US State Department issues new warning as Iran activates air defences

WorldPolitics
8 Apr 2026 • 12:54 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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  • All ⁠Americans in ⁠Bahrain have been ​advised ⁠to ⁠shelter ​in ⁠place ‌until further ‌notice, the ‌US state ⁠department said Tuesday.
  • The warning comes after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared “restraint is over” and threatened a response “beyond the region” if the US further escalated the conflict.
  • President Donald Trump renewed his threats Tuesday to “decimate” Iranian infrastructure if Tehran doesn’t agree to open the Strait of Hormuz by 8 p.m. ET.
  • With only hours left before the deadline, a senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran was still refusing to reopen the strait.
  • Iran's Borna news agency said air defences had been activated over Tehran with fighter planes flying at low altitude over the city after Trump wrote in a new threat, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen but it probably will.”

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