US drops 2,000-pound bunker busters on Iranian depot in Esfahan

The head of US Central Command met Israel’s military chief during a visit on March 29-30, the command said in a readout.

Commander Brad Cooper held talks with Eyal Zamir on operations aimed at limiting Iran’s ability to project power beyond its borders and stressed continued US-Israel coordination.

Cooper also visited US troops deployed in support of Operation Epic Fury and awarded more than 40 service members for their performance, the statement said.

China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Foreign Minister Wang Yi would discuss the Iran war with his Pakistani counterpart during the latter’s visit to Beijing.

The two countries hold similar positions on major international and regional issues, according to the ministry.

European Union governments should prepare for possible prolonged disruption to energy markets caused by the Iran war, the bloc’s energy chief said before an emergency meeting on Tuesday.

In a letter to ministers seen by Reuters, EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen said the impact on Europe’s energy supply remains contained but called on countries to make timely preparations for potential longer-term disruption.

Three Chinese ships recently passed through the Strait of Hormuz, and China appreciates assistance from relevant parties, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

A drone crashed without exploding in an open area at West Qurna 1, a supergiant onshore oil field in southern Iraq, the state news agency reported.

A 2025 satellite image suggests Iran may have moved highly enriched uranium into an underground site near Isfahan shortly before Israeli and US strikes, Le Monde reported.

Experts said the convoy seen outside the tunnel complex could be carrying nuclear material, with one saying it showed “something being taken into the tunnels just before the start of the June war.”

Another said, “the best match is that the barrels contain 60% enriched uranium,” though analysts noted it was not possible to confirm the cargo with certainty.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Tuesday its naval forces struck a container ship it identified as Israeli-linked, named Express Halfong, in the Persian Gulf as part of a series of operations.

In a statement, the IRGC said the vessel was hit by ballistic missiles in waters of the Persian Gulf during early morning attacks. There was no independent confirmation of the strike or the ship’s ownership.

It said four operations were carried out, including drone strikes on what it described as a gathering of US forces on the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

The IRGC also said it targeted US-linked air defense systems near Manama and radar systems at a US base in Kuwait.

It said its forces had “full control” of the Strait of Hormuz and warned that any movement by its enemies would be targeted.

The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had identified missiles launched from Iran toward Israeli territory and was working to intercept them.

In a statement, the military said its air defense systems were operating to counter the incoming threat.

Iran executed political prisoners Babak Alipour and Pouya Ghobadi on Tuesday, a day after two other prisoners in the same case were hanged.

Alipour and Ghobadi had been sentenced to death in 2024 by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court.

On Monday, Akbar Daneshvarkar and Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi, who had also been convicted in the same case, were executed.

A fully loaded Kuwaiti crude oil tanker caught fire after an attack by Iran off Dubai early on Tuesday, with no injuries reported, according to Kuwaiti and Dubai authorities.

Kuwait Petroleum Corp, owner of the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi, said the attack caused a fire and damage to the vessel’s hull. Authorities in Dubai later said the blaze was brought under control after a drone attack on the tanker.

The strike was the latest in a series of attacks on merchant vessels in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz since the Iran war began on February 28.