Morning Briefing: April 2, 2026

ISTANBUL

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start your Thursday, including Trump’s claims that ‘core strategic objectives’ in Iran are ‘nearing completion,’ UN Security Council condemning Israel’s attacks on UNIFIL in Lebanon and a double strike from Iran and Hezbollah injuring four people in Israel

TOP STORIES

• Trump says ‘core strategic objectives’ in Iran are ‘nearing completion’

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Washington is nearing the completion of its military objectives in Iran.

“Tonight, I’m pleased to say that these core strategic objectives are nearing completion,” he said during an address to the nation on Operation Epic Fury.

In the past four weeks, Trump said US armed forces have delivered “swift, decisive, overwhelming victories.”

• UN Security Council condemns Israeli attacks on UNIFIL in Lebanon

The UN Security Council on Wednesday condemned Israeli strikes on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in late March, which led to the deaths of three Indonesian peacekeepers.

“The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims, as well as to Indonesia,” the council said in a statement.

It pointed out that five others were injured in the attacks and emphasized a series of incidents affecting UNIFIL positions, with peacekeepers harmed “against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities along the Blue Line.”

• Double strike from Iran and Hezbollah injures 4, damages water network in central Israel

At least four people were injured early Thursday after a double strike from Iran and Hezbollah targeted central and northern Israel, according to Israeli media.

Israel’s public broadcaster said that one of the Iranian missiles hit the city of Bnei Brak east of Tel Aviv, damaging the local water network and causing a large water leak.

It said debris from the strike also caused material damage in several areas of Tel Aviv, Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak.

​​​​​​​

​​​​NEWS IN BRIEF

• Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said Thursday that it carried out a series of missile and artillery attacks targeting Israeli troops and infrastructure in northern Israel and border areas.

• US and Israeli forces targeted two piers in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported.

• A senior Iranian foreign policy official was seriously injured in a US-Israeli attack targeting his residence in Tehran, local media reported Wednesday.

• The UK “successfully” downed more than 10 Iranian drones overnight as there are now approximately 1,000 British military personnel deployed across the Middle East, the Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

• Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said there is “no NATO without the US” following remarks by US President Donald Trump suggesting Washington could reconsider its role in the alliance.

• The Israeli government is primarily responsible for the ongoing “unlawful war” on Iran, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

• South Korea on Wednesday raised its national energy security alert to the second-highest level as the country “is beginning to see physical disruptions in oil supplies,” the Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry said.

• A general strike largely shut down daily life across the West Bank on Wednesday in protest of an Israeli law allowing the death penalty for Palestinian prisoners, according to an Anadolu correspondent.

• The Russian Defense Ministry said that one of its military planes crashed over the Crimean Peninsula, killing 29 people.

• Yemen’s Houthi group said it targeted sensitive sites in southern Israel with ballistic missiles in a joint operation with Iran and the Lebanese group Hezbollah on Wednesday, according to its military spokesperson.

• Beijing on Wednesday slammed the US move to issue “general licenses,” which exclude China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and Cuba from trade transactions with Venezuela.

• A 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck the northern Molucca Sea region in eastern Indonesia early Thursday.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• IEA, IMF, World Bank to form coordination group on Iran war impacts

The International Energy Agency (IEA), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank said Wednesday they will establish a coordination group to maximize their response to the energy and economic fallout from the war in the Middle East.

In a joint statement, the heads of the three institutions said the conflict has triggered “one of the largest supply shortages in global energy market history,” with wide-ranging global impacts that are “substantial, global, and highly asymmetric,” disproportionately affecting energy-importing economies, particularly low-income countries.

They said the shock is already being transmitted through higher oil, gas and fertilizer prices, while raising concerns over food costs. Disruptions have also spread to global supply chains—including helium, phosphate and aluminum—and tourism flows due to flight interruptions at major Gulf hubs.

• Ryanair CEO warns of jet fuel disruption risk by early May

Disruptions to jet fuel supplies could begin in early May if the US-Israel war with Iran extends beyond April, Michael O’Leary, chief executive of Ryanair, said.

O’Leary warned there is a potential for supply interruptions across Europe during May and June. “The fuel companies are happy there won’t any disruption until early May. But if the war continues, we do run the risk of supply disruptions in Europe in May and June,” he said in an interview with Sky News on Wednesday.

“Obviously, we hope the war will finish sooner than that and that the risk to supply will be eliminated,” he added.

Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. Please contact us for subscription options.