President Putin called for de-escalation in the Iran conflict during a phone call with President Pezeshkian of Iran on Tuesday.
“The President of Russia reaffirmed his principled position in favour of a speedy de-escalation of the conflict and for it to be resolved through political means,” the Kremlin said. “Pezeshkian thanked Russia for its support, particularly for providing humanitarian aid to Iran.”
Russia’s ambassador to London said at the weekend that Moscow was “not neutral” in the war but so far the Kremlin has not indicated willingness to intervene militarily to support Iran
Listen: Oil and trouble for the economy
Sir Keir Starmer may get some credit with the public for his response to the war in Iran, but he’s still stuck with its consequences: rising prices just when he’d said he was going to cut the cost of living.
Has Reform UK’s response compromised its ability to campaign on the cost of living? And who is now wielding the power in Number 10?
Steven Swinford, Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund are your guides.
US bombers fly from RAF Fairford
US bombers have been seen taking off from RAF Fairford, having arrived at the Gloucestershire base over recent days.
Sir Keir Starmer’s government has given the US permission to use Fairford for defensive purposes in its military operations against Iran.
The destination of the bombers that took off on Tuesday afternoon has not been confirmed.
An American B1-B bomber takes off from RAF Fairford
PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES
Bombers taxi into position
HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
HMS Dragon sails for Cyprus
HMS Dragon is finally leaving Portsmouth after a week of preparations to sail for Cyprus.
The Type 45 destroyer was ordered to head to the region last Tuesday to defend RAF Akrotiri from missile and drone attacks.
It was originally held at three days readiness to move, but having the right weapons fitted has taken a week. It will take five to seven days to reach Cyprus, The Times understands.
HMS Dragon leaves Portsmouth
CHRIS GORMAN/BIG LADDER
HMS Dragon’s crew line the deck
JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
The Type-45 Daring class frigate has been moored at the Portsmouth Upper Harbour Ammunition Facility during preparations
JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
In pictures: preparations at RAF Fairford 
American military personnel assemble armaments at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Three more B1-B bombers arrived overnight, bringing the total to eight
PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES
PETER MACDIARMID FOR THE TIMES
Inflation surge likely to kill prospect of rate cut
There could be a “material” and “significant” surge in inflation as a result of the historic rise in oil and gas prices since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, the Office for Budget Responsibility has warned (Jack Barnett, Economics Correspondent, writes).
The prediction by David Miles, a member of the OBR’s budget committee, underscored the threat to consumer finances posed by the US-Israeli war with Iran. Not only does the surge in energy prices risk rekindling inflation, it has probably postponed or even eliminated expected interest rate cuts this year from the Bank of England. Traders earlier this week thought a rate rise this year was more likely than not.
In the past week, mortgage providers have lifted rates on products and petrol prices have inched higher. The parlous state of the public finances too, with debt as a share of GDP nearly 100 per cent, makes it unlikely that the government will deploy a blanket energy price cap scheme similar in scale to that launched by Liz Truss after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The final bill to the taxpayer for that package was £80 billion.
Security tightens after shots at consulate
Canada is increasing security around US and Israeli embassies and consulates in Toronto and Ottawa after a shots were fired at the US consulate in Toronto.
Chief Superintendent Chris Leather, of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said the consulate shooting early on Tuesday was being investigated as a “national security incident,” although no one was injured.
Lego figures wage Iran’s propaganda war
Iran has produced a propaganda video showing missiles and drones hitting American and Israeli targets, a British air base and Gulf countries, all in the form of animated Lego.
Lego-like figures of President Trump, Binyamin Netanyahu and the Devil look at a photo album titled “Epstein file” before Trump pushes a red button, firing a missile at an Iranian school. An Iranian officer weeps over a girl’s pink school bag then appears in a control room to launch his own attacks.
To nationalist music, Islamic Revolutionary Guards close the Strait of Hormuz and bombard targets in America and Israel. Netanyahu runs away and a coffin draped in the US flag is carried off a plane.
The video was produced by Iran’s state-run Revayat-e Fath institute and shared on social media. A similar video featuring Lego-style animations was produced during the war that Israel and Iran waged last year against Iran.
The latest video ends with a message saying it was made in remembrance of 175 people killed in Minab, southern Iran, who it claims “were martyred at the hands of Zionist and American terrorists”. An airstrike hit the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school on February 28, the first day of US and Israeli attacks.
‘Nothing but negative effects’
The Office for Budget Responsibility says the recent fall in inflation could be reversed if the Iran conflict drags on and oil and gas prices stay high.
David Miles, a member of the budget responsibility committee, told the Treasury select committee on Tuesday that the “very substantial” increase in oil prices had forced a rethink.
The increase in inflation would not be as great as that which followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but would be “enough to be noticeable and completely unwelcome”, he said.
“We’re significant importers of both oil and gas, and there’s nothing but negative effects from those prices being higher,” he said.
Emergency talks over global oil supply
The International Energy Agency (IEA) will convene an emergency meeting on Tuesday to evaluate global oil supplies in the wake of disruptions to shipping caused by the war. It follows a meeting of G7 energy ministers arranged by the agency on Monday.
Fatih Birol, the executive director of the IEA, said member governments would discuss “the current security of supply and market conditions”.
“I have convened an extraordinary meeting of IEA member governments, which will take place later today to assess the current security of supply and market conditions to inform a subsequent decision on whether to make emergency stocks of IEA countries available to the market,” he said.
The 32 member countries and 13 association countries of the IEA represent 75 per cent of global energy demand.
US satellite company to delay publishing Middle East images to protect allies
An American satellite imaging company has said it will delay publishing images relevant to the Middle East conflict for two weeks after the orbital photographs are taken, in order to protect US allies in the region.
The California-based Planet Labs had already imposed a 96-hour delay last week for access to its high-resolution satellite images, which are usually available a few hours after they are taken.
“After consulting with experts inside and outside of government … Planet has decided to take additional, proactive measures to ensure our imagery is not tactically leveraged by adversarial actors to target allied and Nato-partner personnel and civilians,” a statement said.
