Iran war updates: Tehran says two US planes shot down

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This live page will be closing soon. Before we go, here are some of the day’s top developments:

• The US says a search is under way for one of the crew of a jet fighter that went down in southwestern Iran, and that the other crew member was rescued.

• The US says a Black Hawk helicopter taking part in the search was also hit by Iranian fire but not brought down.

• Iran says it has also shot down a second US jet, an A-10 Warthog, near the Strait of Hormuz.

• Kuwait says a water desalination plant and an oil refinery were targeted by Iran. Tehran denies targeting the desalination plant.

• Iran has rejected a US proposal for a 48-hour ceasefire, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

• Israel destroyed two bridges in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, a main artery for goods and people to the rest of the country.

France says it is launching an emergency loan programme for small and mid-sized businesses to help them cope with fuel prices driven up by the war on Iran.

The economy ministry says businesses in the agriculture, fishing and transportation sectors are eligible for the new, three-year loans, up to 50,000 euros ($57,600), the AFP news agency is reporting.

The explosions being reported in Damascus and its countryside were due to Israeli air defences intercepting Iranian missiles, Syrian state TV is reporting.

Job growth in the US has rebounded in March despite the looming economic uncertainty pegged to tariffs and the ongoing war on Iran.

Friday’s monthly job report from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the unemployment rate in March tumbled. Non-farm payrolls grew by 178,000 jobs, following a drop in February that was revised even further downward to 133,000 in lost jobs. The unemployment rate is currently at 4.3 percent.

The biggest gains in March were in the healthcare sector, which added 76,000 jobs – higher than the 29,000 average monthly increase in the sector over the last year.

The White House praised this month’s jobs report as evidence that Trump’s policies were stimulating the domestic economy. You can read more about the US economy here.

Iran’s President Pezeshkian has questioned the diplomatic efforts made by the US, saying the wife of a senior Iranian official was killed in an attack.

“Just as I was addressing the American people, the head of our Strategic Council on Foreign Policy was targeted in an assassination attempt, leading to the martyrdom of his innocent wife. Let the world judge; which side engages in dialogue and negotiation, and which in terrorism?”

Just as I was addressing the American people, the head of our Strategic Council on Foreign Policy was targeted in an assassination attempt, leading to the martyrdom of his innocent wife. Let the world judge; which side engages in dialogue and negotiation, and which in terrorism?

— Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) April 3, 2026

The cost of Israel’s simultaneous conflicts on multiple fronts has now reached $112bn, with no clear end in sight.

Israelis face near-daily missile barrages from Iran, schools remain closed and the economy is showing serious cracks.

While 78 percent of Jewish Israelis still back the war effort, pollsters warn that support could erode. Meanwhile, the government has lurched further right, passing a record $271bn budget and a controversial death penalty law targeting Palestinians.

Read more here.

Hezbollah claims it has struck Israeli soldiers and vehicles with missiles in the al-Sadr area of the town of Ainata in southern Lebanon, as well as Israeli artillery positions and forces in and near the southern border town of Maroun al-Ras.

It says it has also shelled Israeli forces in al-Malikiyah.

The US is saying that search is under way for one crew in the jet that went down in southwestern Iran. One crew was rescued, but search is under way for another.

They also did indicate that a Black Hawk helicopter taking part in the search was hit, but was able to continue flying.

There’s some conflicting reports that another helicopter, also a Black Hawk, was also shot at.

Then there is the A-10 Warthog, another Air Force plane, which provides close ground support for any troops that are on the ground, that has apparently gone down. One of the two crew members has been found. The other one is still being looked for.

There are celebrations about the downing of the planes here on the streets.

Even though celebrations are happening every night here in Tehran, tonight there’s a new vigour in those celebrations because they are proud of the Iranian defence systems and the army and its capabilities.

This is particularly after the Americans said many times, particularly President Trump, that Iran’s air defence capabilities had been completely obliterated. So this is a huge surprise by the Iranian army.

There is also talk of five helicopters that have been shot – some of them shot down and some of them damaged.

The Iranian army says it shot down a US A-10 aircraft.

This comes after media reports said a second US Air Force combat aircraft had gone down in the Middle East on Friday.

The Pentagon and White House did not immediate comment.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has joined other Iranian officials in responding to US President Donald Trump’s threat to send Iran “back to the Stone Age,” calling it an admission of intent to commit a “massive war crime”.

“This was the question I asked my Finnish counterpart, who is a jurist,” he added, referring to Alexander Stubb.

“History is full of those who paid a heavy price for their silence in the face of criminals,” he said.

Does threatening to send an entire nation back to the Stone Age mean anything other than a massive war crime? This was the question I asked my Finnish counterpart, who is a jurist. History is full of those who paid a heavy price for their silence in the face of criminals.

— Masoud Pezeshkian (@drpezeshkian) April 3, 2026