The US and Iran are in a race to find an American service member who went missing after Tehran struck down a F-15 fighter jet.
One of two crew members aboard the F-15 fighter jet has been rescued. Iran is reportedly offering locals around £50,000 to anyone who hands over the missing pilot alive.
An anchor on the Iranian state media channel said: “If you capture the enemy pilot or pilots alive and hand them over to the police, you will receive a precious prize.”
Iran also reportedly hit an A-10 attack plane in the Persian Gulf region on Friday, which made it to Kuwaiti airspace, where the pilot ejected and the aircraft crashed, officials said.
Trump told The Independent he is not yet ready to say what the US will do if Iranian forces get to the downed airman first. “We hope that’s not going to happen,” the president said before ending the call shortly thereafter.
It comes as Iran targeted US tech firm, Oracle, in Dubai’s Internet City district, after accusing the company – along with 17 others- of being involved in "terrorist espionage" operations in Iran.
Authorities in Dubai said the drones were intercepted, but shrapnel hit the facades of two buildings, including one belonging to Oracle. No injuries were reported.
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Russia evacuates 198 more staff from Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, agencies report
Russia's state nuclear company Rosatom evacuated a further 198 of its staff from Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant on Saturday, Russian news agencies reported.
Rosatom has been evacuating staff from the plant since the Iran war broke out at the end of February.
Saturday's evacuations had been planned before the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a post on X on Saturday that one of the plant’s physical protection staff was killed by a projectile fragment and that a building on site was affected by shockwaves and fragments.
Russian news agencies cited Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev as saying that developments near the plant were unfolding in line with the worst-case scenario.
Likhachev said that the killed staff member was an Iranian national.
Rosatom said it had informed Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation surrounding the plant, the TASS news agency cited Likhachev as saying.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2026 14:34
New air defence system used to target US fighter jet, Iran says
Iran used a new air defence system on Friday to target a US fighter jet, Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya joint military command said on Saturday.
A spokesperson for the joint military command said the country would "definitely achieve full control" over its airspace, according to Iranian state media.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2026 14:13
Trump won’t say what US will do if missing pilot in Iran is harmed: ‘We hope that’s not going to happen’
As U.S. and Israeli forces search for an F-15 crew member forced to eject after being shot down over Iran, President Donald Trump isn’t yet ready to say what the U.S. will do if the missing crew member is harmed.
In a brief Friday phone interview with The Independent, the president declined to say what his course of action might be if Iranian forces get to the downed airman — the first American aviator to be shot down over enemy territory since an A-10 “Warthog” pilot ejected into Iraq after being struck by a surface-to-air missile in April 2003, just weeks into Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Asked what he’d do if the pilot is captured or harmed by Iranians, Trump replied: "Well, I can't comment on it because — we hope that's not going to happen," and ended the call shortly thereafter.
Read the exclusive here:
Trump won’t say what US will do if missing pilot harmed in Iran
EXCLUSIVE: The president speaks to The Independent as search-and-rescue efforts continue after the shooting-down of an American fighter over IranMaryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2026 13:46
What history tells us about how Iran’s Revolutionary Guard would resist any US ground invasion
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has long exerted a strong, often underestimated power in the Middle East. With around 190,000 members, plus an estimated 450,000 reserves in the Basij paramilitary, the largest component of Iran’s Armed Forces also controls much of the country’s politics, intelligence and economy.
After an Israeli airstrike assassinated the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28, US President Donald Trump called on the IRGC to lay down its arms in exchange for immunity. IRGC forces refused the offer, and with many more of its leaders killed over the last month, it shows no sign of giving up.
As US ground forces deploy to the Middle East, it is imperative to understand that – despite a month of widespread US-Israeli bombing, damaged infrastructure, internal fractures and decimated leadership – the IRGC will likely resist any invasion of Iranian territory with tenacity. Its history demonstrates why.
What history tells us about how Iran’s Revolutionary Guard would resist a invasion
The IRGC will likely resist any invasion of Iranian territory with tenacityRebecca Whittaker4 April 2026 13:40
Watch: Trump declares 'evil won't prevail' in Easter message as Iran war rages on
Rebecca Whittaker4 April 2026 13:20
Iran claims it hit Israeli ship
Iran has claimed it attacked an Israel-affiliated vessel with a drone in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran's state media said the attack set the ship on fire.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Rebecca Whittaker4 April 2026 13:03
Hunt continues for missing US pilot
Iranian forces are hunting for a missing US pilot from one of two warplanes downed over Iran and the Gulf, raising the stakes for Washington.
The jet was shot down by Iranian forces around 6:45 a.m. ET Friday and a rescue mission was quickly launched. One of the pilots, who had ejected before the aircraft went down, was rescued by US forces, two US officials told CBS News. The pilot is alive and receiving medical attention, officials said.
US forces are racing to recover the second pilot, a weapons system officer, before Iranian forces can reach them. Israel is helping the United States with the search and rescue operation.
Rebecca Whittaker4 April 2026 13:00
Three workers wounded in drone strike on Iraq's North Rumaila oilfield, sources say
Two drones hit the BP-operated North Rumaila oilfield in southern Iraq on Saturday, wounding three Iraqi workers, security and energy sources said.
The attack took place shortly after another drone hit storage facilities west of the port city of Basra that belong to foreign oil companies, the sources said.
The drone strikes had no impact on operations in this part of Iraq's giant Rumaila oilfield, as they targeted an equipment storage facility, said two Iraqi engineers working at the field.
Foreign staff were evacuated following an earlier drone strike on the oilfield, sources told Reuters last month.
Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2026 12:33
Iran says strike hit close to its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a guard and damaging a building
The U.S. military pressed ahead Saturday in a frantic search for a missing pilot after Iran shot down an American warplane, as Iran called on people to turn the pilot in, promising a reward.
The plane, identified by Iran as a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle, was one of two attacked on Friday, with one service member rescued and at least one missing. It was the first time the United States lost aircraft in Iranian territory during the war, now in its sixth week, and could mark a new turning point in the campaign.
Iran says strike hit close to its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a guard and damaging a building
Iran’s atomic agency says an airstrike has hit near its Bushehr nuclear facility, killing a security guard and damaging a support buildingMaryam Zakir-Hussain4 April 2026 11:58
Iran allows essential goods vessels to its ports via Hormuz strait
Iran has authorised the passage of vessels carrying essential goods to its ports through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a letter cited by Iran's Tasnim news agency on Saturday.
The letter indicates that ships heading to Iranian ports, including those currently in the Gulf of Oman, must coordinate with authorities and comply with established protocols to transit the strait, Tasnim said.
Iran has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries about a fifth of the world's total oil trade, in retaliation for US-Israeli attacks that began on February 28.