From now on, all data covering “all of Iran and nearby allied bases, in addition to the Gulf States and existing conflict zones” will be blocked for 14 days, it said.
A rival company Vantor (formerly known as Maxar) has not commented, but it has had a longstanding policy of not distributing images of US or allied bases.
During the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Planet had imposed a 30-day delay while still maintaining extensive coverage of the territory.
WHO warns of ‘black rain’ in Iran
The World Health Organisation warned on Tuesday that the “black rain” and toxic compounds in the air in Iran after strikes on oil facilities could cause respiratory problems, and it backed Iran’s advisory urging people to remain indoors.
The UN health agency, which has an office in Iran and works with authorities on health emergencies, said it has received multiple reports of oil-laden rain this week.
Tehran was choked in black smoke on Monday after an oil refinery was hit, in an escalation in strikes on Iran’s domestic energy supplies as part of the US-Israeli campaign.
• Fact check: is acid rain falling in Iran after US and Israeli attacks?
UK inflation could end the year close to 3 per cent, says OBR
The Office for Budget Responsibility has said conflict in the Middle East could mean UK inflation ends the year closer to 3 per cent, versus the current 2 per cent forecast, should energy prices stay as they are.
BA suspends Muscat rescue flights due to ‘reduced demand’
British Airways has announced it will suspend its daily rescue flights from Muscat “due to reduced demand”.
It added that the suspension of its flights to the rest of the region will continue until at least later this month because of “the continuing uncertainty of the situation in the Middle East and airspace instability”.
The airline said: “We’ve cancelled all flights to and from Amman, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai and Tel Aviv until later this month and to and from Abu Dhabi until later this year.
“We have limited seats remaining on our repatriation flights from Oman (Muscat) to London Heathrow on 11 and 12 March for customers with an existing booking.
“Following these dates, the flights will pause due to reduced demand but will be kept under continuous review.”
War will last into next week, Israel says
The Israeli foreign minister has cited President Trump in saying that the US-Israeli conflict against Iran will last into next week.
Asked when the war might end, Gideon Sa’ar said on Tuesday: “I followed President Trump’s statements — he said the war would not end this week. So talk to me about it next week.”
Comment: Are we facing an energy crisis?
The global economy may have passed through the looking glass (Jack Barnett writes). What was initially hoped to be a time-limited US-Israeli strike to decapitate the Iranian regime now runs the risk of turning into a full-blown oil crisis akin to the one 50 years ago, bringing damaging consequences for growth, inflation and interest rates.
• Read in full: Are we facing an energy crisis? How history could repeat itself
The key variable in all of this is how long President Trump and Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, envision their onslaught on Iran lasting.
If the US and Israel have a drawn-out conflict in mind, with the ultimate aim of wiping out the last vestiges of the Iranian regime, then the global economy is very much staring down the barrel of another energy shock comparable to those in the 1970s and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
‘We can’t let war against Iran push Gaza out of sight’
Germany’s foreign minister said that the US-Israeli war against Iran should not push the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza out of sight.
“We must not lose sight of the plight of the more than two million people there. The humanitarian situation remains dire. Furthermore, there is still insufficient access for humanitarian aid workers,” Johann Wadephul said in Jerusalem at a press conference with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar.
Wadephul said he also addressed the extremely tense situation in the West Bank during his discussion with Sa’ar, during which he strongly condemned the deadly violence caused by radical settlers.
In Berlin, Friedrich Merz, the chancellor, earlier said a new West Bank construction project being pushed by the Israeli government to the east of Jerusalem was a “big mistake”.
“The German government urgently calls for such steps to be refrained from,” Merz said, claiming that advancing the so-called E1 project would “complicate the two-state solution”.
Israel approved 19 settlements in December, a move Bezalel Smotrich, a far-right finance minister, said was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
PSG president stuck in Qatar
The president of Paris Saint-Germain, Nasser Al-Khelaifi, is stuck in Qatar due to the Iranian conflict and will struggle to attend his team’s Champions League clash with Chelsea in Paris on Wednesday.
Al Khelaifi, who is also the chairman of European Clubs Association, is the figurehead of the PSG’s ownership, Qatar Sports Investments, a state-backed investment fund who purchased the club in 2011.
Al-Khelaifi returned to Doha last week to be with his family but due to the ongoing missile threat caused by Iran’s retaliation to the United States and Israeli-led military operation, he was unable to leave the country on Tuesday.
Qatar, the Gulf state that hosts the largest American base in the Middle East, the Al Udeid airbase, has been subject to missile and drone attacks by Iran. On Tuesday, the Qatari defence ministry confirmed they had intercepted another missile from Iran.
Analysis : Israelis betray their own for Iran
Israel’s missile defence system, of which its vaunted Iron Dome is just one component, is its last line of protection (Marc Bennetts writes). Without its missile batteries, radars and mobile launchers, Israel’s cities would resemble the shattered remains of Ukrainian towns that have been flattened by Russian bombing.
It is unsurprising, then, that Iran has long sought to gather intelligence on the system. Yet what is surprising, at least to many people in Tel Aviv, is that Israel’s own citizens have been willing to provide this and other potentially sensitive information to the regime in Tehran, whose longstanding aim is the total destruction of the Jewish state.
• The enemy within: Israelis betray their own for Iran
In the past two years, amid what some have described as a breakdown of societal cohesion, about 60 Israelis, including significant numbers of Israeli Jews, have been accused of co-operating with Iranian intelligence agents.
Analysis: media face censorship and outages in reporting conflict
While truth has long been characterised as the first casualty of war, The Times and other news organisations are facing challenges from censorship to internet outages while trying to cover the war in the Middle East.
Some of the tightest restrictions are in Iran and Israel, although Gulf monarchies have also imposed tight controls and arrested suspects for filming evidence of drone and missile attacks from Iran.
In Iran itself, media access to areas outside the capital Tehran is limited or non-existent. The near-total internet blackout in the country is silencing many sources, except for Iranian state media, which focuses on reporting civilian casualties and damage to civilian targets, and its claims are hard to verify.
Israel also has military censorship rules and has also banned live broadcasts of the Israeli skyline when alarms have been sounded to warn of incoming missiles or drones. So images of missiles being intercepted — similar to those seen during last year’s 12-day war with Iran — have not been published in the past few days.
