The United Nations Security Council has postponed a scheduled vote on a draft resolution authorizing the use of defensive force to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The 15-member council was expected to vote on Friday morning, but the session was rescheduled Thursday night due to the Good Friday holiday. No new date has been set for the vote.

The draft, backed by the United States, would allow member states to take necessary defensive measures individually or through a voluntary multinational naval coalition to secure navigation in the strait and nearby waters. The proposal follows Iran’s effective control of the strait after U.S.-Israeli attacks, which has disrupted global energy supplies. Diplomats said the text was revised several times to address concerns from Russia, China, and France, removing direct reference to Chapter VII of the UN Charter and emphasizing the defensive nature of any action.

Uncertainty remains over whether Russia and China, both with veto power, will support the measure. Analysts warn that potential vetoes could block the resolution, while energy prices continue to rise due to the disruption.

Azizur Rahman, a day laborer from Shahhanabad village in Thakurgaon’s Ranisankail upazila, was detained by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) in May 2025 while cutting grass near the border. After spending 11 months in Indian prisons and hospitals, he died on March 22, 2026, in a hospital in Islampur, India. His body was repatriated to Bangladesh through the Banglabandha land port on April 3 under government arrangements, following an order signed by a senior assistant secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and family members received the body in the afternoon.

Azizur’s wife, Taskara Begum, alleged that BSF personnel tortured her husband after his arrest, leading to his critical illness and eventual death. The family learned of his death through relatives in India. Local officials confirmed that the body was handed over to the family and buried the same evening at the Shahhanabad graveyard.

The incident has caused deep grief in the local community, highlighting ongoing tensions and human costs along the Bangladesh-India border.

Iranian media have reported that a U.S. fighter jet crashed inside Iran, leaving two American pilots missing. The incident occurred in the western region of the country, and Iranian authorities have announced a reward for anyone who can locate the missing pilots. According to the reports, the pilots ejected and landed in separate areas, prompting U.S. rescue operations.

Iranian sources claim that clashes took place between U.S. forces and Iranian ground troops during the attempted rescue, resulting in American casualties. State television in Iran has called on citizens to assist in finding the pilots and announced a reward of 10 billion tomans, approximately 64,000 U.S. dollars.

If Iran succeeds in capturing the missing pilots, it could mark a significant turning point in the ongoing conflict, as it would be the first instance of U.S. prisoners of war in the confrontation.

A US official has confirmed that an American warplane was shot down in Iranian airspace, according to reports from Axios, Reuters, and The New York Times, as cited by BBC on April 3, 2026. The official, speaking anonymously to Reuters, stated that rescue operations are ongoing to locate the aircraft’s crew. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the United States is conducting an active mission to recover the crew members.

Earlier, Iranian media claimed that a US warplane had been downed and that the United States was attempting to rescue the pilot. Iran has since asserted that the American rescue attempt to recover the pilot has failed. The incident has drawn attention from multiple international outlets, highlighting rising tensions surrounding the event.

Rescue efforts continue as both sides maintain differing accounts of the situation, and no further details about the aircraft type or the number of crew members have been disclosed.

Former Human Rights Watch chief Kenneth Roth has warned that any US attack on Iran’s civilian infrastructure, particularly power plants or water desalination facilities, would amount to a war crime. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Roth said that if former US President Donald Trump carried out his threats to strike such sites, it would clearly violate international humanitarian law.

Roth, now a visiting professor at Princeton University, explained that such attacks would lack legitimate military justification and cause disproportionate harm to civilians. He cited the International Criminal Court’s previous actions against Russian commanders for similar strikes in Ukraine as precedent.

Roth further noted that more than 100 international law experts share this assessment, emphasizing that any such move would undoubtedly be treated as a war crime under international standards.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has described U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to send Iran “back to the Stone Age” as an indication of possible large-scale war crimes. According to Al Jazeera, Pezeshkian said such statements reveal an intent to cause massive destruction, which could be considered a serious violation of international law.

Referring to his discussion with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Pezeshkian noted that he had raised the issue with his Finnish counterpart, who is a legal expert. He added that history contains many examples where silence in the face of crimes has come at a great cost.

The remarks come amid heightened tensions following reports of a U.S. acknowledgment of an Iranian warplane being shot down and warnings that any attack on Iran’s power facilities would constitute a war crime.

Israeli airstrikes have damaged major water supply infrastructure in southern Lebanon, causing widespread disruption to emergency services, according to the South Lebanon Water Establishment. The organization, citing Lebanon’s National News Agency, reported that facilities in Ibl al-Saqi and al-Maysat were hit, leading to significant damage.

The attacks also affected solar-powered systems at the al-Zahiriya station and Eastern Well No. 1 in the Kanarit region. The South Lebanon Water Establishment strongly condemned the strikes, calling them a clear violation of international law and conventions that protect civilian infrastructure.

In its statement, the organization emphasized that targeting essential facilities such as water supply systems contravenes humanitarian principles, which require such infrastructure to remain outside the scope of armed conflict.

Iran has claimed that a United States rescue mission to recover the pilot of a downed American fighter jet has so far failed. According to Iranian media, the country’s air defense system shot down the US aircraft, and images of the wreckage were published by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The report added that the pilot’s condition remains unclear.

