US Embassy In Lebanon Warns That Iran, Allies Could Target Universities
The US Embassy in Lebanon on April 3 warned that Iran and its allied groups could attempt to target universities in the country.
"Iran and its aligned terrorist militias may intend to target universities in Lebanon," a security alert said on the embassy website.
"The security situation in Lebanon is volatile and unpredictable. Air strikes, drones and rocket attacks occur throughout the country, especially in the south, the Beqaa, and parts of Beirut," the security alert also said.
"If you are in the country, the Department of State urges U.S. citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial flight options remain available," it added.
It did not identify any specific institutions, but it comes days after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to target US universities in the Middle East, claiming that US-Israeli strikes had destroyed two Iranian universities.
Lebanon is home to the American University of Beirut, one of the most prominent US institutions in the region, whose campus and hospital are in central Beirut.
The Israeli military has been blasting sites in Beirut and southern Lebanon known to house assets of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, deemed a terrorist organization by the United States.
UN Security Council Set To Vote On Plan To Open Strait Of Hormuz Amid Divisions
The United Nations Security Council is expected to vote on April 4 on a revised resolution aimed at restoring commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as global powers remain divided over how far to go in confronting Iran’s blockade of the critical waterway.
The latest draft, put forward by Bahrain, has reportedly been scaled back after opposition from veto-wielding members China, Russia, and France, who objected to earlier language that would have authorized countries to use “all necessary means” to secure the waterway. That led to a delay in holding the vote, which was originally scheduled for April 3.
The Associated Press reported that a revised version of the text now allows only for “defensive measures” to ensure safe passage through the strait and adjacent waters, marking a compromise aimed at avoiding a veto while still enabling some form of coordinated response.
The vote comes at a pivotal moment in the war that began with joint US-Israeli strikes in late February, with Iran’s effective closure of the strait roiling global energy markets and sparking longer-term fears of fallout from blocked fertilizer and supply chain shipments.
China has remained publicly opposed to any resolution that could legitimize the use of force, with Fu Cong, Beijing ambassador to the UN, saying that "any such authorization would inevitably lead to further escalation and serious consequences" as he urged members to prioritize a political settlement.
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Egyptian Citizen Killed In Abu Dhabi After Iranian Missile Strike
A citizen of Egypt was killed and four people suffered minor injuries after debris from an intercepted Iranian missile fell on Abu Dhabi's Habshan gas facilities on April 3, the emirate's media office reported.
The Egyptian was killed during the evacuation of the site, the office said. Four others -- two Egyptians and two Pakistanis -- sustained minor injuries, it added.
"Significant damage has occurred at the facilities and an assessment is ongoing," it said.
With reporting by Reuters
Earlier, authorities in Abu Dhabi -- a part of the United Arab Emirates -- said 12 people were injured by falling debris in the Ajban area. The injured were Nepalese and Indian nationals, authorities said.
Tehran has targeted US Gulf Arab allies in retaliation for the US-Israeli air strikes against Iran that began on February 28.
Italy's Meloni Travels To Saudi Arabia In Show Of Support Amid Iranian Attacks
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has flown to Saudi Arabia for a previously unannounced trip that will also include meetings with officials from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, a government official said on April 3.
Meloni's two-day visit is aimed at showing support for Gulf partners that are in the Iranian line of fire and to protect Italy's own energy supplies, the official said.
Italy is highly dependent on energy imports and has been struck by rising energy prices.
Reuters reported that before the war, about 10 percent of Italy's total gas consumption was covered by Qatari liquefied natural gas and that Middle East oil accounted for 12 percent of Italy's total oil imports last year.
It wasn't immediately clear if Meloni would visit Qatar and the UAE or meet with officials while in Saudi Arabia.
It is the first trip by a European Union leader to Saudi Arabia since the United States and Israel launched their air campaign against Iran at the end of February.
Tehran has retaliated for the air strikes by launching missile a drone attacks against Israel and most Gulf Arab states.
France Demands Immediate Release Of Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh
France has demanded that Iran release prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, who was arrested on April 1 at her residence in Tehran.
"France calls for the immediate release of Nasrin Sotoudeh and all those arbitrarily detained in Iran," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Mehraveh Khandan, the attorney's daughter who is living outside Iran, said security forces also confiscated Sotoudeh's personal electronic devices, including her mobile phone and laptop.
Reza Khandan, Sotoudeh's husband, has been in prison since December 2024.
Sotoudeh, who won awards including the 2012 Sakharov Prize of the European Parliament and the 2020 Right Livelihood award, has been arrested several times since 2010.