Iran footballer ‘forced onto bus’ 
An Iranian footballer appeared to be forced onto a bus by her team-mates as the national women’s team prepared to fly out of Australia, a day after five players escaped and were granted asylum.
Video published online on Tuesday showed the player being firmly escorted by one member of the squad and ushered from behind by another woman, as police watched. One player was also later heard wailing as she said goodbye to a supporter.
• Iran footballer ‘forced onto bus’ after others escape Australian hotel
The women’s team had been branded “traitors” by Iranian conservatives after they did not sing the national anthem at their opening match of the Asian Women’s Cup, which was held two days after Ali Khamenei, the Iranian supreme leader, was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes.
Two more Iranian female footballers stay in Australia
A further two Iranian female football players have stayed in Australia as the national team departed to fly back to Iran.
Local media said an Australian Federal Police officer was filmed at Sydney airport telling protestors that two additional members of the Iranian women’s football team had decided to remain in the country.
The Albanese government has already granted humanitarian visas to five Iranian players who fled the team’s hotel on the Gold Coast.
The Iranian regime described the women who sought asylum as “traitors”.
Merz: ‘US and Israel have no common plan to end war’
Friedrich Merz, the chancellor of Germany, voiced concern on Tuesday that the United States and Israel appear to have “no common plan” for bringing the war against Iran “to a swift and convincing end”.
“The United States and Israel have been waging war against Iran for over a week. We share many of these goals, but with each day of the war, more questions arise,” Merz said.
“We are particularly concerned that there is apparently no common plan for how this war can be brought to a swift and convincing end.”
US to look at ‘range of options’ if tasked to escort ships through Strait of Hormuz
America’s top general said that the US military would look at a range of options if it was tasked with escorting ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
“If tasked to escort, you know, we’ll look at the range of options to set the military conditions to be able to do that,” General Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, told reporters.
He said US forces were striking Iranian mine-laying vessels on Tuesday.
“[US Central Command] continues today to hunt and strike mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities,” Caine said.
Britain working to support shipping through Strait of Hormuz
Britain is working with allies on a range of options to support commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in the face of Iranian threats, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said on Tuesday after calls with the leaders of Italy and Germany.
After speaking to Germany’s Friedrich Merz and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni late on Monday, Downing Street said that they agreed on the “vital importance of freedom of navigation” through the Strait and “agreed to work closely together in the coming days in the face of Iranian threats”.
“We’re working with our allies on a range of options to support commercial shipping through the Strait as the threat picture develops,” the spokesman said.
‘Strait of peace — or suffering and defeat’
The Strait of Hormuz will be a place of defeat and suffering for those warmongering against Iran, Ali Larijani, Tehran’s security chief has said.
In comments published by the Fars news agency, which is linked to the IRGC, Larijani said Hormuz could be “a strait of peace and prosperity for all, or it will be a strait of suffering and defeat for warmongers”.
More than a week of conflict has severely disrupted shipping in the strait, through which nearly one fifth of the world’s crude oil usually passes.
Iranian forces have threatened to block “the export of a single litre of oil from the region” to allies of the United States and Israel as long as the war continues.
US does not target civilians, says Hegseth
Pete Hegseth has said the US “does not” target civilians amid mounting evidence that an American Tomahawk missile killed 175 people, many of them children, at a girls’ school in southern Iran.
“No nations take more precautions to make sure there’s not targeting of civilians than the United States of America,” he said.
“Open source is not the place to determine what did or did not happen.”
US ‘knew it was possible Iran would strike Gulf’
The US “knew it was a possibility” that Iran would attack its Gulf neighbours in retaliation for American and Israeli airstrikes, Pete Hegseth said.
“Big mistake by the Iranian regime to start targeting their neighbours right away,” the war secretary added. “I can’t say we anticipated exactly how they would react. But we knew it was a possibility.”
War with Iran will ‘not be endless’
Pete Hegseth has said the war with Iran will “not be endless” and said it was for President Trump to decide when to end the attacks.
“Our will is endless,” he said. “Ultimately the president gets to determine … It’s not for me to posit whether it’s the beginning, the middle or the end.”
He added: “This is not endless, this is not protracted, we will not allow mission creep.”
US has carried out airstrikes on 5,000 Iranian targets
The US has carried out airstrikes on more than 5,000 targets in Iran, America’s top general has said.
Dan Caine, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said more than 50 ships had been struck.
He said there had been a 90 per cent drop in missiles fired from Iran and a 83 per cent decrease in drone launches due to American strikes.
“This is gritty and tireless work,” he said.
Hegseth: We’re crushing the enemy
Pete Hegseth said the US would not stop the war with Iran “until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated”.
“We’re crushing the enemy in an overwhelming display of tactical skill and military force,” he said.
“We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated … We do so on our timeline.”
Hegseth calls Iran’s leaders ‘barbaric savages’
Pete Hegseth, the war secretary, has described Iran’s leaders as “barbaric savages”.
In a briefing at the Pentagon, Hegseth accused Iran of firing missiles “from schools and hospitals, deliberately targeting innocents”.
“Today will be the most intense day of strikes inside Iran,” he said.
Shots fired outside US consulate Toronto
Canadian police are investigating after shots were fired outside the US consulate in Toronto, Canada, early on Tuesday morning.
Officers were called to the building at 5.29am local time. They told 680 NewsRadio that a door was damaged, with roughly ten shell casings found outside of the building.
No injuries were reported, and police have not released information about possible suspects or a motive. It comes US embassies and diplomatic missions are on high alert for possible attacks amid the conflict in the Middle East
On Sunday, a bomb exploded and damaged the entrance of the US embassy in Oslo, Norway.
Iranian attacks on Bahrain injure 32
Iran unleashed a large wave of attacks overnight with Bahrain experiencing the highest number of casualties since the beginning of the war.
The country’s interior ministry said 32 people were injured on the island of Sitra when its Bapco refinery was struck by drones.
Among the Bahraini citizens were four “serious cases”, including a girl aged 17 and a two-month-old baby, according to the health ministry.
