US-Israel-Iran War LIVE: Iranian President Says US Shouldn’t Be There To Keep West Asian Region Secure

The Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping route, remains open and under Iranian control, a senior Iranian commander said, amid rising tensions with the United States and its allies.

Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, said in a statement that claims by the United States about destroying Iran’s navy or providing safe escort for oil tankers were false, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency.

“The Strait of Hormuz has not been militarily blocked and is merely under control,” the statement said.

Israeli Army Radio says the military has intercepted the latest missile barrage from Iran, while some of the projectiles fell in open areas.

Debris from interceptors fell in the central city of Ramla, causing a fire, it added.

No casualties were reported, it added.

The Kuwaiti Guard says it has shot down five drones in the past 24 hours.

Earlier, Kuwaiti authorities said drones struck facilities at the Kuwait international airport, damaging part of its radar system. They also said two missiles struck the perimeter of the Ahmad Al-Jaber airbase, wounding three soldiers.

Several cities were hit on Saturday, just like every day, but the most significant was the one in Isfahan, where 15 factory workers were killed.

According to the Reuters news agency as well as Iranian media, the targeted site was a civilian one. It’s a factory that produces refrigerators and heaters. Many more workers were wounded.

Amid the global fuel crisis triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday has said the strait “remains open” to most vessels and is only closed to ships belonging to the United States, Israel and their allies.

Speaking to MS Now, Araghchi said ships from other countries are allowed to pass through the key shipping route. “As a matter of fact, the Strait of Hormuz is open. It is only closed to the tankers and ships belonging to our enemies, to those who are attacking us and their allies. Others are free to pass,” he said.

The airmen are 33-year-old Maj. John A. Klinner of Auburn, Alabama; 31-year-old Capt. Ariana G. Savino of Covington, Washington; 34-year-old Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt of Bardstown, Kentucky; 38-year-old Capt. Seth R. Koval of Mooresville, Indiana; 30-year-old Capt. Curtis J. Angst of Wilmington, Ohio; and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, 28, of Columbus, Ohio.

Klinner, Savino and Pruitt were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. Koval, Angst and Simmons were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air Guard Base in Columbus.

The crew members were aboard a US Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft when it crashed in western Iraq on Thursday, the US military said, adding that the incident was “not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.”
The Pentagon said Saturday the incident is still under investigation.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that the United States may carry out more strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island even as Tehran has vowed retaliation in response to Friday’s attack. Trump, in an interview to NBC News, said while Tehran appears ready to make a deal to end the conflict, “the terms aren’t good enough yet.”

Trump said the US strikes had “totally demolished” most of Kharg Island, adding that “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that the United States may carry out more strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island even as Tehran has vowed retaliation in response to Friday’s attack. Trump, in an interview to NBC News, said while Tehran appears ready to make a deal to end the conflict, “the terms aren’t good enough yet.”

Trump said the US strikes had “totally demolished” most of Kharg Island, adding that “we may hit it a few more times just for fun.”

President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday said he had thanked Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani for taking steps to protect French forces, following a drone strike that killed a French soldier in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

“Yesterday, I spoke with the Iraqi prime minister, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani,” Macron said on X.

“I thank him for his commitment to getting to the bottom of this attack and to strengthening measures to protect our forces, who are present in Iraq to fight, alongside the Iraqis, against the scourge of terrorism,” he added.

Two US Air Force B‑1 bombers took off from RAF Fairford in England on Saturday, the UK Defence Secretary said, marking the first known bomber flights from the base since London agreed to let Washington use it for “specific defensive operations into Iran.”

Russian drone and missile attacks near Kyiv killed four people and injured 10 others, police said on Saturday. Ukraine’s police said in a post on Telegram that Russia continues to carry out strikes in the Kyiv region, AFP reported.

“Russian forces continue to launch strikes on the Kyiv region,” the police said, adding that “so far, four people are known to have been killed and 10 wounded.”

After Iran granted safe passage to Indian-flagged tankers through the Strait of Hormuz amid the conflict involving the United States and Israel, the LPG tanker ‘Shivalik’ has successfully crossed the route, while another vessel, ‘Nanda Devi’, has also safely exited the strategic waterway.

Government sources said on Saturday that ‘Shivalik’ is being escorted by the Indian Navy and is expected to reach an Indian port within the next two days, likely Mumbai or Kandla Port. The ship has already entered open sea and is sailing safely under naval guidance.

Meanwhile, ‘Nanda Devi’ is carrying more than 46,000 metric tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), an important part of India’s energy supply chain.

An Israeli strike hit an apartment building in a northern suburb of Beirut on Saturday, a day after the same structure was targeted, Lebanese media reported.

An Agence France-Presse correspondent at the scene saw rescue workers and visible damage, including a hole in the building located in the Nabaa–Burj Hammoud area, outside the southern suburbs known as strongholds of the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The building had also been struck on Friday but no casualties were reported.

No oil infrastructure was damaged in the US strikes on Kharg Island, Iranian media reported on Saturday. Fars News Agency, citing sources on the ground, said oil facilities on the island remained intact after Donald Trump stated that US bombardment had destroyed military targets there.

Trump had earlier warned in a social media post that the island’s oil infrastructure — a key hub for Iran — could be targeted if Tehran continued blocking the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Saturday urged Iran not to target neighbouring countries, while supporting Tehran’s right to defend itself against Israel and the United States, AFP reported.

“While affirming the right of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to this aggression by all available means in accordance with international norms and laws, the movement calls on the brothers in Iran to avoid targeting neighbouring countries,” Hamas said in a statement.

Sri Lanka has repatriated the remains of 84 Iranian sailors who were killed when their frigate was sunk by a US submarine, an official said. The bodies were recovered last Wednesday after the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena sank off the southern coast near Galle. The vessel had been returning to Iran from Visakhapatnam in India, where it had taken part in a naval fleet review exercise.

“Human remains were sent by the Iranian embassy on Friday – all 84,” a foreign ministry spokesman said. The remains were transported on a chartered Turkish airliner that departed on Friday from Mattala Rajapaksa Airport in the southern district of Hambantota District.

The Israel Defense Forces warned residents to evacuate an industrial area west of Tabriz in northwestern Iran, issuing the alert through its Farsi-language account on X.

The military urged all people in the area to leave immediately for their “safety and well-being,” saying operations would take place there soon. It added that attacks were expected to occur in the coming hours.

Air Canada has suspended its Toronto–Dubai flight operations until at least May 1 due to escalating tensions in the West Asia, the airline said. The carrier added that services will resume gradually once safe passage for flights is assured.

“Due to unrest in the Middle East, our Toronto-Dubai flights are cancelled until at least May 1. We plan to reintroduce service gradually when flights can safely resume. We continue to add capacity to Delhi to provide travellers with options to Canada,” the airline said in a post on X.

Rising smoke can be seen in Baghdad, reportedly from the US Embassy compound. A security source told AFP the attack was carried out by a drone.