No sign of war winding down in West Asia as Friday dawns with attacks across region
Public Lokpal
April 03, 2026
No sign of war winding down in West Asia as Friday dawns with attacks across region
DUBAI: There was little sign Friday of the war in the Mideast winding down as Israel said it faced incoming fire from Iran, Kuwait and Bahrain reported being under attack, and Iran said eight people were killed while celebrating the close of Persian new year near a major bridge hit by a U.S. strike.
Tehran continued to demonstrate its ability to strike its neighbors even as U.S. President Donald Trump claimed the threat from the country was nearly eliminated and cheered the collapse of the bridge on Thursday, reportedly the tallest in the Middle East.
Iran decried the strike on the bridge, which also injured 95 people celebrating Nature Day, when Iranians gather for picnics and other celebrations outdoors on the last day of Nowruz, the Persian new year.
"Striking civilian infrastructure only conveys the defeat and moral collapse of an enemy in disarray," Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote Thursday in a post on X.
Iran's attacks on Gulf states along with its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted the world's energy supplies with effects far beyond the Middle East. That has proved to be Iran's greatest strategic advantage in the war. Britain held a call with nearly three dozen countries about how to reopen the strait once the fighting is over.
Trump has insisted the strait can be taken by force — but said it is not up to the U.S. to do that. In an address to the American people Wednesday night, he encouraged countries that depend on oil from Hormuz to "build some delayed courage" and go "take it."
Before the U.S. and Israel started the war on Feb. 28 with strikes on Iran, the waterway was open to traffic and 20% of all traded oil passed through it.
In Lebanon — where Israel has launched a ground invasion against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants — Israeli strikes killed 27 people over 24 hours, the Health Ministry said.
More than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran during the war, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel. More than two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank, while 13 U.S. service members have been killed.
More than 1,300 people have been killed and more than 1 million displaced in Lebanon. Ten Israeli soldiers have also died there.
Associated Press