Rescue Mission Races To Find Crew Member Of US Jet Downed Over Iran

RFE
03 Apr 2026

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01:08

We are now closing the live blog for the day. We'll be back tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. Central European time to cover the latest events across the Middle East.

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01:05

Rescue Mission Races To Find Crew Member Of US Jet Downed Over Iran

WASHINGTON -- Rescue teams continue to search early on April 4 for a US crew member missing after their fighter jet was brought down over Iran, one of two American forces planes reportedly knocked out of the sky in the region a day earlier.

A US official told RFE/RL one crew member was recovered while the search is ongoing for the second in the first known loss of an American plane, a two-seat F-15E jet, to hostile fire since the war began.

Separately, a US official later said another US Air Force warplane, an A-10 attack aircraft, crashed in the Persian Gulf and that the lone pilot in that incident was safely recovered. Full details were not immediately available.

Iranian state media also reported the downing of both planes. Iranian officials said they also were searching for the missing crew member of the first plane and urged citizens to report to the authorities any information that could lead to the airman's capture.

Specifics of the Iran rescue mission were not provided by the US official who spoke to RFE/RL.

To read the full story, clickhere.

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20:41

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," asecurity alertsaid 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.

The American University in central Beirut is one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the region.

"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.

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20:23

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 Irans 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 Pressreportedthat 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 Irans 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.

Read morehere.

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19:50

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.

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17:57

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.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (file photo).

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.

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15:42

France Demands Immediate Release Of Iranian Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh

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.

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13:58

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 UKs 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 apress 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.

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12:52

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.

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09:54

US Hit Key Bridge To 'Eliminate Military Supply Route'

Photos shared on social media showed the damaged bridge.

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.