A US senator calls for a declaration of war; Iran claims to have hit two US aircraft: What you need to know this Saturday morning

Explosions in Tehran

An AFP journalist heard several explosions from northern Tehran on Saturday, an area targeted the previous day by powerful strikes. These explosions occurred around 7:30 a.m. and were accompanied by a loud buzzing of aircraft in the capital's sky, resembling that of a drone, according to the journalist.

New Israeli strikes on southern Beirut suburbs after bridge destruction on the Litani

The Israeli army bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut again at dawn on Saturday, claiming to be targeting Hezbollah infrastructure after destroying a bridge over the Litani River in southwest Bekaa, near Sohmor. According to local media, an al-Amana gas station, a company affiliated with Hezbollah, was hit in Tahwitat Ghadir, very close to the Beirut international airport. Another strike targeted a building in Haret Hreik.
Strikes also took place in southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa.
Three UN peacekeepers were also wounded Friday in an explosion inside a UN facility near Odaisseh, with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) stating that these soldiers, two of whom were seriously injured, are Indonesian nationals.

A Republican senator calls for a declaration of war

A Republican senator announced Friday he would oppose funding U.S. military operations against Iran without a formal declaration of war by Congress. "We must keep our eyes wide open to history and the Constitution," wrote Utah senator John Curtis on X, stating he could "not approve funding for new military operations without an official declaration of war by Congress."
Engaged in an expensive war against Iran, the White House unveiled its 2027 budget proposal on Friday, requesting from Congress a 42 percent increase within one year of the already enormous U.S. defense spending.

Iranian missile launches at Israel

A salvo of Iranian missiles was launched toward Israel early Saturday, the Israeli army announced, saying that defense systems were mobilized to "intercept" them. The Israeli army later reported impacts in the center of the country.

Iran claims to have hit two US aircraft: this "changes nothing" for Trump

The Iranian military claimed to have shot down an aircraft, an F-15E fighter-bomber. American media reported that one of the two airmen ejected in flight and was extracted during a special forces raid in southwestern Iran, with the fate of the second remaining unknown.
The Iranian army also claimed to have hit another American aircraft, a close air support plane A-10 Thunderbolt II, which later went down in the Gulf. The New York Times had previously reported the crash of a US plane near the Strait of Hormuz, its sole pilot having been rescued unharmed.

Five weeks after the start of the war, this marks a serious setback for the US Air Force. But Donald Trump said in a phone interview with NBC that this "changes nothing at all" regarding possible negotiations with Tehran.

Tehran declined a U.S. offer of a 48-hour cease-fire, according to Iranian media

The Iranian regime rejected a U.S. proposal for a 48-hour cease-fire on Friday, according to an anonymous source cited by the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars. According to the source, the offer was made Wednesday through a third country, whose identity was not disclosed.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Tehran reportedly informed Pakistani mediators that it was not willing to meet with American officials in Islamabad in the coming days. Washington has so far made no comment on the subject, according to Reuters.

WHO concerned about "multiple attacks" targeting health facilities in Iran

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) denounced Friday the "multiple attacks" targeting health facilities in Iran since the start of the war, particularly regretting that the Pasteur Institute is now "unable" to operate.