Iran hits energy sites in Kuwait as US says downed pilot rescued (PHOTOS, VIDEOS)

Welcome to RT’s live coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran, a conflict spanning the Middle East in which both sides are exchanging missile and drone strikes across multiple countries.

Iran hit several energy sites in Kuwait, including the headquarters of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, which was reportedly struck by a drone. The barrage came after US President Donald Trump warned that “all hell will rain down” on Iran unless the Strait of Hormuz is unblocked within 48 hours.

Iran has closed the vital waterway to “enemy ships” following the first wave of US and Israeli attacks on February 28, driving up oil and gas prices worldwide. Trump has vowed to target Iranian power plants if shipping is not fully restored.

Meanwhile, the United States said it had successfully rescued a crew member of a downed F-15E Strike Eagle during what Trump described as “one of the most daring search and rescue operations in U.S. history.” 

The officer, whom Trump identified as a colonel, had been stranded in mountainous terrain inside Iran and was recovered by a large force of aircraft after sustaining injuries. He said the serviceman is now “safe and sound.”

Trump added that a second US pilot had been rescued in a separate operation a day earlier, which had not been disclosed at the time for operational security reasons, and said both missions were carried out without American casualties. The Pentagon has not publicly confirmed details of the operations.

Earlier reports had indicated intense fighting between US commandos and Iran’s Basij paramilitary force in the southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, where the aircraft was shot down on Friday, and that Iranian authorities had offered a reward for the pilot’s capture.

In a separate incident on Friday, a US A-10 Thunderbolt II was hit by Iranian fire, with the pilot ejecting after leaving Iranian airspace and later being rescued, according to US media reports.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization condemned the latest US-Israeli strike near the Bushehr nuclear power plant – the fourth since hostilities began – accusing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of “inaction” and warning of potential legal action. The projectile hit near the facility’s perimeter, killing a security guard and damaging an auxiliary building.

The IAEA earlier confirmed it had been informed of the incident and reported no rise in radiation levels. Director General Rafael Grossi expressed “deep concern,” warning nuclear sites “must never be attacked,” but did not directly condemn the US or Israel.

Here are the latest developments:

• Iran’s central military command rejected Trump’s 48-hour ultimatum. General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi called it “a helpless, nervous, unbalanced and stupid action.”

• Tehran reportedly added “two main power plants” in Israel to its list of targets.

• Iranian forces struck a US military radar in the UAE and targeted “command headquarters of mechanized, armored, and helicopter battalions” in Kuwait using Arash-2 drones.

• Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that recent US-Israeli strikes on the Bushehr NPP are pushing the situation toward a “dangerous line.”

• At least 17 people were arrested during an anti-war rally in Tel Aviv’s Habima Square.

Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.

• 05 April 2026

  10:06 GMT

  ExplosiveMedia, an AI design team behind viral Lego-style animations depicting the US-Israeli war on Iran, has mocked Washington in a new clip, showing a cartoonish IRGC fighter turning US aircraft into kebabs.

  The imagery references Iranian claims that its forces downed four US aircraft during a recent mission to rescue a crew member from an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran on Friday.

• 09:28 GMT

  Iran’s internet blackout – imposed over a month ago – is now the longest nationwide shutdown on record in any country, according to NetBlocks, an independent global internet monitor based in London.

  In a post on X, NetBlocks noted that while some countries have faced longer intermittent or regional disruptions, and North Korea has never been connected to the global internet, none match the scale of Iran’s ongoing outage.

  ⚠️ Update: #Iran‘s internet blackout is now the longest nation-scale internet shutdown on record in any country, exceeding all other comparable incidents in severity having entered its 37th consecutive day after 864 hours. pic.twitter.com/TmkesLqlKR

  — NetBlocks (@netblocks) April 5, 2026

• 09:26 GMT

  Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari has claimed the US “so-called rescue operation” for a missing F-15 jet was “thwarted” by Iranian forces, calling it a pretext to infiltrate the country’s southwestern regions.

  “Two C-130 military transport aircraft and two Black Hawk helicopters were destroyed by… Islamic warriors,” he said in a televised address, adding the incident underscored “the repeated failures of the US military.”

  Zolfaghari also slammed Trump over his “blabbering and deflections,” insisting that “the reality on the ground clearly shows the superiority of the Iranian armed forces.”

• 09:10 GMT

  The Israeli military has claimed it has begun striking Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

  It earlier issued an evacuation warning for the area, urging residents in the Ghobeiry neighborhood – including those in a building marked on a published map and nearby structures – to leave immediately and move at least 300 meters away.

  In a statement, Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed the site was near a Hezbollah-linked facility, without providing evidence.

  #عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل للمتواجدين في الضاحية الجنوبية في بيروت وتحديدًا في حي الغبيري⭕لكل من يتواجد في المبنى المحدد بالأحمر وفق ما يُعرض في الخارطة والمباني المجاورة له: أنتم تتواجدون بالقرب من منشأة تابعة لحزب الله. ⭕حرصًا على سلامتكم وسلامة أبناء عائلاتكم أنتم مضطرون لإخلاء… pic.twitter.com/5BepQ2urLF

  — افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) April 5, 2026

• 07:54 GMT

  A direct hit on Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant “could trigger a nuclear accident” with health impacts that would “devastate generations,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned on X, condemning the latest US-Israeli strike near the facility that damaged an auxiliary building and killed a guard.

  “With every passing day of this escalating conflict, the stakes and threats are raised higher and higher. We must de-escalate now,” he wrote.

  I join the @iaeaorg in raising the alarm again over the safety of nuclear facilities in #Iran.The latest incident involving the Bushehr nuclear power plant is a stark reminder: a strike could trigger a nuclear accident, with health impacts that would devastate generations.… https://t.co/mvFRC23EpT

  — Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) April 5, 2026

• 07:54 GMT

  The IDF has released footage purportedly showing its Air Force striking an alleged Hezbollah target in southern Lebanon.

  The military claims that since the start of its ongoing operation against Hezbollah, the Israeli Air Force has hit more than 2,000 targets, though multiple media reports and witnesses accounts note that the sites hit are mostly civilian facilities. 

• 07:53 GMT

  A smoking package has triggered a hazardous materials alert at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, with footage circulating online showing firefighters in protective gear inspecting the suspicious item.

  Airport staff were evacuated from the area as a precaution, according to the Fire and Rescue Service. It is currently unclear what the package contained.

• 07:53 GMT

  At least five people have been killed in US strikes in southwest Iran during search operations for a downed F-15 crew member, Tasnim reports, citing sources.

  The US earlier claimed that the pilot from the downed jet was rescued.

• 07:51 GMT

  Israel’s expanding military activity in southern Lebanon is “widely viewed under international law as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty,” Salawati Mat Basir, an international law professor at the National University of Malaysia, told RT.

  She argued that claims of self-defense mask what she described as a push toward a “de facto occupation,” referring to a series of recent deadly incidents involving UN peacekeepers, including late-March attacks in which three Indonesian members of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were killed in separate explosions during intensified Israeli strikes in the south, prompting UN condemnation and calls for an investigation.

  She added that such incidents suggest Israeli forces “don’t care” about UN missions or personnel on the ground, which she described as part of efforts to establish and control a buffer zone in the area.

• 07:51 GMT

  Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has mocked the US over IRGC shootdowns of its aircraft, sharing images purportedly showing the wreckage of a C-130 and two Black Hawk helicopters from a rescue mission for a downed F-15E pilot.

  “If the United States gets three more victories like this, it will be utterly ruined,” he wrote on X.

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