Fire breaks out at Abu Dhabi industrial site
A fire has broken out after a suspected Iranian drone strike at an industrial facility in Abu Dhabi, the emirate’s media office said.
The blaze is at one of the facilities within the Ruwais Industrial Complex, on the Persian Gulf coast, but there were no injuries reported so far.
Meanwhile the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO), a branch of the Ministry of Defence, said it had also received a report from a ship north of Abu Dhabi of a splash and a loud bang in close proximity of a bulk carrier.
“Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO,” the centre said.
Trump could be willing to negotiate with Iran depending on terms
President Trump told Fox News that it’s possible he would be willing to talk with Iran but that it depends on the terms, the US broadcaster said on Tuesday.
Asked in an interview on Monday evening about the possibility of negotiations with Tehran, Trump said that he heard Tehran wanted to talk badly, according to the news network.
The Republican president also reiterated his unhappiness with Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, telling Fox: “I dont believe he can live in peace.”
Trump also echoed his comments made at a press conference earlier on Monday, telling Fox the results of the US military operation in Iran were “way beyond expectation”.
But Trump added that he was surprised that Iran was striking Gulf countries with missiles and drones, according to the network.
Nearly 670,000 flee Lebanon in just over a week
Israeli attacks on Lebanon and mass evacuation orders have seen nearly 670,000 people flee their homes in just over a week, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
“Lives have been upended on a massive scale,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, the representative in Lebanon of UNHCR, the refugee agency.
Since the start of Israel’s new offensive against the militant group Hezbollah last Monday, evacuation warnings “forced families across Lebanon to flee within minutes”, she told reporters.
“More than 667,000 people in Lebanon have now registered on the [Lebanese] government’s online platform as displaced … an increase of 100,000 in just one day,” Lindholm Billing said, stressing that this is “a faster pace of displacement compared to 2024”, during Israel’s last war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities said on Monday that Israel’s attacks since March 2 have killed at least 486 people and wounded at least 1,313 people there.
Explosions in Doha after residents receive warning
Loud explosions have been heard in Doha, the capital of Qatar, after residents received a national emergency alert on their mobile phones.
The warning sounded just after 2pm local time (11am UK), advising residents to stay indoors and avoid windows. Shortly afterwards, loud blasts were heard in different parts of the city.
Al Udeid airbase, America’s biggest military base in the Middle East, is located in Doha and has previously been targeted by Iranian missile attacks.
RAF Typhoons destroy drones overnight
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RAF Typhoons destroyed a drone in Jordanian airspace and another heading for Bahrain overnight, the Ministry of Defence has said.
Eight of the warplanes are now deployed at a joint airbase in Qatar, from where they have been flying defensive sorties to protect Gulf allies.
A further eight Typhoons are stationed at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, alongside six F-35 fifth generation jets.
Footage released by the MoD shows RAF pilots blasting drones from the air with what appear to be Asraam short range air-to-air missiles, which cost about £200,000 per shot.
The Typhoons are now also flying missions to defend the United Arab Emirates from Iranian attacks.
Qatar warns on impact of energy infrastructure damage
Qatar warned on Tuesday that attacks on regional energy infrastructure would be have global economic consequences.
“The attacks on energy facilities that have happened, also on both sides, are a dangerous precedent … it will cause repercussions throughout the world,” foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said.
‘Iran not afraid of Trump’s empty threats’
Ali Larijani, Iran’s security chief, has dismissed threats by President Trump to hit the country harder if the flow of oil stops through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran is not afraid of your empty threats. Even those greater than you could not eliminate the Iranian nation. Take care of yourself not to be eliminated!” said Larijani in a post on X on Tuesday.
Stranded British pair say ‘UK help appalling’
Sarah Ewing and John Mitchell explain their predicament to Times Radio
A British pair stuck abroad since the beginning of the war in the Middle East say they deserve an apology from the government after its “appalling” handling of the crisis.
John Mitchell, 52, and his close friend Sarah Ewing, 56, are currently in Mauritius after spending £10,000 so far in their attempts to get home.
The pair were on a ten-day holiday at a five-star Sofitel resort at the Palm Jumeirah when missile and drone strikes began, forcing them to sleep under beach towels in the only windowless room.
• Read in full: We spent £10,000 fleeing Dubai. The UK help has been appalling
Israel begins new wave of strikes on Iran
The Israeli military said on Tuesday it had begun a new wave of strikes on Tehran, on the 11th day of the Middle East war.
“The IDF has begun a wave of strikes against Iranian terror regime targets in Tehran,” the military said in a brief statement.
Analysis: Does Trump really have a plan for what he is doing in Iran?
As fears in Washington rose over the soaring price of oil, President Trump offered some words of calm.
The US president told a journalist from CBS News over the phone that the war with Iran could soon be over. “I think the war is very complete, pretty much,” he said. “[Iran has] no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones.”
The remarks appeared to do the trick, at least temporarily, as the price of oil fell from the highs of $120 a barrel earlier that day. But the comments were in sharp contrast to Pete Hegseth, his secretary of war, who had told CBS only the night before that “this is only just the beginning”. When asked in a press conference on Monday afternoon which stance was right, he replied: “You could say both.”
• Read in full: Does Trump really have a plan for what he is doing in Iran?
Putin ‘ready to help ease Iran tensions’
President Putin has offered to help ease tensions in the Iran conflict on a call with President Trump, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.
Moscow is ready to provide any assistance it can to reduce the tensions in the Middle East, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Peskov declined to provide additional details on the specifics of the “considerations” on Iran that Putin raised with Trump.
However, the Kremlin said different options to mediate and other proposals were still on the table.
Farage offers fuel discount
Nigel Farage and Robert Jenrick at New Haven Services in Buxton on Tuesday
JACOB KING/PA
On Monday in the House of Commons, Rachel Reeves was bigging up the new, government-backed cheaper fuel-finder website, where people can find the cheapest petrol in their area (writes Tom Peck from Derbyshire).
But, for some reason, the biggest discount of all isn’t on there. There’s 25p off a litre at Newhaven Services, near Buxton, Derbyshire. And, at some point soon, you might even get your tank filled by Nigel Farage.
