Al Jazeera

By Christine Maguire and Urooba Jamal

    Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf says the United States is plotting a ground attack despite publicly engaging in diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war.

    Foreign ministers from Pakistan, Turkiye, Egypt and Saudi Arabia meet in Islamabad looking to de-escalate the US-Israel war on Iran.

    Iran threatens retaliatory attacks on Israeli and US universities in the Middle East as powerful explosions hit Tehran and deaths are reported in Shaft and Bandar Khamir.

    Yemen’s Houthis launch a second missile-and-drone assault on Israel saying they’ll continue until Israel “ceases its attacks and aggression”.

    Protesters rally against the war on Iran in Tel Aviv and cities across the US as people in Lebanon take to the streets of Beirut over Israel’s killing of three journalists in a targeted strike.

    Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.

IAEA confirms ‘severe damage’ to Iranian heavy water production plant

    The International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran’s Khondab heavy water production plant has “sustained severe damage and is no longer operational”.

    “The installation contains no declared nuclear material,” it added.

    Israel confirmed it bombed the Khondab Heavy Water Research Reactor on Friday.

    The IAEA based its findings on independent satellite imagery analysis and its own knowledge of the facility.

Iran’s foreign minister calls out US and Israel targeting of universities

    Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused the US and Israel of believing “knowledge can be bombed away”.

    “It’s reflected in the murders of Iran’s scientists and attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites, and now universities,” he said on X.

    He added their deadly actions would only inspire more pursuit of knowledge by Iranians.

Iran’s supreme leader thanks Iraq for war support

    New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei thanked the people of Iraq for their support in the war against the United States and Israel.

    In a written message, Khamenei “expressed his appreciation to the supreme religious authority [in Iraq] and the people of Iraq for their clear stance against aggression against Iran and their support for our country”, ISNA news agency said, referring to the Iraq-based Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, one of the most revered figures in Shia Islam.

    Khamenei’s failure to appear in person has led to intense speculation over his condition and whereabouts, but state television and some Iranian officials have indicated he is recovering from wounds sustained in an airstrike.

Power restored to most parts of Tehran and Karaj

    Iran’s Fars news agency reports electricity has been restored to most areas of the capital and Karaj province.

    “Operational teams from the electricity industry are still working to restore power to the few remaining areas as quickly as possible,” it added.

    Shrapnel hit a part of ⁠the electricity grid ⁠in Alborz province, which caused power to be cut in some parts of the country, the Energy Ministry said.

Israel says new wave of missiles launched from Iran

    The Israeli army says missiles have been launched from Iran towards Israel’s territory.

    In a statement, the military said air defence systems are operating to intercept the attack.

American University of Beirut moves to remote learning after Iran threats

    The American University of Beirut says it will operate remotely over the next two days following the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps retaliatory threat to target US universities in the Middle East.

    “Like many of you we learned early this morning of threats issued against American universities in the region,” President Fadlo Khouri said in a statement.

    “At this time we have no evidence of direct threats against our university, its campuses or medical centers. At the same time, out of an abundance of caution, we will operate fully online on Monday and Tuesday with the exception of essential personnel.”

    The Guard threatened US schools after saying US-Israeli strikes destroyed two Iranian universities.

    In Lebanon, the American University of Beirut is one of the most prominent US institutions in the region.

US embassy warns of potential attacks on universities in Iraq

    The US embassy has warned Iran and allied militias “may intend to target the American Universities in Baghdad, Sulaymaniyah, and Dohuk after Iran threatened American universities across the Middle East.

    A statement added Iran and affiliated armed groups already carried out “widespread attacks on US citizens, targets associated with the United States throughout Iraq”.

    “[The] Iraqi government has not prevented terrorist attacks against the United States and regional countries from Iraqi territory,” it said, reiterating a warning for US citizens to leave the country.

    Many universities around the region have already moved to teaching online since the US and Israeli attacks on Iran triggered the ongoing war.

Millions of Iranians isolated during war amid month-long internet shutdown

    Iran’s nationwide internet blackout is on its 30th consecutive day leaving tens of millions of people cut off from information and communication since the US-Israeli war on the country began.

    “Iran’s internet blackout has now entered day 30 as the nationwide censorship measure continues into its fifth week after 696 hours,” internet monitoring group NetBlocks said.

    Arshia, a marketing manager in Tehran, said being without the internet is “really hard”.

    “When even foreign TV channels are cut off due to signal interference, we don’t have access to any news except the state TV,” she said.

    “We get updates from friends and family by phone but it’s very difficult, we’re constantly stressed.” added the 37-year-old.

    “Our biggest concern now is that they might not reconnect the internet at all, and we could end up becoming like North Korea. Holding onto hope is really hard. The only thing we can do now is spend all our time together as a family.”

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Electricity blackouts reported in Tehran from falling debris

    Parts of Tehran are experiencing electricity cuts after US-Israeli attacks, Iranian media report.

    The Energy Ministry said shrapnel hit part of ⁠the electricity grid ⁠in Alborz province, which caused power to be cut in the capital and in Karaj.

    Iran’s deputy energy minister, Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, said several power transmission substations were hit, but electricity in Tehran and Karaj is expected to be restored within hours, adding that there is no cause for concern, Tasnim news agency reported.

Israeli army finds no negligence in killing of farmer near Lebanon border

    The military says it ⁠found no negligence or ethical failures by officers involved in the killing of Israeli farmer ⁠Ofer Moskovitz near the Lebanese frontier.

    The head of Israel’s Northern Command said ⁠on March 23 that Israeli forces misfired artillery, killing Moskovitz, 60, an avocado farmer from the town of Misgav Am.

    The military initially attributed the incident ‌to cross-border fire from Lebanon.

    “The inquiry found that the fire was carried out during an operational incident providing close support to the maneuvering forces,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

    “It also determined that the error resulted from a convergence ⁠of several operational factors and ⁠non-optimal firing conditions. Alongside this, no negligence was found nor was any ethical failure identified among those involved in the firing process within ⁠the artillery unit.”

    The military said the head of its ground forces ⁠ordered the introduction of a ⁠stricter operational directive addressing artillery fire over civilian communities.