Trump threatens Iran's power grid as strikes expand; 40 nations move to reopen Hormuz

HEADLINES IN BRIEF

Trump warned US forces have "not even started destroying what's left in Iran" and threatened to target bridges and power plants; the B1 Bridge connecting Tehran and Karaj was destroyed on April 2. 

- Iran fired more than 20 missiles at Israel over 24 hours on April 1–2, a slight uptick coinciding with Passover; one ballistic missile struck a residential area in Petah Tikva. 

- The IRGC launched a fresh wave of attacks on Gulf states: the UAE intercepted 26 drones and 9 missiles; Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia also reported interceptions and damage. 

- The US-Israel combined force expanded its target set to pharmaceutical and biological research facilities, striking the Pasteur Institute of Iran on April 1–2; Iranian steel plants have also been knocked offline. 

- More than 40 countries formed a coalition to work toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz; 2,190 ships remain trapped in the Persian Gulf, including 50 oil supertankers. 

- A UN Security Council vote on authorizing force to protect Hormuz shipping was postponed from Friday; Iran warned any such move would "only complicate the situation."

- Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif publicly called on Tehran to "declare victory and make a deal," proposing nuclear limits and Hormuz reopening in exchange for sanctions relief.

- Key Iranian military figures were killed, including the commander of a ballistic missile unit in Kermanshah and the head of the IRGC's oil directorate. 

- Hezbollah intensified rocket and drone fire into northern Israel during Passover; Israel's defense minister warned Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem will pay a "very heavy price."

- Three US aircraft carriers are now converging on the region: the Ford left Croatia, the Lincoln remains in the Arabian Sea, and the Bush departed Virginia on Wednesday.

- Amnesty International warned that Iran is recruiting children as young as 12 into the Basij force, calling it a war crime.

- Houthi rebels launched their fourth ballistic missile attack on Israel since entering the conflict on March 28; it was intercepted.

- Oil surged to around $110 a barrel; Pakistan raised fuel prices by up to 55%; the World Bank warned of mounting risks to global food security and inflation.

IN DETAIL

Trump threatens more strikes; B1 Bridge destroyed

US President Donald Trump warned on April 2 that US forces had "not even started destroying what's left in Iran," promising that "bridges [are] next, then electric power plants." 

The warning came hours after US strikes  the B1 (Bileghan) Bridge connecting Tehran and Karaj – a key route Iran used to transfer missiles and components from the capital to launch sites in western Iran. 

A US official told Axios that Iran had increasingly shifted missile launches to central Iran as the combined force degraded its western launch infrastructure. Some shorter-range systems – including the Haj Qassem and Fattah, with ranges of around 1,400 kilometers – cannot reach Israel from central Iran, making the western transfer routes strategically critical. 

Trump said US forces would keep hitting Iran "very hard" over the next two to three weeks. On April 1, he stated that US strategic objectives were "nearing completion."

Iran escalates during Passover; missile hits residential Petah Tikva

Iran launched more than 20 missiles targeting Israel over a 24-hour period on April 1–2 – a slight uptick from the 10–15 per day seen in recent weeks. One ballistic missile struck a residential area in Petah Tikva, central Israel, leaving a deep crater and damaging several buildings. The IDF said at least two of the missiles carried cluster munition warheads. 

Hezbollah also intensified fire into northern Israel, coinciding with Passover. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem will pay a "very heavy price" for targeting civilians during the holiday. One rocket damaged a kindergarten building. Two people were injured in Kiryat Shmona and two in Biina.

The IDF struck dozens of Hezbollah command centers, weapons depots, and launch sites in Lebanon, killing approximately 40 operatives in the past 24 hours. Total Hezbollah fatalities since operations in Lebanon began on March 2 stand at around 1,000. Ground operations expanded across southeastern and central southern Lebanon; the 146th Division alone has destroyed more than 180 Hezbollah sites. 

Hezbollah's growing use of fiber-optic FPV drones – immune to electronic jamming – against Israeli armored vehicles has been flagged as a developing threat, according to the Maarachot, the professional journal of the IDF.

IRGC strikes Gulf states; Abu Dhabi facility set ablaze

Iran launched a sustained wave of attacks on Gulf states on April 2. The UAE intercepted 26 drones and 9 ballistic missiles, with falling debris sparking a fire at Abu Dhabi's Habshan gas facilities, suspending operations, though no injuries were reported. 

A Kuwaiti power and desalination complex sustained damage, although Kuwait City reported no disruption to services. Bahrain intercepted 10 drones and 2 missiles, while Qatar and Saudi Arabia also reported interceptions. A drone strike sparked fires at a refinery owned by Kuwait's national oil company.