The Reform UK leader and his Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick will be dishing out petrol to punters at a press conference, where they’ll be pledging to undo Labour’s 5p fuel duty hike.
NFU warns crisis could raise food prices
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales, told Times Radio there is a “real worry” that the war in Iran has triggered “the next inflationary cycle on food production”.
“We’ve now seen markets rise in a way that nobody predicted two weeks ago and so whether they will return back to where they were I think is really questionable,” he said.
Bradshaw said that after Brexit, farms were more exposed to volatile markets than they ever.
“We have to have a plan for how we’re going to produce food for 70 million people living on an island and the resilience of our domestic industry is absolutely critical to that.”
The NFU president added that farmers may need to cut back on planting crops, and that “there’ll be really big questions asked about whether they go ahead.”
Djalili: UK should seize ayatollah’s properties
Omid Djalili, the British-Iranian comedian, said the British government should seize the assets of Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, including his extensive property portfolio in London,
“People are not seeing these people coming in from the West to create regime change,” he told Times Radio.
“Look at the new supreme leader. We’ve just found out that in Britain he has properties worth £250 million pounds. And when the Ukraine war happened, the British government were very happy to get rid of Roman Abramovich and get rid of Russian oligarchs and seize their assets. Why haven’t they done that for this regime?
Tens of thousands Iranians flee cities
Terrified Iranians are fleeing by their tens of thousands from Tehran and other cities, and seeking refuge in remote towns to wait out Israel and US bombing.
In the first 48 hours after the US and Israel attacked, about 100,000 people fled Tehran, a city of around 9.7 million, according to the UN refugee agency.
A situation report from the UNHCR revealed a significant internal exodus between 1,000 and 2,000 vehicles departing the city daily, largely headed towards Iran’s northern provinces.
“It just feels so chaotic. I thought it’d be very short but it’s dragging on,” Pouya Akhgari, 22, told The Associated Press from a village in Zanjan province, 120 miles from his home in the capital.
“If it goes on like this, we’ll run out of money.”
While hold up in the village, Akhgari said he mostly spends his time watching movies and TV shows, and occasionally ventures out to the nearest main town.
Navy prepares ship to evacuate Britons from Middle East
The Royal Navy is preparing RFA Lyme Bay to evacuate British citizens from the Middle East if the war expands.
Lyme Bay has been inactive alongside in Gibraltar and had not been expected to return to operations until the start of the new financial year in April.
An MOD spokesman said: “As part of prudent planning, we have taken the decision to bring RFA Lyme Bay to heightened readiness as a precaution, should she be needed to assist in maritime tasks in the eastern Mediterranean.”
RFA Lyme Bay is a Bay Class Landing Ship. She is equipped to function as an aviation platform and has medical facilities, making her well-suited for humanitarian and disaster relief missions.
Iran ‘absolutely not after a ceasefire’
Iran is not looking for a ceasefire, and aggressors must “learn lesson” before considering invading, the speaker of its parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, has said.
“We’re absolutely not after a ceasefire; we believe the aggressor must be struck in the mouth to learn a lesson so that they will never again think of invading dear Iran,” Ghalibaf wrote on X.
“The Zionist regime sees its ignoble existence in perpetuating the cycle of ‘war-negotiation-ceasefire and then war again’ in order to consolidate its domination. We shall break this cycle.”
Sirens in Jerusalem as Israeli military warns of missiles from Iran
Sirens sounded in Jerusalem and central Israel on Tuesday, as the Israeli military warned of incoming missiles from Iran.
“Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said in a statement, shortly before AFP journalists heard at least one blast from Jerusalem.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services reported no immediate injuries following the missile fire, but said its teams were treating “a small number of people who were injured on their way to protected areas, as well as individuals suffering from anxiety”.
Comment: Next stage of Iran war looks perilous for US
It is 28 years since I first met Bibi Netanyahu, when he was in his first term of office as prime minister of Israel and I was leader of the opposition. The main topic he wanted to discuss was Iran’s nascent ballistic missile programme. I can see him now, armed with charts, numbers and intelligence assessments. He was convinced even then, nearly three decades ago, that all Iranian missiles must be destroyed.
Whatever we think of Netanyahu — and I strongly disagree with his quashing of all hopes for Palestinian statehood — he is a leader who knows what he wants. In the past ten days, many of the arms factories and most of the launchers for Iran’s missiles have been blown to pieces. He has got there in the end, surviving long enough in politics to find a US president who will do this with him.
• Read in full: Next stage of Iran war looks perilous for US
Iraq ‘shouldn’t be used to attack Iran’
Iraq should not be used as a launch pad for attacks in the Middle East war, its prime minister has told the US.
In a phone call with US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stressed “the importance of ensuring that Iraqi airspace, territory, and waters are not used for any military action targeting neighbouring countries or the region”, his office said.
Sudani rejected “any attempt to drag the country into ongoing conflicts”, or “violations of its airspace by any party”.
Iraq has long been a proxy battleground between Washington and Tehran.
On Saturday, air defence systems intercepted rockets fired at the US embassy in Baghdad.
Poll: have your say on oil prices Aramco warns of ‘catastrophic consequences’ for oil market
Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, the world’s top oil exporter, has warned there could be “catastrophic consequences” for the world’s oil markets if the Iran war continues to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The disruption in the key waterway, through which around 20 per cent of all oil supplies pass, has upended the shipping and insurance sectors and is likely to hit aviation, agriculture, carmaking and other industries, Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said.
• Read in full: Saudi Aramco warns of ‘catastrophic consequences’ for oil market
He added that global inventories of oil were at a five-year low, that the crisis would lead to drawdowns at a faster rate, and that it was critical for shipping in the strait to resume.
Seoul ‘can deter North even if US redeploys weapons’ 
US Patriot missile air defence systems stationed in South Korea on Tuesday
KIM HONG-JI/REUTERS
South Korea can deter any threats from North Korea even if the US redeploys weapons stationed in the country, President Lee said on Tuesday.
His remarks come after reports that Washington was diverting missile defence systems used to deter military flexing by China and North Korea to the Middle East.
