IRGC warning: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it will “completely close” the Strait of Hormuz if the US targets Iranian energy infrastructure.
Iranian maritime statement: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait is not closed, but ships are hesitant due to insurance concerns over the US-initiated war. He added: “Freedom of Navigation cannot exist without Freedom of Trade. Respect both—or expect neither.”
US threats: President Donald Trump gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to reopen the strait or risk having its power plants “obliterated.”
Missile and air strikes: Overnight Israeli airstrikes hit Tehran; Iran retaliated with missiles. About 200 people injured in southern Israel near a nuclear facility. Iranian attacks on Gulf nations continued Sunday morning.
Gaza update: Israeli airstrikes killed three Hamas police members in Nuseirat and one Fatah armed group leader in Sheikh Radwan. Ten others were wounded.
Iranian leadership: President Masoud Pezeshkian said “threats and terror only strengthen our unity”, asserting the strait is open to all except violators of Iranian soil.
US funding and strategy: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US has “plenty of money” for the war but is requesting supplemental funding from Congress. He also stressed that escalation is sometimes necessary to de-escalate.
Human toll: Lebanon reported 1,029 deaths, including 118 children and 79 women, with at least 2,786 injured. Toll exceeds 1500 in Iran.
Israeli public opinion: Despite attacks, polls show over 90% of Jewish Israelis support the war, with many favouring continued strikes on Iran until its government falls.
Source: AFP
Iran: HRANA reports at least 3,230 killed, including 1,406 civilians (210 children), 1,167 military personnel, and 657 unclassified. Government figures not updated; AFP cannot independently verify.
Lebanon: 1,029 dead, including 832 men, 79 women, 118 children, and 40 healthcare workers; 2,786 wounded. Hezbollah losses not announced.
Israel: 16 civilians killed by Iranian missiles, including 13 Israelis (4 minors), 1 Filipino, 1 Thai; 2 military personnel killed in southern Lebanon; ~450 injured.
West Bank: 4 women killed by Iranian missile fire.
Gulf states & US personnel: 35 killed, including 17 civilians.
Kuwait: 6 dead (2 soldiers, 2 border guards, 2 civilians, including 11-year-old girl)
UAE: 8 dead (6 civilians, 2 military; helicopter crash)
Saudi Arabia: 2 civilian deaths
Bahrain: 2 civilian deaths
Oman: 3 dead (1 mariner, 2 in industrial drone attack)
Qatar: 7 dead (4 servicemen, 3 Turkish nationals; helicopter crash)
US: 7 killed in Gulf, 6 in Iraq; ~200 injured across region
Iraq: At least 68 dead, including:
49 Iran-backed fighters (US-Israel strikes)
1 Iraqi officer (drone attack)
5 Iranian Kurdish militants (strikes on northern positions)
6 crew in US refuelling aircraft crash (non-hostile)
1 French soldier (Iranian drone)
Civilian deaths: 1 rocket shrapnel, 4 in Baghdad strike (2 Iranian advisors)
Jordan: 29 injured by debris; no deaths.
Syria: 8 injured by falling debris from Iran-Israel exchanges.
US casualties in Mideast: ~200 injured, including 10 seriously; most returned to duty.
Over three weeks into the conflict, Iranian missile strikes have killed at least 15 people in Israel and injured many more, including around 200 in overnight attacks near a nuclear facility in the south, but public support for the war remains strong, according to the Guardian.
Polling by the Israel Democracy Institute shows more than 90% of Jewish Israelis back the decision to launch the new conflict. Despite air raid sirens, school closures, cancelled flights, and warnings that the campaign could last weeks, over half of those surveyed want the US and Israel to continue bombing Iran until its government falls.
Even opposition politicians have largely put aside election campaigning for parliamentary elections scheduled this autumn, rallying behind the attacks in an almost unanimous display of national unity.
Israel's military will expand its ground operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, its army chief said Sunday, warning that the offensive against the group was still in its early stages.
Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in an Israeli-US strike.
"The operation against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation has only begun... This is a prolonged operation," Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a statement.
"We are now preparing to advance the targeted ground operations and strikes according to an organised plan," he added.
In a separate statement Sunday, military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said the expansion of the ground operation would begin within the coming week.
"In the coming week, we will begin to deepen our hold and strengthen the protection of our citizens" in northern Israel, Defrin said.
"We will expand our control on the ground and broaden our maneuvering in order to prevent direct fire on our communities."
Trump has warned he may strike Iranian power plants if Tehran does not reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz by Monday night, a crucial route for global oil supplies.
Iran has over 90 power plants, including gas-fired stations, combined-cycle plants, and a single nuclear facility at Bushehr, generating just 1,000 megawatts, far short of national needs. High demand during droughts and hot summers, combined with ageing infrastructure and sanctions, has already forced periodic electricity rationing.
The country’s largest facilities include Damavand near Tehran (2,900 MW), Shahid Salimi Neka in Mazandaran (2,214 MW), and Shahid Rajaee Combined Cycle in Qazvin (2,042 MW). Any attacks on these plants could worsen power shortages and affect millions, further escalating the region’s humanitarian and energy crises.
Iran’s military warned Sunday that it could strike desalination and other critical water facilities belonging to the US and Israel if its own energy and water infrastructure is attacked.
Desalination plants are crucial in the Middle East, supplying 70–90% of drinking water in countries like Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait, and underpinning major cities such as Dubai and Riyadh. Experts warn that attacks on these facilities could trigger rationing, economic disruption, and even mass evacuations. While some plants have security measures such as missile batteries and reserves to cushion short-term outages, prolonged strikes could have catastrophic consequences.
Previous incidents include Iranian drone strikes on Bahrain’s desalination plant and US strikes on Qeshm Island in Iran, illustrating the heightened vulnerability of the region’s water infrastructure. Analysts say any escalation could make the war far more severe than the current military conflict.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that Washington may need to “escalate to de-escalate” in its war against Iran, after President Donald Trump gave conflicting signals about the military campaign. On Saturday, Trump threatened to “obliterate” Iranian energy plants if Tehran did not fully open the Strait of Hormuz, just a day after saying US objectives were “very close” and that he was considering “winding down” operations.
Bessent defended the strategy as the “only language the Iranians understand” and lifted US sanctions on Iranian and Russian oil already on ships to stabilize global markets, a move critics say could indirectly fund Iran amid the ongoing conflict. Oil prices have surged worldwide, raising costs at US pumps ahead of the midterms, though Bessent argued that neutralizing Iran’s nuclear threat will justify temporary economic pain. Meanwhile, Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, urged Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to spare civilian infrastructure, saying it “belongs to the Iranian people and to the future of a free Iran.”
The United States and Iran escalated threats on Sunday as the Middle East war entered its fourth week, putting lives and livelihoods at risk across the region. Iran warned that the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for oil and other exports, could be “completely closed” if the US attacks its power plants, following President Donald Trump’s 48-hour deadline to reopen the waterway.
Israeli communities near a secretive nuclear site were struck by Iranian missiles late Saturday, wounding scores, though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “miracle” no one was killed. Netanyahu said Israel and the US were advancing toward their war objectives, which include curbing Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and weakening its regional influence.
The conflict, launched on February 28, has killed over 2,000 people, disrupted the global economy, and pushed oil prices higher. Meanwhile, Iranian-backed Hezbollah claimed an airstrike that killed a man in northern Israel, and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun described Israeli attacks on bridges in the south as a “prelude to a ground invasion.”