LIVE: Iran Guards Say Carried Out Attacks on Israel and US Forces in Gulf
Guards claim missile, drone attacks
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had carried out missile and drone strikes the previous day targeting sites in Israel and military facilities in the Gulf used by US forces.
A maintenance facility for US air defence system Patriot was targeted in Bahrain, the Guards said in a statement carried by Iranian news agencies.
- Israel strike Tehran -
Israel's military said its forces carried out "a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran" early Friday.
Australia defends efforts
Australia's leader said Friday it was not consulted over the war with Iran, responding to President Donald Trump's swipe the US ally was not doing enough.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia was in close contact with Gulf states under attack from Iran, providing a surveillance aircraft to help defend the United Arab Emirates, where many Australians live.
"There is no request been made to Australia that has not been agreed to," Albanese told reporters in Canberra.
Blasts in Beirut
Lebanese media reported an Israeli strike hit Beirut's southern suburbs early Friday, as AFP correspondents heard several explosions from the Hezbollah stronghold that Israel has repeatedly struck since war erupted.
AFPTV footage showed smoke billowing from the area after the raid.
Trump pushes back deadline
US President Donald Trump said he would not yet strike Iranian power plants as previously threatened after a request from Tehran, adding that talks with the Islamic republic were "going very well."
"I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well."
Israel army demands more soldiers
The Israeli military said it needs more troops for deployment in southern Lebanon, where forces are engaged in fighting Hezbollah as part of efforts to establish a so-called "buffer zone".
"On the Lebanese front, the forward defensive zone that we are creating requires additional (Israeli army) forces," military spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said, noting that the military is operating across multiple fronts, including the West Bank, Gaza and Syria.
Israel opposition leader attacks government
Israel's main opposition leader Yair Lapid accused the government of steering the country towards a "security disaster" by "sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means and with far too few soldiers".
"The (Israeli army) is stretched to the limit and beyond. The government is leaving the army wounded out on the battlefield," Lapid said.
Israeli soldier killed in Lebanon
The Israeli army announced the death in combat of a soldier in south Lebanon, just hours after reporting another death from its ranks.
Four Israeli soldiers have now been killed in fighting in south Lebanon since Hezbollah began launching rocket attacks against Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader.
World Bank ready 'at scale'
The World Bank said it was prepared to provide immediate financial assistance to countries in emerging markets dealing with the economic fallout of the conflict in the Middle East.
"We are ready to respond at scale -- combining immediate financial relief with policy expertise and private sector support for the recovery of jobs and growth," the World Bank Group said in its first statement on the crisis.
Oil prices fell Friday after US President Donald Trump pushed back a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, though that only partially pared the previous day's surge amid growing anxiety that the conflict will last far longer than first thought.
Brent crude is down 1.5 percent at 0230 GMT, selling at $93.07 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate is down 1.8 percent at $106.12.
Brent is up almost 50 percent since the war began, while WTI has risen around 40 percent.
- Japan to ease coal restrictions -
Japan's government plans to temporarily lift restrictions on coal-fired power plants as it seeks to ease an energy crunch caused by the Middle East war, an official told AFP.
Power suppliers have been required to keep the operating rate of coal-fired thermal power stations that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide at or below 50 percent.
But the government now intends to allow full operation of older, less efficient coal-fired plants, for a year from the new fiscal year starting April, said Takahide Soeda, an industry ministry official.
- WTO says worst trade disruption in 80 years -
The global trading system is experiencing the "worst disruptions in the past 80 years", World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala warned Thursday at the opening of the WTO ministerial conference.
"The world order and the multilateral system we used to know has irrevocably changed," she said, adding: "We cannot deny the scale of the problems confronting the world today."
- World Bank to respond 'at scale' -
The World Bank said it was prepared to provide immediate financial assistance to emerging market countries hit by the economic fallout of the conflict, saying it was "ready to respond at scale."
The Washington-based multilateral lender said a number of its clients in affected countries had already reached out as the crisis began to impact commodity prices and logistics.
- OECD cuts eurozone growth forecasts -
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its eurozone growth outlook and forecast higher inflation for 2026 after the Middle East war caused energy prices to skyrocket.
The Paris-based group lowered its growth forecast for the currency union by 0.4 percentage points to 0.8 percent. It largely maintained its 2026 forecasts for the United States and China, but warned of further fallout should hostilities continue.
- Spain approves war-impact measures -
Spain's parliament approved a sweeping package worth five billion euros ($5.8 billion) aimed at curbing the economic impact of the Middle East war, including steep cuts to energy taxes.
- Poland cuts fuel taxes -
Poland's prime minister announced Thursday a series of measures to cushion the impact of soaring fuel costs, including reduced taxes and price ceilings.
The value-added tax was being reduced on petrol and diesel from 23 percent to eight percent, and a maximum price would be set on a daily basis by the energy ministry, said Donald Tusk.
- German consumer confidence slumps -
German consumer sentiment fell heading into April due to the war, a survey showed Thursday, adding to the woes facing Europe's top economy.
"Consumers are expecting inflation to take off again and the economic recovery to be held back as a result of higher energy prices," said Rolf Buerkl, head of consumer climate at the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions.
- South Korea prepares 'wartime' budget -
South Korea will roll out a $17 billion "wartime" supplementary budget and expand fuel tax cuts as the war in Iran pushes up energy prices, authorities said.
"The government will draw up a supplementary budget worth 25 trillion won next month -- funded by excess tax revenue -- in response to the prolonged Middle East conflict," the government said in a statement.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Friday they had carried out missile and drone strikes the previous day targeting sites in Israel and military facilities in the Gulf used by US forces.
The strikes involved long- and medium-range missiles and "destructive and roaming drones", and targeted sites in Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, the Guards said in a statement carried by the IRNA and Fars news agencies.
The statement said a maintenance facility for US air defence system Patriot was targeted in Bahrain.
Iran has banned its sports teams from traveling to countries it considers “hostile," Iranian state TV reported Thursday ahead of Tractor FC's scheduled soccer game in Saudi Arabia.
The ban announced by Iran’s Ministry of Sports in Tehran didn't mention the World Cup which starts June 11 in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The ministry's statement singled out the Tractor game against Shabab Al Ahli of Dubai that was set to be played in Saudi Arabia. It's a playoff game in the Asian Champions League Elite .
“The presence of national and club teams in countries that are considered hostile and are unable to ensure the security of Iranian athletes and team members is prohibited until further notice,” it said.
Israel's military said its forces carried out strikes on "infrastructure" targets in Tehran early Friday, nearly a month into the Middle East war.
A brief military statement said Israeli forces "completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran".