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By G. A. McNeeley
Photo: fighter jets aboard USS Abraham Lincoln Feb. 27; via Dept. of War
April 4, 2026 (Iran) -- Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said Tehran is “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire,” in a published message broadcast on Iranian state media on Sunday, March 29, according to The Independent.
NPR reported that more than a dozen U.S. service members were wounded, and two E-3 Sentry aircraft were damaged in an Iranian strike on an air base in Saudi Arabia on Friday, March 27. Several of those service members have serious injuries.
The Pentagon has since put the U.S. casualty toll at 13 dead and more than 300 injured. However, many of the wounded had minor injuries and returned to duty, according to NPR.
On April 2, a U.S. fighter jet was shot down by Iran. While one crew member has been rescued, a search is underway for another who is missing, the BBC reports.
The Daily Telegraph reported on Thursday, April 2, that The World Health Organization had recorded 23 attacks targeting healthcare facilities in Iran, since the war began on Saturday, February 28. There have also been over 1,600 civilians killed, including at least 244 children, since the conflict began, according to data verified by human rights activists in Iran.
What Has Iran Been Saying About American Troops?
Ghalibaf’s message follows reports that the Pentagon is awaiting Donald Trump’s approval for ground operations in Iran, according to the Washington Post.
On Saturday, March 28, U.S. Central Command confirmed that thousands of U.S. sailors and marines have also moved towards the Middle East aboard the USS Tripoli warship.
The Independent reports that Iran also threatened to intensify attacks in the Gulf, and Ghalibaf warned that America’s allies will also pay the price as Iran will “punish their regional partners forever.”
Ghalibaf also mocked America’s 15-point plan, which he said is “setting out its wishes and pursuing what it failed to achieve in the war.” He added that Tehran’s message is “clear,” and they won’t surrender or accept “humiliation.”
The Independent reported that Houthi rebels in Yemen have also continued to attack Israel by launching a second wave of missiles on the country. The European Union's maritime security body warned ships to avoid entering Yemeni territorial waters, as the Houthis could resume “attacks on merchant ships” in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
How Have American Troops Been Affected By The Iranian War?
NPR reported that since the war began, Iran has targeted U.S. service members at bases throughout the region in retaliation against the U.S. attacks, while also seeking to drive troops out of the region.
The New York Times reported that the Iranian regime has retaliated by launching hundreds of drones and missiles into neighboring countries and largely shuttering the Strait of Hormuz, making sure the war would be felt by people across the globe.
Many of the 13 military bases in the region used by American troops are all but uninhabitable, with the ones in Kuwait suffering perhaps the most damage. Six U.S. service members were also killed in a strike on Port Shuaiba that destroyed an Army tactical operations center. Iranian drones and missiles also targeted Ali Al Salem Air Base, damaging aircraft structures and injuring personnel, and Camp Buehring, damaging maintenance and fuel facilities.
According to the New York Times, in Qatar, Iran struck Al Udeid Air Base, the regional air headquarters of the U.S. Central Command, damaging an early-warning radar system. In Bahrain, a one-way Iranian attack drone struck communications equipment at the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet. At Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, Iranian missiles and drones damaged communications equipment and several refueling tankers.
Military officials have said that the war in Iran has made all of those bases vulnerable to the point that service members can’t really live or work there for extended periods.
The New York Times reported that two former U.S. officials briefed on military operations added that there were no reinforced roofs on the command centers at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, where one service member was killed and several others were wounded in an attack.
What Has Trump Been Saying About The War In Iran?
The Financial Times reported that Trump laid out his “core objectives” in the war against Iran, in an address to the nation, saying they were “nearing completion.”
Trump has threatened that if no deal was reached with Tehran, then the U.S. could strike the country’s power plants and oil facilities. He also said the U.S. would attack Iran “extremely hard over the next two to three weeks” and “bring them back to the Stone Ages, where they belong.”
The Financial Times added that Trump also told the “countries of the world” that it would be up to them to break the Islamic republic’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz. “They should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on,” he added.
What Has Been Happening With U.N. Peacekeepers?
NPR reported that three members of the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon were killed on Monday, March 30, according to the force.
Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the U.N.’s undersecretary-general for peace operations, said two Indonesian peacekeepers were killed when “an explosion of unknown origin destroyed their vehicle” near the municipality of Bani Hayyan in southern Lebanon. Another Indonesian was killed Sunday, March 29, when a U.N. base was shelled.
NPR added that Lacroix said that both incidents are under investigation, and added that “we strongly condemn these unacceptable incidents. Peacekeepers must never be a target.”
Lacroix added that he’s in constant contact with the Israeli military, which has expanded what he described as a "buffer zone" inside Lebanon, as it tries to push Hezbollah farther north.
What is Congress doing?
