Russia Evacuates Dozens Of Staff From Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant
Russia’s state-owned nuclear agency, Rosatom, evacuated 198 staff members from Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant on April 4, continuing a withdrawal that began after the conflict escalated in the region in late February, according to Russian news agencies.
The Bushehr plant, Iran’s only operational nuclear facility, was built with Russian assistance and is jointly run by Iranian and Russian personnel.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on April 4 that Iran had informed it of a projectile striking close to the Bushehr site, killing a guard. The nuclear watchdog said that the main parts of the plant were unaffected and radiation levels remained normal.
The reported strike has not been independently confirmed, and neither the US nor Israeli militaries have confirmed any involvement in an attack on the facility.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in a post on X: “[Nuclear power plant] sites or nearby areas must never be attacked… maximum military restraint is essential to avoid the risk of a nuclear accident.”
Rosatom chief Aleksei Likhachev said the situation was developing according to a worst-case scenario and confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed. It was unclear if the evacuation of personnel was planned or connected to the reported strike close to Bushehr.
Trump Ramps Up Threat To Iran After Announcing Rescue Of Missing F-15 Crew Member
- By RFE/RL
US President Donald Trump repeated his threat to strike Iranian infrastructure hard if Tehran it does not open the Strait of Hormuz by April 6, using explosive language hours after announcing that US forces rescued the second crew member of a downed F-15 fighter jet in a high-risk mission.
"Tuesday [April 7] will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****** Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP," he wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Shortly thereafter, though, Trump told Fox News that Tehran "is negotiating now" and that he believes there's a "good chance" of reaching a deal by April 6.
Trump also suggested that, along with further US air strikes, he could take Iran's oil if the regime is unwilling to make a deal.
"I think there is a good chance tomorrow [April 6]. They are negotiating now," Trump said.
"If they don't make a deal and fast, I'm considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil," he added.
Trump also said that the United States had provided weapons to Iranian protesters "through the Kurds. And I think the Kurds kept them.” Thousands of Iranians were killed or arrested during mass street demonstrations against the government earlier this year.
Read more here.
Israel Targets 'Hezbollah Infrastructure,' Strikes Hit Beirut And Southern Lebanon
Israeli air strikes hit Beirut and southern Lebanon on April 5, killing at least four people in the capital and several others in the south, according to Lebanese authorities and state media.
A strike in Beirut’s Jnah district, near Rafik Hariri University Hospital, killed four people and wounded dozens, the Lebanese Health Ministry said, while witnesses reported heavy bombardment in the southern suburbs. Israel’s military said it had “begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure sites.”
In southern Lebanon, at least seven people were killed in Kfar Hatta, including a displaced family of six, the Health Ministry and civil defense sources told the AFP news agency, with three other deaths reported in another air strike, according to state media.
Israel also threatened to target the Masnaa border crossing with Syria, prompting its closure. A Syrian official said the crossing was “exclusively for civilian use and is not used for any military purposes.”
Hezbollah said it fired a cruise missile at an Israeli warship, though Israel said it was “not aware” of such an incident.
With reporting by AFP and dpa
Trump Says Deal Possible In Next Day, Reiterates Threat To Blow Up 'Everything'
US President Donald Trump says that Iran "is negotiating now" and that he believes there's a "good chance" of reaching a deal in the next day, hours after he renewed his vow to put Iran into living "hell" with massive US air strikes.
In an interview with Fox News on April 5, Trump also suggested that, along with further US air strikes, he could take Iran's oil if the regime is unwilling to make a deal.
"I think there is a good chance tomorrow [April 6]. They are negotiating now," Trump said.
"If they don't make a deal and fast, I'm considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil," he added.
Trump said that the Iranian negotiators currently in talks had been granted limited immunity.
The remarks came as Trump announced that US forces had rescued the second crew member of a downed F-15 fighter jet in a high-risk mission.