Tasnim stated that the US operation involved Black Hawk helicopters and a C-130 Hercules aircraft, but the effort did not succeed. The United States has not issued any official comment on the incident. Al Jazeera reported that the authenticity of Iran’s claims could not be independently verified.

The report also recalled that in March, a US F-35 fighter jet was damaged by an Iranian attack and forced to make an emergency landing, highlighting continuing military friction between the two nations.

Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency has claimed that the country’s air defense system shot down a US warplane in central Iran. The agency published several photos allegedly showing the wreckage of the aircraft. According to the report, markings on the downed plane suggest it belonged to the United States European Command.

Earlier speculation that the aircraft might be an F-35 was not repeated in Tasnim’s latest report. The agency stated that the plane was part of the 48th Squadron based at the US European Command’s Lakenheath Air Base in the United Kingdom, which it claimed had been deployed to the CENTCOM region for operations against Iran. The report also noted that the US European Command operates several advanced fighter jets, including F-35, F-15, F-22, and F-16 models.

As of the time of reporting, US officials had not issued any formal comment regarding the alleged incident.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Defense announced that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed a total of 69 missiles and drones during the latest wave of attacks launched by Iran. The report, published on Friday, cited Al Jazeera as the source of the information.

According to official data, the UAE’s defense forces have been actively responding to repeated aerial assaults since the conflict began. The ministry’s statement indicates that Iran continues to carry out large-scale missile and drone strikes, suggesting an ongoing escalation in hostilities between the two sides.

The figures released by the UAE highlight the intensity of the current confrontation and the continued reliance on advanced air defense systems to counter aerial threats in the region.

The United Kingdom is deploying an air defense system to Kuwait following a drone attack on the country's oil refinery last night. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the attack as reckless and discussed the deployment with Kuwait’s Crown Prince during a phone call on Friday morning. A Downing Street spokesperson said the prime minister reaffirmed the UK's commitment to supporting Kuwait and Gulf allies.

According to the spokesperson, the deployment aims to protect both Kuwaiti and British personnel as well as regional interests, while avoiding escalation into a wider conflict. The two leaders also agreed on the need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier, British Defence Secretary John Healey announced that a Rapid Sentry air defense missile system had already arrived in Kuwait to strengthen its defenses.

Downing Street clarified that the move is part of broader efforts to maintain stability in the Gulf region.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has accused Israel of carrying out an attack on a power plant and associated desalination facility in Kuwait. In a statement released by its public relations office, the IRGC condemned the incident as an abnormal and illegal assault on civilian infrastructure. The statement described the attack as evidence of what it called the moral decline of the Zionist regime and denounced it as inhumane.

The IRGC further warned that U.S. military bases and personnel across the Middle East, as well as Israeli military and security installations in the occupied Palestinian territories, could become potential targets. The statement framed the attack as part of a broader pattern of aggression against civilian facilities in the region.

The report did not include any response from Israel or Kuwaiti authorities, leaving the details of the incident and its immediate consequences unclear.

A fire broke out at the Habshan Gas Complex, one of the United Arab Emirates’ major gas processing centers, after debris from an intercepted missile or drone fell on the site. The Abu Dhabi Media Office confirmed the incident and stated that all operations at the gas field have been temporarily suspended to bring the situation under control. No casualties have been reported so far.

According to the Abu Dhabi Media Office, authorities have taken swift measures to ensure safety and prevent further damage. The fire response teams are working to contain the blaze and assess the extent of the impact. The cause of the incident was linked to debris from an aerial object that was intercepted before reaching its target.

The temporary shutdown of the Habshan facility underscores the region’s vulnerability to aerial threats and the importance of rapid emergency response in protecting critical energy infrastructure.

Iran has issued a stern warning that it will target US-linked installations across the Middle East if attacks by the United States and Israel intensify. According to Al Jazeera, Ibrahim Zulfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, stated that any strike on Iranian infrastructure would prompt Tehran to destroy all American assets and facilities in the region.

Zulfaqari said the warning was in response to continued threats from US President Donald Trump, who had mentioned plans to destroy Iran’s bridges, power plants, and energy infrastructure. He added that if such threats were carried out, Iran’s armed forces would target US and Israeli energy, economic, and infrastructure sites throughout the Middle East, including in allied countries hosting American military bases.

He further cautioned those countries to expel US forces if they wished to avoid damage. The warning followed Trump’s recent claim that US forces had destroyed one of Iran’s largest bridges, sharing images of a collapsed suspension bridge between Tehran and Karaj on social media.

A recent US intelligence assessment found that Iran has managed to keep about half of its missile launchers intact despite weeks of attacks by the United States and Israel, according to sources cited by CNN. The report also indicated that Tehran still possesses thousands of one-way attack drones, with roughly 50 percent of its drone capability remaining operational.

The assessment contrasts with recent remarks by US President Donald Trump, who claimed that Iran’s missile and drone capabilities had been largely destroyed, leaving only a few launchers and factories intact. Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated last month that ballistic missile attacks on US forces had dropped by 90 percent since the conflict began, and the use of one-way or “kamikaze” drones had also decreased by a similar margin.

The differing assessments highlight uncertainty over the true extent of Iran’s remaining strike capacity following sustained US and Israeli operations.