“It appears that there is controversy recently over US forces in Korea shipping some weapons, such as artillery batteries and air-defence weapons, out of the country,” Lee said in a cabinet meeting.
He added South Korea’s defence spending and conventional capabilities far exceeded those of its nuclear-armed neighbour.
He said the removal of some US weapons from the country “does not hinder deterrence strategy towards North Korea.”
Israel warns Lebanese residents of strikes
Israel said it was preparing to strike Hezbollah infrastructure in the southern Lebanese cities of Tyre and Sidon.
“Urgent warning to the residents of Tyre and Sidon. The IDF will soon attack military infrastructure belonging to the terrorist organisation Hezbollah,” one of the military’s Arabic-language spokesmen, Avichay Adraee, posted on X.
“We urge residents of the buildings marked in red on the two attached maps and the nearby buildings: you are located near buildings used by Hezbollah. For your safety, you must evacuate immediately and move at least 300 metres away,” he added.
FTSE 100 rebounds after turbulent day
The FTSE 100 index has rebounded 1.42 per cent this morning after President Trump’s claim that the Middle East war could “come to a quick end”.
Oil companies BP and Shell were the big fallers after Brent crude fell below $100 following a turbulent day yesterday when it hit $119.50. Financial and mining stocks led the recovery.
On the continent, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC 40 rose 2 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.
Comment: Absence of clarity spreads fear through markets
The hour-by-hour noise from financial markets can usually be safely ignored. The prices of stocks, bonds and commodities fly around, not communicating anything lastingly meaningful (Patrick Hosking writes). Greed turns to fear and back again in seconds. But the recent trajectory of markets is certainly not pretty.
For four successive trading days now, all the main financial needles have been creeping deeper into the red zone. The cost of wholesale oil and gas has soared while most of the world’s stock markets have been tumbling.
The maxim attributed to the 19th-century banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild, “Buy to the sound of cannons”, has definitely not been the way to bet this time.
• Read in full: Absence of clarity from Trump spreads fear through markets
Five Iranian football players granted asylum in Australia
At least five members of the Iran women’s football team who fled from their team hotel under police protection during a tournament in Australia have won asylum after they were branded “traitors” by the regime in Tehran.
Australia has also offered protection to other members of the Iranian team if they defect, the government said on Tuesday after confirming a police and security operation to remove the women from their team’s Gold Coast hotel.
“Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women,” Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, said. “They are safe here and they should feel at home here.”
• Read in full: Five of Iran women’s football team granted asylum in Australia
Netanyahu: It’s up to Iranians to cast off tyranny
Netanyahu speaks on the Iran war
The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, warned that Israel’s offensive against Iran was “not done yet”, but said it is up to the Iranian people to cast off “the yoke of tyranny”.
“Our aspiration is to bring the Iranian people to throw off the yoke of tyranny,” he said.
“Ultimately it depends on them. But there is no doubt that through the actions taken so far we are breaking their bones — and our arm is still outstretched.
“If we succeed together with the Iranian people, we will bring about a permanent end — if such things exist in the life of nations — and we will bring about change.”
He said there is already a “tremendous change” in Israel’s standing in the world.
Iranian football player forced onto team bus
Protesters block bus taking the Iranian footballers to the airport
An Iranian football player was pulled by the wrist onto a bus by one of her team-mates as the Iranian national women’s team departed their Gold Coast hotel on Tuesday to fly out of Australia.
Another player was heard wailing as she said goodbye to a supporter.
Video published by The Australian shows the player being firmly escorted by one member of her squad and being ushered from behind by another woman, just hours after five of her team-mates were granted asylum.
Police looked on as the woman hung her head and walked onto the bus, believed to be taking the players to the airport, before they fly back to Iran via Kuala Lumpur.
Pakistan navy to escort cargo ships
The Pakistani navy will start escorting the country’s commercial vessels in the Middle East due to attacks in neighbouring Iran and the disruption to oil tanker routes.
The conflict has heightened fears about fuel supplies and prompted stringent austerity measures in Islamabad, given Pakistan’s reliance on energy imports from the Gulf.
On Monday the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, ordered half of civil servants to work from home, took 60 per cent of government vehicles off the roads, and imposed a four-day week for all public sector buildings except banks.
All schools will close for two weeks from March 16, and universities will move to online classes.
Announcing the escort mission, the navy said the action is intended to protect the nation’s essential energy shipments and prevent supply interruptions.
Turkey deploys Patriot air defence system
Turkey has deployed its Patriot missile defence system to a central province, a day after Nato intercepted a second ballistic missile fired from Iran in Turkish airspace.
“A Patriot system assigned to support the protection of our airspace is being deployed in Malatya,” Turkey’s defence ministry said on Tuesday.
The area hosts the Kurecik air base, which houses an early-warning radar system that can detect Iranian missile launches.
On Monday, the Turkish and Iranian presidents spoke by phone.
President Erdogan of Turkey said: “Despite our sincere warnings, extremely wrong and provocative steps continue to be taken that will jeopardise Turkey’s friendship”.
President Pezeshkian of Iran offered to set up a joint inquiry.
Iran ‘guarantees players’ safety’
The Australian home affairs minister, Tony Burke, poses with five Iranian footballers who have sought protection in Australia
@TONY_BURKE ON X/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS
A senior Iranian politician has criticised President Trump after he called on Australia to support members of the Iranian women’s national football team to claim asylum.
At least five members of the team, including the captain, sought police protection after they were branded “traitors” on Iranian state media for refusing to sing the national anthem during the Asian Women’s Cup tournament, which took place in Australia.
Some of the rest of the team are understood to be returning home, but will be given the option to claim asylum should they wish to.
Iran’s first vice‑president, Mohammad Reza Aref, said decisions about leaving or returning were personal and insisted no one would be “banished from their homeland” over “emotional mistakes”. He added that the Islamic Republic guarantees their safety.
According to the Tasnim news agency, he added: “Trump and his Zionist supporters should know that these games will not create a rift between the Iranian people and their country; Iran welcomes its children with open arms.”
We will determine the end of the war, says Iran
Iran has said it would decide when the war started by US-Israeli strikes ends, after President Trump suggested it could be over “soon”.
Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, said Tuesday that his country would keep fighting as long as necessary, casting doubt on Trump’s statements.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps also said that they would “determine the end of the war”. Araghchi effectively ruled out negotiations with Washington, saying Tehran had “a very bitter experience of talking with Americans”.
Recalling previous US attacks during earlier negotiations, he said: “I don’t think talking with Americans anymore would be on our agenda.”
Iran targets US base in Iraq
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said that they targeted a US base in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, as the war with the United States and Israel continues.
“The headquarters of the invading US army in al-Harir airbase in the Kurdistan region was targeted with five missiles,” the IRG said on their Telegram channel on Tuesday.
Iran continues to strike energy infrastructure across the Gulf. In the UAE, air defence systems dealt with a number of missiles and drones. In Kuwait, six drones were intercepted and a woman was killed when a projectile hit a residential building in Bahrain.
William Hague: Next stage of Iran war looks perilous for US
It is 28 years since I first met Bibi Netanyahu, when he was in his first term of office as prime minister of Israel and I was leader of the opposition. The main topic he wanted to discuss was Iran’s nascent ballistic missile programme. I can see him now, armed with charts, numbers and intelligence assessments. He was convinced even then, nearly three decades ago, that all Iranian missiles must be destroyed.
Whatever we think of Netanyahu — and I strongly disagree with his quashing of all hopes for Palestinian statehood — he is a leader who knows what he wants. In the past ten days, many of the arms factories and most of the launchers for Iran’s missiles have been blown to pieces. He has got there in the end, surviving long enough in politics to find a US president who will do this with him.
• Read in full: Unless he halts soon, Trump will find he has to police the Strait of Hormuz
Germany temporarily pulls embassy staff out of Iraq
Germany has temporarily withdrawn staff from its embassy in Baghdad due to heightened security risks.
Amid the conflict in the Middle East, the embassy remains reachable, though its legal and consular services had already been severely limited for some time due to the security situation, a foreign ministry spokesperson said late on Monday. They added that the safety of staff was being continuously assessed.
Johann Wadephul, the foreign minister, speaking in Nicosia, Cyprus, late on Monday, said he had discussed the regional situation with Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state.
Both condemned what Wadephul called Iran’s “indiscriminate attacks” against countries in the region and urged Tehran to halt them.
Israeli attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon
Israeli strikes hit southern and eastern Lebanon overnight as it targeted the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
“Enemy warplanes launched strikes overnight on the towns of Almajadel, Shaqra, and Srifa,” the National News Agency (NNA) reported on Tuesday,
It added strikes were also carried out in the Bekaa Valley.
UAE intercepts attack from Iran
The United Arab Emirates said it had intercepted a drone and missile attack from Iran on Tuesday.
“UAE air defences are currently responding to incoming missile and drone threats from Iran,” the defence ministry wrote on X.
UK now unlikely to send aircraft carrier
Britain is unlikely to send one of its two aircraft carriers to bolster defences in the Middle East despite France deploying an “unprecedented” naval force as the conflict with Iran intensifies.
HMS Prince of Wales was placed in an advanced state of readiness on Saturday, meaning that it could set sail within five days if given the order instead of the usual 14 days.
It prompted speculation that it would head to the Mediterranean to protect RAF Akrotiri, a British airbase in Cyprus, from further Iranian drone and missile attacks, or to the Gulf to defend British interests.
• Read in full: UK now unlikely to send aircraft carrier as French fleet sets sail
China in talks with shipping giants over oil concerns
China’s ministry of transport has summoned the heads of shipping firms Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) to discuss international shipping business practices.
An estimated 40 to 50 per cent of China’s seaborne oil imports flow through the Strait of Hormuz, which has ground to a virtual halt since the war in Iran began.
Maersk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, has suspended vessel transit through the strait, while MSC said on Monday it would formally halt certain export shipments from the Gulf.
Oil prices dip and markets rebound after Trump’s comments
After the price of US crude oil soared to as high as $119 per barrel on Monday, the highest in nearly four years, it fell to $88 a barrel as markets reacted to President Trump’s comments that “the war is very complete”.
Asian markets also rallied. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index surged 3.3 per cent in the first few hours of trading, and South Korea’s Kospi also rose nearly 6 per cent early Tuesday.
Iranian football players are ‘safe here’, says Australian PM
Australia has issued five humanitarian visas to the Iranian women’s football team, Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, said.
The five women said to have claimed asylum in Australia
“Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women. They are safe here and they should feel at home here,” Albanese said. The team had been playing in the Asian Cup in Australia.
• Read in full: Five of Iran women’s football team granted asylum in Australia
North Korea condemns ‘reckless’ military drills during time of insecurity
The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un criticised joint US-South Korea military exercises taking place during a time of global insecurity.
Kim Yo-jong‘s statement came a day after the allies started their 11-day Freedom Shield exercise involving thousands of troops.
Without directly referring to the Iran war, Kim said the military drills undermined regional stability, while the global security structure was “collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of outrageous international rogues”.
IRGC: We await the US fleet
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have issued an apparent response to President Trump’s threat to use force to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for tankers.
“The armed forces of the Republic of Iran are awaiting the US naval fleet in the Strait of Hormuz region and are waiting for the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford,” Major General Ali Mohammad Naeini, an IRGC spokesperson, is quoted as saying by CNN, citing state media.
Body of seventh soldier arrives back in US
JD Vance, the US vice-president, saluted as the body of the seventh soldier killed in the war was flown into Dover airbase in Delaware.
JD Vance, Pete Hegseth, the war secretary, and General Dan Caine, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, at Dover Air Force Base
JULIA DEMAREE NIKHINSON/AP
Seargeant Benjamin Pennington, 26, from Kentucky, succumbed to his injuries after an attack in Saudi Arabia on March 1.
On Saturday, Vance had accompanied President Trump and other cabinet members at a ceremony for the arrival of the six soldiers killed in Kuwait in the early days of the conflict.
Vance said earlier on Monday: “If you are the praying type, and I certainly am, I hope you’ll spare a prayer for the six souls that we lost, for the seventh soul who will be coming home tonight, and for all of their families.”