She has campaigned for a variety of human rights-related issues in the repressive state, including working to prevent the execution of people convicted of crimes committed while minors.
Her detention has included periods of solitary confinement, highlighting the challenges faced by human rights defenders in Iran. Tehran has further cracked down on dissent during its current war with the United States and Israel.
"This arrest is yet another illustration of the Iranian regime's systematic policy of persecuting and intimidating human rights defenders, which must stop," the French ministry spokesman said.
Britain Deploys Its Air Defense System To Kuwait
Britain is deploying its air defense system to Kuwait, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office announced on April 3, following an overnight Iranian drone attack on a Kuwaiti oil facility.
Starmer discussed the deployment of the UK’s Rapid Sentry air defense system to the Gulf country, during a call with the crown prince of Kuwait. The conversation occurred just hours after a drone attack hit the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery, one of the most important in Kuwait and the wider region.
According to a press release from Starmer's office, the Rapid Sentry system, which is designed primarily to shoot down drones and other low-flying aerial threats, will protect Kuwaiti and British personnel and interests in the region.
The British prime minister condemned the "reckless" overnight drone attack on the Kuwaiti oil refinery and reiterated that the UK stands with Kuwait and all its allies in the Gulf.
WHO Raises Alarm Over Risks To Health Facilities
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the conflict in Iran and the wider region is impacting the delivery of health services and the safety of health workers, patients, and civilians at health facilities.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus said that since the start of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran, "WHO has verified over 20 attacks on health care in Iran, resulting in at least nine deaths."
In a April 2 X post, Ghebreyesus highlighted damage to the Pasteur Institute of Iran -- a leading Iranian medical research center founded in 1920 -- saying the facility had suffered extensive damage and was no longer able to deliver its usual health services.
While best known for its public health research, including work on infectious diseases, the facility has faced international scrutiny in the past. In 2007, the Japanese government listed it as an “entity of concern” over potential biological and chemical weapons proliferation.
Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian, a former heart surgeon, condemned the alleged attack on the Pasteur Institute, urging international health organizations and physicians worldwide to respond to this "crime against humanity."
However, a US official denied that American forces struck the Pasteur Institute, and an Israeli military spokesperson said they were "not aware" of any IDF strike on the facility on that day, according to The Wall Street Journal.
US Hit Key Bridge To 'Eliminate Military Supply Route'
A US Central Command (CENTCOM) defense official has told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that US forces struck a key bridge in northern Iran to eliminate a "planned military supply route for sustaining Iran's ballistic missile and attack drone force."
The B1 highway bridge, which links Tehran to Karaj in the Alborz Province and has been described in Iranian media as the highest in the Middle East, was hit by two US air strikes on April 2, causing significant damage.
Iranian officials said eight people were killed and 95 injured in the attacks, although those figures could not be independently verified. Officials quoted in the Iranian media have said that the bridge was still under construction and denied it was being used as a military supply route.
Posting on TruthSocial on April 2, US President Donald Trump said, "The biggest bridge in Iran comes tumbling down, never to be used again.
In his latest warning to the regime, Trump threatened more attacks on Iranian electrical power plants and bridges.
Drone Attack Hits Major Oil Refinery In Kuwait
A drone attack hit an oil refinery in Kuwait early on April 3, sparking fires at several of its units, according to the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC).
In a statement on X, the KPC said that the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery had been targeted in a "malicious drone attack," resulting in fires in several operational units.
Emergency teams were working to contain the blazes and there were no reports of injuries, the statement said.
The Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery is one of the most important oil refineries in Kuwait and the wider Gulf region.
Over a month since the start of US-Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran continues to conduct drone and missile attacks on neighboring Gulf states, targeting their energy facilities.
Trump Warns US 'Hasn't Even Started' To Destroy 'What's Left In Iran'
President Donald Trump said the US military "hasn't even started" to destroy what is left of Iran after a month of devastating attacks and threatened to strike more bridges and electrical power plants in the latest social media posts warning the regime in Tehran.
"Our Military, the greatest and most powerful (by far!) anywhere in the World, hasn’t even started destroying what’s left in Iran. Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants! New Regime leadership knows what has to be done, and has to be done, FAST!," Trump wrote on Truth Social late on April 2.
A day earlier, Trump warned Tehran to "make a deal before it is too late" and hailed a US military strike on a key bridge linking the capital to nearby provinces. Iran said eight people were killed and nearly 100 injured in the attack on the B1 Bridge, although the account could not independently be verified.
Read more here.