Trump says we're 'blowing up the whole country' if Iran doesn't make deal in 48 hours

Two C-130 aircraft were lost during the operation, an official said.

ByDavid Brennan, Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso, Jon Haworth, and Nadine El-Bawab
Last Updated: April 6, 2026, 1:24 AM EDT

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.

Watch special coverage on Nightline, "War with Iran," each night on ABC and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Key Headlines

Here's how the news is developing.
Apr 03, 2026, 11:40 AM EDT

Kuwait blames Iran for attacks on desalination plant, refinery as air attacks continue

Iran continued to fire dozens of missiles and drones at Gulf countries on Friday, authorities announced.

Kuwait's Armed Forces responded to 26 drones and nine missiles during the past 24 hours, with Iran's targets including a desalination plant and a refinery targeted, Kuwait's Army General Staff Headquarters said in a post on X Friday.

In the United Arab Emirates, air defenses "engaged" 47 drones and 22 missiles, including 18 ballistic missiles launched from Iran, the Ministry of Defense said earlier.

A woman looks at the sea as dust covers the city, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran continues, in Beirut, Lebanon, April 3, 2026.
Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters

Bahrain Defense Forces, Qatar's Ministry of Defense and the British military also announced they downed several drones Friday.

Apr 03, 2026, 11:15 AM EDT

Italy's Giorgia Meloni makes surprise visit to Saudi Arabia

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has arrived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for an institutional mission to the Gulf countries, according to Italian government sources. Meloni is set to meet with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

She is the first EU, G20 and NATO leader to visit the region since the start of the conflict.

Meloni is working to strengthen relations with the three nations in the wake of the Iranian attacks and consolidating a strong strategic partnership.

Apr 03, 2026, 11:07 AM EDT

On Iran war, Macron evokes Iraq, Afghanistan, saying 'we never delivered'

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed concern over the war in Iran and suggested that the U.S. is starting to "jeopardize" the world order that it helped build after World War II, he said Friday, while speaking to students at Yonsei University in South Korea.

"Iran is a very bad regime — no discussion about that. I disagree with them on a lot of topics. But I don’t believe that we will fix the situation just by bombings or by military operations. Look at what happened with this type of operation in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Libya — we never delivered. Never. Even after 20 years," Macron said.

"So you have to respect the sovereignty of people. If people want to change a regime, they want to react, step up, they can do so," he said.

Apr 03, 2026, 10:36 AM EDT

US fighter jet appears to have been shot down by Iran, search and rescue underway, US officials say

An American fighter jet appears to have been shot down by Iran, according to three U.S. officials. Search and rescue operations are currently underway, the officials said.

A photo released by Iranian state media that could not be independently verified by ABC News shows a piece of a U.S. fighter jet that has been shot down by Iran over Iranian territory.
Iran State Media

Related Topics

Sponsored Content by Taboola