On March 18, the Senate defeated legislation aimed at halting the U.S. military campaign against Iran, which was the second unsuccessful attempt to rein in Trump as the conflict continues, POLITICO reported
The 47-53 vote on the Democratic-led bid to require Congressional approval to continue the military campaign is identical to a vote that failed earlier that month. Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), who’s tangled with the administration on Iran, was the lone Republican to side with the Democrats, while Senator John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) opposed the effort.
POLITICO added that most GOP lawmakers have been willing to grant Trump latitude, despite questions about the administration’s shifting rationale for the intervention, and the fallout that’s seen Iran close the Strait of Hormuz, which is a chokepoint for oil shipments in the Middle East.
Democrats have since signaled that they’ll force more votes, and they’re also contending that Trump is waging an illegal war, and that the administration hasn’t adequately made the case to Congress or the public.
POLITICO reported that a group of Democrats led by Senators Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), Adam Schiff (D-California), Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin), Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) and Tim Kaine (D-Virginia), filed six separate measures to end U.S. military involvement in Iran.
Those measures are privileged, which means the sponsors can force expedited votes that bypass the Senate’s typical 60-vote threshold to advance bills. Those senators also contend that the consequences of the war will force some Republicans to reconsider their support if the conflict drags on.
What Has Been Said About the Pasteur Institute Being Attacked?
Photo: Pasteur Institute destruction after U.S. bombing, via Iran Ministry of Health
The Daily Telegraph reported that The Pasteur Institute of Iran, which is one of the country’s leading public health centers that’s set up to fight infectious diseases, was heavily damaged in strikes on Tehran, on Thursday, April 2.
Hossein Kermanpour, a spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry, condemned the attack as “a direct assault on international health security,” calling the center “a century-old pillar of global health.”
The Daily Telegraph added that Kermanpour called on the World Health Organization, the International Red Cross, and other global health institutions to condemn the attack, assess the damage, and support its reconstruction.
Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, called the attack on the facility “heartbreaking, cruel, despicable and utterly outrageous,” according to The Daily Telegraph. He added that “this is not merely another war crime committed as part of an illegal war; it is a barbaric assault on basic human core values.”
The Daily Telegraph reported that Dr Cassidy Nelson, the Director of Biosecurity Policy at the Centre for Long-Term Resilience, said the potential accidental release of biological agents is the biggest cause for concern.
Nelson added that “an accidental release from any one of these facilities – whether due to damage to infrastructure, a breakdown in protocols or simple abandonment – is a realistic possibility in the coming weeks and months.”
Vali Nasr, Professor of Middle East Studies and International Affairs at John Hopkins University, said destroying it “could have no other purpose than assaulting Iran’s history ... and [taking] Iranians back to the Stone Age,” according to The Daily Telegraph.
What Else Has Been Happening In The Middle East?
CBS News added that on Saturday, February 28, Iranian health officials and state media said that about 170 people were killed after a deadly air strike hit a girls' school, and that most of them were schoolgirls between the ages of 7 and 12 years old.
NPR reported that the Israeli military said it had struck weapons production sites in Tehran overnight, including “a site used for assembling long-range anti-aircraft missiles.” Israel also continued its campaign in Lebanon, by bombing Beirut's southern suburbs.
Meanwhile, Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah said it had fired rockets at bases in northern Israel, and Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
NPR added that Iran said their electricity grid was stable after attacks caused power cuts in some areas. Iranian state media says shrapnel from weekend strikes damaged power equipment in Tehran and the nearby Karaj City, leading to hour-long blackouts in both places.
Israel said over the weekend that it hit about 140 targets in Iran. Iran said several of those strikes hit universities, and they’re now threatening to hit U.S. campuses in the Middle East in retaliation.
NPR reported that over the weekend, Iranian forces also struck an industrial zone in southern Israel, starting a fire at a chemical plant and raising fears of a leak. The regime also attacked a power and desalination plant in Kuwait overnight, killing a worker from India, according to a statement from the ministry of water and electricity.
After Israeli attacks caused extensive damage at two of Iran's largest steel plants, Iran attacked aluminum factories over the weekend in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Emirates Global Aluminum said the attack caused significant damage to its main facility in Abu Dhabi.
NPR added that on Monday, March 30, Israel reported a fire at an oil refinery in the northern city of Haifa, and Hezbollah claimed it had targeted Haifa's naval base.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/30/nx-s1-5765967/trump-iran-israel-lebanon-kharg-island-oil
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2k1dgz142o
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/03/28/trump-iran-ground-troops-marines/
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/us/politics/iran-us-bases.html
https://www.ft.com/content/5a41892c-b907-4df6-9448-74c182a7154e?syn-25a6b1a6=1
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/18/senate-rejects-limits-trump-iran-war-00835330
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-girls-school-alleged-strike/
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