The UAE Defence Ministry said 19 ballistic missiles and 26 drones launched from Iran were intercepted on Thursday, while Iranian missile fragments struck near the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv on April 4, causing damage to a building.
Regional Power Shifts
The United States has been actively involved in operations in the region since the conflict began on February 28, 2026. The Pentagon said its campaign against Iran would move to new levels of daily strikes, signaling a deeper American military role in the widening conflict.
A U.S. F-15 fighter jet was shot down over Iran, and one pilot was rescued while search-and-rescue operations continued for a second pilot. The incident added to the strain on U.S. forces already operating across the region.
President Donald Trump issued a warning to Iran on Truth Social, saying, "Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT. Time is running out - 48 hours before all Hell will reign (sic) down on them." Trump also delivered a televised address to the nation regarding the Iran war from the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 1, 2026.
What the War Is Costing
The conflict has already pushed political pressure back onto Washington. Trump is reportedly considering a broader cabinet shake-up because of frustration over the political repercussions of the war, which have led to increased gas prices and a decline in his approval ratings to 36% in a Reuters/Ipsos survey.
The same survey said 60% of respondents disapprove of the U.S.-Israeli decision to initiate the conflict. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem were recently removed from their positions. Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are reportedly under consideration for removal.
White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump has "total confidence" in both Gabbard and Lutnick, citing Gabbard's role in ending the Maduro narcoterror regime and Lutnick's contributions to securing major trade and investment deals. Lutnick has also faced scrutiny over a lunch he had with Jeffrey Epstein on Epstein's private island in the Caribbean in 2012.
Strike Campaign and Wider Fronts
U.S. intelligence suggests that approximately half of Iran's weapons remain intact, which contradicts assertions made by Trump and Netanyahu. CNN sources, after reviewing a U.S. intelligence assessment, said Trump's prediction of a two-to-three-week timeline for ending the war was unrealistic.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed responsibility for attacks on a Dubai Oracle data center and U.S. fighter jets stationed at Jordan's Al Azraq base. Additional attacks on Thursday, April 2, targeted a U.S. diplomatic facility near Baghdad Airport and an Amazon cloud computing center in Bahrain.
Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, accused the U.S. of simultaneously planning a ground invasion and engaging in negotiations, saying Tehran would not yield to humiliation and was prepared to respond to any deployment of U.S. soldiers. The U.S. Department of Defense has deployed thousands of troops to the Middle East, including several hundred special operations personnel and thousands of U.S. Marines aboard an amphibious assault ship, giving President Trump the option of a ground offensive.
The Israeli military said it conducted over 140 air strikes on central and western Iran, including Tehran, in the 24 hours leading up to Sunday evening, March 29, targeting ballistic missile launch sites and storage facilities. Iranian state media reported strikes on Mehrabad airport and a petrochemical plant in Tabriz. A chemical plant in southern Israel near Beersheba was hit by a missile or debris, prompting official warnings to the public about "hazardous materials."
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis began attacks on Israel on Saturday, March 28, and Israeli authorities intercepted two drones on Sunday, March 29. Iran's effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for 20 percent of global oil and gas shipments, has driven up oil prices and raised the risk of global inflation and recession.