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The United States and Israel’s war on Iran entered its sixth week on Saturday with no prospect of a ceasefire in sight.
Tehran claimed responsibility for shooting down two American military aircraft and rejected a United States proposal for a temporary halt to hostilities.
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Iran said it downed an F-15E Strike Eagle over the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces and an A-10 Warthog over the Gulf in what officials in Tehran described as proof that the country’s military capabilities remain formidable despite weeks of sustained bombardment.
Two American crew members were rescued, while one airman remained missing, triggering a major search and rescue operation, according to United States media reports confirmed by the White House.
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The incidents marked the first time American aircraft have been downed since the war began on February 28 and came barely two days after President Donald Trump declared in a national address that the United States had “beaten and completely decimated Iran” and was preparing to “finish the job, and finish it very fast.”
“The downing of US aircraft demonstrates that Iran retains the capability to confront American and Israeli forces,” Al Jazeera said, quoting a senior official in Tehran, adding that reports of the country’s military collapse were premature and politically motivated.
Crowds took to the streets in Tehran to celebrate what state authorities characterised as a major military victory.
Casualty toll
The human cost of the conflict continues to mount.
At least 2,076 people have been killed and more than 26,500 wounded in Iran since the war began, according to Iranian authorities.
Across Iran, Lebanon, Israel and other parts of the region, the total number of dead and displaced runs into the thousands, with no end to the fighting in sight.
Diplomacy
Diplomacy efforts have all but collapsed at the moment.
Iran’s semi-official news agency, Fars, reported on Friday that Tehran had rejected a United States proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire. Washington neither confirmed nor denied the report, which cited an unnamed source.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian questioned whether the United States was negotiating in good faith, accusing Washington of hypocrisy. He challenged the international community to judge “which side engages in dialogue and negotiation, and which in terrorism”, remarks made in the wake of an attack that killed the wife of a senior Iranian official.
Mr Pezeshkian also said he had spoken with Finland’s president about Mr Trump’s threat to bomb Iran “back to the Stone Age,” calling the remark an admission of intent to commit a “massive war crime” and warning against international neutrality in the face of what he described as an existential threat.
Iran executes opposition members.
In the latest targeting of political dissidents during the war, Iran executed two men on Saturday morning after the Supreme Court upheld convictions linking them to the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK), a banned opposition group.
The court found them guilty of membership and “armed rebellion through involvement in multiple terrorist acts.”
The executions drew no immediate international response.
The Gulf
The war has extended into the Persian Gulf with mounting frequency.
In Abu Dhabi, an Egyptian national was killed, and four others were wounded after debris from an intercepted Iranian attack sparked a fire at a gas complex on Friday.
Kuwait reported Iranian strikes on an oil refinery and a desalination plant, though Tehran denied targeting the water facility.
In Bahrain, four people were injured and several homes were damaged in the Sitra area after shrapnel from an intercepted Iranian drone fell on residential buildings. Bahrain’s Defence Ministry later confirmed that the country had recorded eight drone attacks in the preceding 24 hours, bringing the total number of projectiles fired at the country since the start of the war to 188 missiles and 453 drones.
Bahrain hosts the US Navy’s 5th Fleet.
Hormuz Stranglehold
United States intelligence reports warn that Iran is unlikely to reopen the Strait of Hormuz anytime soon, as Tehran regards its grip on the world’s most critical oil artery as its primary source of leverage over Washington, according to a Reuters report.
The findings suggest that Iran could continue throttling the strait to keep energy prices elevated as a means of pressuring Trump to seek a swift exit from a war that polling shows remains deeply unpopular with American voters.
The reports also signal that the conflict originally intended to cripple Iran’s military may have inadvertently strengthened Tehran’s regional influence by demonstrating its ability to hold the global oil supply hostage.
Italy discusses military assistance with Saudi Arabia.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday to discuss the defensive military assistance Italy is providing against Iranian reprisals.
The statement from her office did not specify the nature of the assistance but noted that both sides discussed diplomatic efforts to end the war and the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
Ms Meloni was set to continue her tour with visits to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, marking the first visit by a European Union leader to the Gulf since the war began.
Food prices climb
Beyond the battlefield, the conflict’s economic ripple effects are being felt globally. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said its Food Price Index rose 2.4 per cent in March, reflecting the impact of the war on international commodity markets.
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