Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
The war between the United States and Iran is getting worse. Iran said it will destroy buildings and power stations all over the region if the US attacks Iran's bridges and power plants.
Kuwait said its air defense stopped drone attacks. The drones came from Iran. Jordan stopped eight missiles from Iran too.
President Trump said Iran let an American woman go free. Her name is Dena Karari. Iran held her for 18 months.
Trump also said the US may attack more places in Iran next week. He said bridges and power plants could be new targets.
- threat
- A warning that something bad will happen
- infrastructure
- Roads, bridges, and power stations that a country needs
- defense
- Ways to protect against attack
- drone
- A small flying machine with no pilot inside
- missile
- A weapon that flies to hit a target
- intercept
- To stop something before it arrives
- release
- To let someone go free
- region
- A large area that includes many places
Level 2 — Elementary
The confrontation between the United States and Iran escalated again on Thursday. An Iranian military spokesperson warned that if President Trump follows through on his threat to strike bridges and power plants next week, Iran will "destroy all infrastructure throughout the region."
Kuwait's Armed Forces said its air defenses again confronted hostile drone attacks launched from Iran. Jordan's armed forces reported intercepting eight more Iranian missiles early Thursday morning.
Amid the rising tensions, Trump announced some good news: Iran had released Dena Karari, an Iranian-American woman who had been effectively detained in Iran since December 2024.
Karari had been accused of espionage over her work with a nonprofit that helps impoverished children. She was never formally imprisoned, but a coercive exit ban kept her from leaving the country, and she was interrogated dozens of times.
- confrontation
- A situation of open conflict between opposing sides
- escalate
- To become more serious or intense
- spokesperson
- A person who officially speaks for a group
- hostile
- Unfriendly and aggressive
- detain
- To officially hold someone and prevent them from leaving
- espionage
- The practice of spying
- nonprofit
- An organization that does not operate to make money
- interrogate
- To question someone formally, often intensely
Level 3 — Intermediate
The confrontation between Washington and Tehran deepened on Thursday, with an Iranian military spokesperson vowing that Iran would "destroy all infrastructure throughout the region" should President Trump carry out his warning to strike Iranian bridges and power plants in the coming week.
The threat came alongside fresh attacks on two of Iran's neighbors. Kuwait's Armed Forces said their air defenses again confronted hostile drones launched from Iranian territory, while Jordan's military reported intercepting eight additional Iranian missiles overnight, the latest in a string of interceptions as the conflict spills across borders.
Against that backdrop, Trump delivered a rare piece of positive news, announcing that Iran had released Dena Karari, an Iranian-American woman who had effectively been trapped in the country since December 2024 under a coercive exit ban. Iranian intelligence officials had accused her of espionage tied to her volunteer work with the Children of Mehr Foundation, a nonprofit that supports impoverished children, and interrogated her dozens of times over an 18-month ordeal.
Separately, Tehran's chief prosecutor, Ali Salehi, said all cases connected to the recent 12-day war, the broader conflict with the United States, and the January 2026 protests had been finalized and referred to court, with some defendants already handed death or lengthy prison sentences, underscoring how the domestic crackdown has intensified alongside the fighting abroad.
- vow
- To make a solemn promise or declaration
- spill across
- To extend beyond an original boundary
- coercive
- Using force or threats to make someone do something
- ordeal
- A painful or difficult experience
- crackdown
- Strict action taken to punish or stop unwanted behavior
- underscore
- To emphasize the importance of something
- finalize
- To complete or settle something conclusively
- backdrop
- The general situation or setting in which events happen
Level 4 — Advanced
The confrontation between Washington and Tehran hardened further on Thursday, as an Iranian military spokesperson vowed that Iran would "destroy all infrastructure throughout the region" should President Trump make good on his threat to strike Iranian bridges and power plants in the days ahead, a declaration that transformed a bilateral military exchange into an implicit threat against every state bordering the Persian Gulf.
That escalation was borne out almost immediately on the ground: Kuwait's Armed Forces reported that their air defenses once again repelled hostile drones launched from Iranian territory, while Jordan's military intercepted eight additional Iranian missiles overnight, the latest evidence that the conflict, ostensibly bilateral, has metastasized into a regional contest with civilians in third countries increasingly caught in its path.
Amid the grim arithmetic of strikes and interceptions, Trump offered a rare diplomatic bright spot, announcing the release of Dena Karari, an Iranian-American woman effectively marooned in the country since December 2024 by a coercive exit ban. Iranian intelligence officials had accused Karari of espionage over her volunteer work with the Children of Mehr Foundation, a charity serving impoverished children, subjecting her to dozens of interrogations across an 18-month ordeal that ended, by Trump's account, as a unilateral gesture of goodwill rather than the product of any formal negotiation.
The release came even as Tehran's chief prosecutor, Ali Salehi, disclosed that every case tied to the recent 12-day war, the wider conflict with the United States, and the January 2026 protest crackdown had been finalized and referred to the courts, some already culminating in death sentences or lengthy imprisonment, a juxtaposition that illustrates how conciliatory gestures abroad have so far done nothing to soften the severity of Iran's domestic reckoning.
- implicit
- Suggested or understood without being directly stated
- bilateral
- Involving two parties or sides
- metastasize
- To spread destructively beyond an original point
- marooned
- Left isolated and unable to leave
- unilateral
- Done by one side alone, without agreement from others
- conciliatory
- Intended to overcome distrust or ease tension
- reckoning
- A settling of accounts, often severe or consequential
- juxtaposition
- The placement of two contrasting things close together for effect
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