The IRGC said its latest wave targeted "American steel industries in Abu Dhabi, American aluminium industries in Bahrain, and Rafael arms factories in Israel" in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on Iranian industrial sites.

Combined force expands target set; senior commanders killed

The US-Israel combined force struck the Darou Pakhsh Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company and the Pasteur Institute – a century-old medical research center – in Tehran Province on April 1–2. Both entities have been designated by the Japanese government as associated with Iranian biological and chemical weapons activities. Iranian steel factories critical to military production have also been repeatedly targeted, with the country's two largest plants forced offline.

The IDF announced that Israeli strikes killed Mokkarram Azimi, commander of a ballistic missile unit in Kermanshah Province "personally responsible for dozens of launches at Israel", along with several battalion commanders in the same unit. Jamshid Eshaghi, head of the IRGC's oil directorate and the official responsible for financing Iran's military and proxy groups including Hezbollah and the Houthis, was also killed. Senior foreign policy adviser Kamal Kharrazi was severely injured when his Tehran home was struck on April 1, according to the IDF. 

A monitoring group added context on civilian casualties: ACLED, the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, said Iran's civilian deaths were clustered around strikes on government-linked sites "rather than indiscriminate bombardment" of urban areas. 

Iran has reported at least 1,973 civilian deaths since February 28, with the single deadliest incident beiong a strike on a school near a Revolutionary Guard base in southern Iran on the first day of the war, killing more than 160 people, most of them children.

Amnesty International separately warned that Iran is recruiting children as young as 12 into the Revolutionary Guard's Basij force, calling the practice a war crime. Amnesty said eyewitness accounts and video analysis showed "child soldiers having been deployed" to checkpoints and patrols, some armed with Kalashnikov-style rifles. "As US and Israeli strikes hit thousands of Guard sites... the deployment of child soldiers alongside Guard personnel puts them at grave risk of death and injury," said Amnesty's Erika Guevara-Rosas.

40-nation coalition forms to reopen Hormuz; UN vote delayed

More than 40 countries joined a virtual coalition convened by British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper on Thursday, committing to "the collective mobilization of diplomatic and economic tools" to secure the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The group included Gulf states, EU members, and nations across the globe. The United States did not participate.

"We have seen Iran hijack an international shipping route to hold the global economy hostage," Cooper said. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called for "safe, toll-free freedom of navigation" consistent with international law. Italy, the Netherlands, and the UAE issued a joint call for a humanitarian corridor to prevent a food crisis. French President Emmanuel Macron cautioned that forcing the strait open by military means was "unrealistic," warning that vessels would face missiles from the Revolutionary Guards.

A UN Security Council vote on a Bahrain-drafted resolution authorizing member states to use "all necessary means" to protect shipping was postponed from Friday. Iran warned that any "provocative action" in the Security Council would "only complicate the situation."

Some 2,190 commercial vessels – including 50 oil supertankers and 12 LNG carriers – remain trapped in the Persian Gulf. Only six ships transited the strait in the past two days, against a normal rate of 120 per day. Overall, roughly 150 vessels have passed through since March 1 – most linked to Iran or countries including China, India, and Pakistan. One notable exception was the CMA CGM Kribi, a Malta-flagged container ship operated by French company CMA CGM, which became the first vessel with Western links to transit the strait in weeks, exiting the Gulf on Thursday. 

Ukraine also offered to contribute to reopening the strait. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv could help protect maritime routes if invited, citing experience gained keeping Black Sea shipping lanes open under Russian attack. "If we are invited, we will help," Zelenskyy said. "The strait must be unblocked." Ukrainian teams have already been deployed to Gulf countries including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE to advise on air defense and maritime security.

Former Iranian FM calls for deal

Former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, writing in Foreign Affairs, argued Tehran should "declare victory and make a deal." He proposed that Iran offer nuclear program limits and reopening of the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for full sanctions relief and a mutual non-aggression pact with the United States. "Iran should use its upper hand not to keep fighting but to declare victory," Zarif wrote. Iranian officials have not commented on the piece.

Global economic shockwaves

Oil surged to around $110 a barrel on Thursday after Trump threatened Iran's energy infrastructure. Pakistan raised petrol prices 42.7% and diesel 54.9% in response to the global energy shock. Iraq's oil revenues fell more than 70% month-on-month. The World Bank warned of mounting risks to global inflation, employment, and food security. Airlines in China raised fuel surcharges; Malaysia asked civil servants to work from home. Even Bhutan reported fuel shortages and long queues in its capital.