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Iran-US War Escalates on Day 35: Downed F-35, Gulf Strikes, and a Peace Proposal

The US-Israeli war on Iran entered its 35th day on Friday with a sharp escalation across multiple fronts: Iran claimed to have shot down a second American F-35 fighter jet, launched fresh strikes on Gulf neighbours, and faced renewed threats from President Donald Trump to destroy critical infrastructure — even as a former Iranian foreign minister called for Tehran to "declare victory and make a deal."

Iran Claims Second F-35 Shot Down

Iran's armed forces announced on Friday that a second US F-35 fighter jet had been shot down over central Iran by Revolutionary Guard air defences, with state media reporting the pilot was unlikely to have survived. A spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters confirmed the incident, though there was no immediate comment from Washington. Last month, the US military acknowledged that a separate F-35 had made an emergency landing after a combat mission over Iran, with its pilot in stable condition.

Trump Threatens Infrastructure Strikes

US President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric late Thursday, warning that the American military "hasn't even started destroying what's left in Iran," and threatening: "Bridges next, then Electric Power Plants". Trump shared footage on his Truth Social platform of the bombing of the B1 bridge — Iran's largest, under-construction span linking Tehran and Karaj — which Iranian state media said killed at least eight people and wounded 95 others. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded that "striking civilian structures, including unfinished bridges, will not compel Iranians to surrender".

Al Jazeera documented a growing list of civilian sites struck since the war began on 28 February, including the 105-year-old Pasteur Institute in Tehran, the Iran University of Science and Technology, the Masjed-e Jame mosque — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — and the historic Golestan and Chehel Sotoun palaces. The WHO confirmed it had verified more than 20 attacks on healthcare facilities in Iran since 1 March, with at least nine people killed, including a member of the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

Gulf States Bear the Brunt

Iranian strikes spread across the Gulf region on Friday morning. Kuwait's Ministry of Electricity confirmed that a power and water desalination plant was struck, causing material damage, while Iranian drones hit the Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery for the third time in two weeks. Kuwait City correspondent Malik Traina noted that Kuwait, just 80km from Iran's coastline, remains the most easily targeted Gulf state and also borders Iraq, where Iran-affiliated groups pose an additional threat.

In the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi's Media Office reported that debris from an intercepted projectile sparked a fire at the Habshan gas facility, suspending operations, with a second incident of falling debris reported in the Ajban area shortly after — both without casualties. In Bahrain, sirens sounded overnight as the interior ministry urged residents to seek shelter. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted six drones, while Israeli media reported cluster missile fragments from Iranian projectiles struck sites near Haifa Bay.

Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters warned that if Trump's infrastructure threats were carried out, Iranian forces would target fuel, energy, and power installations belonging to the US, Israel, and their allies in the region, adding that countries hosting American military bases should expel US forces to avoid harm.

Zarif Proposes Peace Blueprint

In a striking diplomatic intervention, former Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif published a peace plan in the US journal Foreign Affairs, calling on Tehran to "declare victory and make a deal". Key terms of his proposal include: Iran committing to never seek nuclear weapons and reducing its enriched uranium stockpile below the 3.67% threshold set by the 2015 nuclear agreement; establishing a single regional uranium enrichment site involving China and Russia; lifting all US sanctions; reopening the Strait of Hormuz on a mutually agreed basis; and signing a US-Iran non-aggression pact.

Zarif, now a professor at the University of Tehran, wrote on X that he was "torn about publishing" the plan given Trump's "reckless aggression," but felt convinced the war "must end on terms consistent with Iran's national interests". The Associated Press reported that Zarif would not have been able to publish the article without running it past senior members of the Iranian leadership. Notably, Zarif described Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as "completely illiterate on both geopolitics and nuclear technicalities," which analysts say could complicate the proposal's reception in Washington.

Hormuz Crisis and Diplomacy

The UN Security Council postponed a Friday vote on authorising "defensive force" to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, officially citing the Good Friday public holiday — though the timing drew scepticism from diplomats who noted the holiday had been known in advance. Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi warned that "any provocative action by the aggressors and their supporters, including in the UN security council," would "only complicate the situation".

Diplomatic efforts to reopen the vital waterway intensified on multiple tracks. The UK convened a virtual meeting of more than 40 countries on Thursday to discuss coordinated responses to the crisis, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper chairing officials from every continent. French President Emmanuel Macron and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung pledged joint cooperation on reopening the strait during a summit in Seoul. Meanwhile, Iran International reported that a French container ship, the CMA CGM Caribe, appeared to have become the first Western European vessel to pass through the Hormuz Strait since the war began.

Iran is also reportedly near completion of a navigation protocol drafted with Oman to govern traffic through the strait, according to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi. Thailand's foreign minister said Tehran had requested a list of vessels seeking transit permission and was issuing authorisations on a case-by-case basis.

On the Ground: Iranians Flee Through Turkey

At the Kapıköy border crossing in eastern Turkey, Guardian correspondent Daniel Boffey found a stream of Iranians fleeing the conflict — many expressing relief rather than anger at the US-Israeli campaign. "Every night they are bombarding," said one Tehran resident who gave only his first name, Amir, adding with a weary smile: "Thank you to Trump". The Iranian regime raised a black flag of mourning weeks ago following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei under US and Israeli strikes. In Iran's provinces of Tehran, Fars, Zanjan, East Azerbaijan, Qazvin, Alborz, Khuzestan and Bushehr, residents reported overnight and early-morning air strikes.

Military and Political Developments

The Israeli army announced it had killed Mokram Azimi, commander of the IRGC's ballistic missile unit in western Iran, in what it described as a "precision strike" in Kermanshah. Hezbollah fired approximately 200 rockets into northern Israel over the past 24 hours, and Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem would pay an "extraordinarily heavy price" for attacks during the Passover holiday.

In Washington, the Pentagon confirmed that US Army Chief of Staff General Randy George — the 41st holder of that post — was retiring after Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly requested his immediate departure. French President Macron took a public swipe at Trump, accusing him of undermining NATO by "creating daily doubt about his commitment" to the alliance and calling Trump's characterisation of the bloc as a "paper tiger" deeply damaging.

Trump was also filmed at a private Easter White House lunch mocking UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, impersonating him as asking his team about sending "two old broken-down aircraft carriers" to the Middle East — the latest in a series of public swipes at the UK for refusing to join military operations against Iran.

Warning of Wider War

UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark warning on Thursday, saying the world is "on the edge of a wider war that would engulf the Middle East with dramatic impacts around the globe," and calling for an immediate halt to all strikes. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation separately reported that global food prices rose 2.4% in March compared to February, a development analysts attribute in part to Hormuz disruptions. Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also warned of the conflict's growing impact on the global economy.

Photo: iran Intl