Israel Warns Iranian Train Users As Trump Threatens More Infrastructure Strikes

In a post in Farsi on social media on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces gave what it described as an “urgent warning to train users and passengers in Iran”.

The “warning” suggests imminent Israeli airstrikes on the Iranian rail network. But there is a weeks-long internet blackout in Iran, meaning social media posts will be seen by very few people.

The Iranian rail network is extensive and runs throughout the country. People will almost certainly already be travelling by rail Tuesday morning, travelling long distances, or be located near rail stations or lines.

Overnight, Israel carried out multiple airstrikes in Iran, with “regime infrastructure” described as the target.

President Trump is threatening to obliterate Iranian civilian infrastructure unless Iran fully opens the Strait of Hormuz, something widely viewed as constituting a threat to commit war crimes.

Trump has ignored questions about war crimes, and claimed – without evidence – that Iranian people want the US to “keep bombing”.

But the UN is warning that airstrikes in Iran have already caused high numbers of civilian casualties and extensive damage to homes, schools and health facilities, with strikes on critical infrastructure having disrupted basic services.

Meanwhile Iran showed no sign of agreeing to U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that it open the Strait of Hormuz by the end of Tuesday or suffer massive attacks on its civilian infrastructure, in what would be the biggest escalation yet of the war.

A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Tehran had rejected a proposal conveyed by intermediaries for a temporary ceasefire. Talks on a lasting peace could begin only after the U.S. and Israel end their strikes, provide a guarantee they will not resume and offer compensation for damages.

Any future settlement must leave Iran in control of the strait, imposing fees on ships that use it, the source said on condition of anonymity.

As the clock ticked down on Trump’s deadline to unleash “hell”, global markets were largely frozen, hesitant to bet on whether Trump would follow through on his threats or call them off as he has in the past.

Trump has given Iran until 8 p.m. in Washington (midnight GMT and 3.30 a.m. in Tehran) to end its blockade of Gulf oil, saying he will otherwise destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran within four hours.

Iran has rejected his demands and threatened to retaliate against infrastructure belonging to U.S. allies in the Gulf, whose desert cities would be uninhabitable without power or water.

In the latest attacks overnight, a synagogue in Tehran was destroyed by what Iran described as Israeli air strikes. Footage in Iranian media showed Hebrew-language texts scattered in the debris of the Rafi-nia synagogue.

“The Zionist regime did not spare the community during Jewish holidays and attacked one of our ancient and holy synagogues,” Homayoun Sameh, who represents the Jewish community in Iran’s parliament, was quoted as saying in state media. “The synagogue building was completely destroyed and our Torah scrolls were left under the rubble.”

Israel’s military had no immediate comment. Iran’s ancient Jewish community, which numbers in the thousands, is one of the largest in the Middle East outside Israel.

Without waiting for Trump’s deadline to expire, Israel threatened Iranian civil infrastructure on Tuesday, warning Iranians in a Persian-language social media post to stay away from railways: “Your presence on trains and near railway lines endangers your life.”

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has said that more than 3,500 people have been killed in Iran since the US-Israeli attacks began, including at least 1,665 civilians.

It said that 49 civilians were killed across Monday 6 April, and 58 others were injured, in an update issued overnight.

Monday saw several major attacks across the country, including on a residential building in Baharestan, Tehran’s Sharif University, and a petrochemical plant in Asaluyeh, in the southern Bushehr province.

The HRANA said it compiles its statistics through a combination of field reports, local contacts, medical and emergency sources, civil society networks and open source materials such as photographs, videos and relevant official statements.

Meanwhile as Israel reports hitting more sites in Iran, the United States Central Command (Centcom) said it has struck more than 13,000 targets since the war began on 28 February.

Giving an update on Operation Epic Fury – its code name for the US military operation against Iran – it also said it has damaged or destroyed more than 155 Iranian vessels.

Centcom said that the targets it has struck include Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) headquarters, air defence systems, ballistic missile sites, and Iranian navy ships and submarines.