The US and Israeli war on Iran enters its 35th day today and shows no signs of abating.
Thousands of people have been killed in the Middle East, and an even higher number injured or displaced across Iran, Lebanon, Israel, and other parts of the region in the month-long war.
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Attacks on major oil and gas facilities in four Middle Eastern countries have worsened the global economic impact of the war.
PREMIUM TIMES brings you the key events around the war on the 34th day.
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Trump administration fires three generals
The US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, fired the Army chief of staff, Randy George, and two other generals.
Mr George received news of his dismissal from Mr Hegeseth over the phone on Thursday. According to CNN, the army chief was asked to retire immediately.
This development comes a day after Mr Trump disclosed plans to intensify attacks against Iran and target the country’s civilian infrastructure, in what would amount to war crimes, according to international law.
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The Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, announced the dismissal on X, saying, “General Randy A. George will be retiring from his position as the 41st Chief of Staff of the Army effective immediately. The Department of War is grateful for General George’s decades of service to our nation.”
UN delays vote on Hormuz
The UN Security Council has delayed a planned vote scheduled for Friday.
The vote was about allowing the use of defensive military force to protect ships in the Strait of Hormuz from possible attacks by Iran.
The 15-member body was set to vote on a draft resolution submitted by Bahrain. PREMIUM TIMES reports the adoption of a resolution last month, demanding seamless passage for ships through the Strait.
According to NBC, the UN Security Council decided to delay voting due to the Easter public holiday.
The council, however, has not selected a new date for the vote. Russia, China and France are said to be opposed to the resolution for fear it could escalate the war.
Iran to allow Philippines ships through Hormuz
Iran has assured the Philippines of the safe passage of its oil vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Philippine Foreign Ministry disclosed that Minister Theresa Lazaro had a phone discussion with her Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araqchi, during which this was agreed.
According to the ministry, the two top officials discussed ways to address energy supply security and the safety of Filipino seafarers through the strait.
The ministry said, “During the call, the Iranian Foreign Minister assured the Secretary that Iran will allow the safe, unhindered, and expeditious passage through the Strait of Hormuz of Philippine-flagged vessels, energy sources, and all Filipino seafarers.”
US/Israeli strikes hit iconic Pasteur Institute
Iran’s century-old medical research centre, the Pasteur Institute, created to fight infectious diseases like smallpox, was struck by US-Israel strikes.
The Iranian Ministry of Health disclosed this on Thursday, calling on global health bodies to condemn the attack on the Centre.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Hossein Kermanpour, referred to the strike as a “direct assault on international health security.”
The Pasteur Institute of Iran is a leading public health institution and a member of a global research network.
Over the years, it has played a vital role in fighting infectious diseases such as cholera and COVID-19.
Photographs from the site showed severe damage, with large parts of the facility reduced to rubble.
The WHO has condemned the strike on the institute.
US strike demolishes Iran’s largest bridge
Aside from the research centre, the Iranian B1 bridge, the country’s tallest, was attacked.
Mr Trump said on Thursday that the tallest bridge in Iran had been destroyed.
The attack came hours after he threatened to have the country bombed “back to the Stone Age.”
Ghodratollah Seif, the deputy governor of Alborz province, where the B1 bridge is located, said the strike killed eight people and wounded 95 others.
Iran targets American steel plant in UAE, Israel’s arms factory
In response to attacks on its largest steel plants, Iran launched a barrage of missiles targeted at the UAE, Bahrain and Israel.
The IRGC said it was targeting American-linked steel industries in Bahrain and the UAE and Israel’s Rafael arms factories.
READ ALSO: US/Israel-Iran War (Day 34): Trump threatens to bomb Iran ‘back to stone age’
“In response to attacks on Iranian steel industries, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a new wave of attacks this morning.
“American steel industries in Abu Dhabi, American aluminium industries in Bahrain, and the Rafael arms factories of the Zionist regime” were among several targets, the IRGC said.
Iran claims it shot down another F-35
Iran claimed it shot down a second US F-35 fighter jet over central Iran.
Tehran declared that the pilot was unlikely to have survived, according to CNBC.
The F-35 Lightning II is considered the most advanced fighter aircraft in operation and a cornerstone of US and allied air power, with each unit costing over $100 million.
This report comes just two weeks after another US F-35 stealth jet was struck during a combat mission over Iran, forcing it to make an emergency landing at a US base in the Middle East.
CENTCOM has not yet confirmed or denied the latest claim.
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