Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday (April 3, 2026) that Israeli strikes have destroyed about 70% of Iran’s steel production capacity, significantly hindering its ability to manufacture weapons.

‘‘Together with our American friends, we continue to crush the terror regime in Iran. We are eliminating commanders, bombing bridges, bombing infrastructures,’’ Netanyahu said in a video statement. He added, ‘‘This is a tremendous achievement that deprives the Revolutionary Guards of both financial resources and the ability to produce many weapons.’’

Meanwhile, Iran fired missiles at Israel and some Gulf nations, setting alight a refinery in Kuwait, while explosions could be heard around Tehran and the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday (April 3, 2026), as the United States prepared to further reinforce its already significant military forces in West Asia.

Iran and its allies traded fire with Israel and the United States, as Washington-linked assets across the West Asia were targeted alongside energy and civilian infrastructure -- with the month-long war on Friday (April 3, 2026) showing little sign of easing. Strikes have increasingly targeted economic and industrial sites, raising fears of wider disruption to global energy supplies and deepening the conflict’s impact beyond the battlefield.

Source: The Hindu 
--Agencies