In a Truth Social post earlier on April 5, Trump again demanded that Iran open the crucial Strait of Hormuz to shipping as an energy crisis deepened and fuel prices continued to soar because of the bottleneck created in the waterway.
Trump Warns Iran Over Strait Of Hormuz, Threatens Power Plants And Bridges
US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran over the Strait of Hormuz.
In a social media post on April 5, he suggested that the United States would launch an extensive attack on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure on April 7 if the crucial waterway was not reopened.
US President Donald Trump has said in a Truth Social post that Iranian forces were “getting close” to finding the downed US airman before he was rescued, adding further details to the operation he had announced earlier. He also said he would be holding a news conference with military officials at the Oval Office on April 6.
Israeli Strikes Reported In Lebanon
Israeli strikes hit Lebanon on April 5, including an attack in south Beirut near Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the country’s largest public medical facility, Lebanese state media reported.
A medical source told the AFP news agency that the strike landed about 100 meters from the hospital in the Jnah area.
The Israeli military had earlier said it had begun targeting Hezbollah infrastructure sites in the Lebanese capital.
Elsewhere, a Lebanese soldier was killed in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese Army said.
In Kfar Hatta, an Israeli strike reportedly killed seven people, including a displaced family of six, according to civil defense sources.
Israel had earlier issued evacuation warnings.
Iran's Digital Shutdown Is The Longest On Record, Says Web Monitor
Meanwhile, Iran's ongoing digital blackout is "now the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record," according to the NetBlocks web-outage monitor,
Reports: At Least 5 Killed In US-Israeli Attacks Amid Pilot Rescue Operation
At least five people were reported killed in US-Israeli attacks in Iran during operations to rescue a crew member from a downed F-15 fighter jet, according to Iranian media.
The Tasnim News Agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), quoted a local governor as saying five people were killed in the “Black Mountain” area of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province.
Separately, Iran’s IRNA state news agency said five IRGC fighters were killed in strikes in the Moghan Plain in the northwest.
The claims could not be independently verified. US President Donald Trump said both crew members of the F-15 plane had been rescued and no Americans were injured.
'Grave Risk Of Radiological Release' From Bushehr Nuclear Plant, Says Iranian Foreign Minister
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has warned of potential consequences following reported attacks near Iran’s civilian nuclear facilities, including the Bushehr power plant.
In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which was published April 5, he raised concerns about what he described as repeated strikes.
Araqchi wrote that such attacks “expose the entire region to the risk of radioactive contamination with grave humanitarian and environmental consequences.”
He claimed the Bushehr facility was “an installation devoted exclusively to peaceful purposes and operating under the IAEA's comprehensive safeguards regime,” and warned that strikes nearby constitute “an intolerable escalation, entailing a grave risk of radiological release.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on April 4 that Iran had informed it of a projectile striking close to the Bushehr site, killing a guard. The nuclear watchdog said that the main parts of the plant were unaffected and radiation levels remained normal.
The reported strike has not been independently confirmed, and neither the US nor Israeli militaries have confirmed any involvement in an attack on the facility.
The Bushehr plant, Iran’s only operational nuclear facility, was built with Russian assistance and is jointly run by Iranian and Russian personnel.
Russia state-owned energy agency said on April 4 that it had evacuated scores of personnel from the facility.
Iran Says 2 More Protesters Executed After Winter Unrest
Iran said it executed two protesters in the early hours of April 5, according to the judiciary-linked Mizan News Agency.
The two men — Mohammad Amin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast — were arrested during nationwide protests at the turn of the year and accused of attempting to access a military arms depot in Tehran.
Their executions bring the number carried out over the past week to at least nine.
A third defendant in the same case, teenager Amirhossein Hatami, was executed days earlier on national-security charges.
Authorities said the sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court, though details of the trial conditions remain unclear.
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have warned of a surge in executions, including cases involving minors, following protests in late December and January that were violently suppressed.