠while ‌three ​were missing ‌after an explosion in ‌the ​stern of ​the ​ship, Mayuree Naree, caused ​a fire ⁠in the engine room.

Israel's opposition leader, Yair Lapid, has accused the government of sending the army into a war without a strategy and with too few soldiers.

In a video statement delivered in Hebrew, Lapid says: "The IDF is stretched to the limit and beyond. The government is leaving the army wounded out on the battlefield."

Lapid says the government is sending the army into a "multi-theat war without a strategy, without the necessary means, and with far too few soldiers". He adds that reservists are "worn out and exhausted and can no longer meet our security challenges".

He calls on the government to draft men from the ultra-Orthodox Haredi community - those who devote themselves full-time to the study of sacred Jewish texts and who since the creation of Israel in 1948 are often exempt from mandatory military service in Israel.

His statement follows military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir warning the security cabinet yesterday that "the IDF is on the verge of collapse", according to Israeli media reports.

The chief of staff of the Israeli military has warned that it will “collapse in on itself” due to growing demand and a shortfall of manpower as it fights multiple fronts.

“I am raising 10 red flags before you,” Eyal Zamir told a security cabinet meeting on Wednesday, according to Israeli media reports. He said that it wouldn’t be long before the military was unable to perform routine missions.

He said the military needs a “conscription law, a reserve duty law, and a law to extend mandatory service”.

The International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general, Rafael Grossi, has reiterated his “deep concern” about recent military strikes near Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.

Grossi warned that “damage to the facility could result in a major radiological accident affecting a large area in Iran and beyond,” the IAEA said.

He called for maximum restraint and stressed the importance of the seven pillars for ensuring nuclear safety.