IRGC: Not one litre of oil will flow
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they would “determine the end of the war” after President Trump claimed the war was “going to end very soon”, state media reported.
The IRGC also said that Tehran would not allow “one litre of oil” to be exported from the region if the US-Israeli attacks persist.
The statement seemed to prompt Trump’s Truth Social post, in which he threatened to hit Iran “twenty times harder” if it stopped oil tankers from navigating the Strait of Hormuz.
Drone hits UAE consulate in Iraq
The United Aran Emirates said an “unprovoked terrorist drone attack” targeted its consulate in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
No one was injured in the attack, but there was physical damage, the UAE foreign ministry said.
Trump: I’ll hit Iran 20 times harder
President Trump threatened additional force against Iran if it stopped tankers from moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic is already severely limited after Iran’s threats to shipping.
“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.
“Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!”
The president called the threat a “gift” from the US to all the countries that move oil tankers through the waterway.
Trump ‘could drop sanctions on Russia’
President Trump is considering easing sanctions on Russia and releasing emergency crude stockpiles to lower oil prices, sources told Reuters.
Tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has slowed to a trickle after Iran threatened to sink any ships passing through. Analysts told Reuters that the White House has “few meaningful tools” to curb rising oil prices while tankers are not moving.
“The problem is options range from marginal through symbolic to deeply unwise,” one of the sources, who is engaged with the White House on the effort, said.
At a press conference in Florida on Monday evening, Trump said: “We’re waving certain oil-related sanctions to reduce prices. So we have sanctions on some countries. We’re going to take those sanctions off until the Strait is up.” He later said he had a “very good call” with President Putin, during which they discussed the war in Ukraine.
Just 29 per cent of Americans support war
A poll has found that 29 per cent of Americans approve of the strikes on Iran — two percentage points more than in the poll conducted in the hours immediately after the start of the military campaign.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll emphasises the political risks Trump brings to the Republican Party before the midterm elections in November, when Democrats hope to seize control of at least one chamber of Congress.
Some 64 per cent of poll respondents, including one in four Republicans and nine in ten Democrats, said Trump had not clearly explained the goals of US military involvement in Iran
Trump willing to ‘live with’ school strike inquiry
Trump confirmed the US was investigating a deadly strike on a school in the opening days of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Iran claims the attack on an elementary school in the southern city of Minab killed more than 150 people.
“That’s being investigated right now,” Trump said. “Whatever the report shows, I’m willing to live with that report.”
He said he did not know enough about the strike, but also suggested Iran may have used a Tomahawk missile — a weapon it does not possess — to hit the school itself.
Mounting evidence points to US responsibility for the airstrike.
One killed in residential building in Bahrain
As the US president was speaking in Florida, it was announced that one person had been killed and others injured in an Iranian attack on a residential building in Bahrain.
“Initial reports indicate one person died and others were injured in a blatant Iranian attack targeting a residential building in the capital,” Bahrain’s interior ministry said.
JD Vance ‘less enthusiastic’ about war, says Trump
Trump also conceded that JD Vance, the vice-president, was “maybe less enthusiastic” about going to war with Iran as questions have been asked about splits between senior Republicans over the conflict. Trump then added: “But he was quite enthusiastic.”
JD Vance with President Trump
THE WHITE HOUSE/UPI/ALAMY
New supreme leader to cause ‘same problems’
Trump said once again he was “disappointed” with the choice of the new supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei.
“We think it’s just going to lead to the same problems for the country,” he said.
Trump to waive sanctions on ‘some countries’
Trump also said that the US would waive certain oil-related sanctions as a way to ensure adequate oil supply, as well as keep down prices, which he claimed had risen “artificially”.
“We are also waiving oil-related sanctions to reduce prices,” he said after talks with President Putin on Monday afternoon. “So we have sanctions in some countries, and we will take the sanctions off until this straightens out.”
He did not specify which country would benefit from the sanctions relief, however, the US last week issued a temporary 30-day waiver to allow for the sale of Russian oil currently stranded at sea to India, to alleviate pressure on the global oil market.
Cuba is in ‘deep trouble’
Trump said that Cuba was in “deep trouble” on a humanitarian basis and that Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, was dealing with the issue — which may or may not end up with a “friendly takeover”.
“They [Cuba] are running on fumes, they have no energy and no money,” Trump said.
War to end very soon, says Trump
Trump said that America was winning in Iran and that the war was “going to end very soon”.
“We are way ahead of schedule, our military is the greatest in the world. Nobody has ever seen anything like it.”
Strait of Hormuz ‘going to remain safe’
Amid growing fears of the rising cost of oil and a disruption to global energy supplies, Trump, speaking to the press in Doral, Florida, said that in “the long-term oil supply will definitely be more secure”.
“The Strait of Hormuz is going to remain safe, we have a lot of ships there,” he added.
US has hit 5,000 targets, says Trump
President Trump said that American airstrikes had devastated the Iranian military, hitting “5,000 targets”, destroying 51 ships and damaging the country’s vast drone stockpiles.
The US military had “completely wiped every single force in Iran”, he told a press conference
Trump: A ‘short-term excursion’
President Trump told an event in Miami on Monday: “We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some evil. Then, I think you’ll see it’s going to be a short-term excursion.
“We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough. We go forward, more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long-running danger once and for all.”
Trump comments prompt market shift
Trump’s comment that the war with Iran was “very complete” prompted a sell-off in energy markets, sending the prices of Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate back below $90 a barrel.
Wall Street stocks closed higher on Monday evening, while Asian markets rebounded in early trading.
He told CBS News: “I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no air force. Their missiles are down to a scatter. Their drones are being blown up all over the place, including their manufacturing of drones. If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense.”
Trump to update on Iran war
President Trump is scheduled to hold a press conference at his golf club in Miami at about 5.30pm local time (9.30pm GMT).
As the war in Iran extended into its second week, Trump spent his weekend holding what he described as “many important meetings and phone calls”.
On Monday afternoon, Trump held an hour-long phone call with President Putin, the Kremlin said. Phil Stewart, a national security reporter with Reuters, later said the Trump administration was weighing up a further easing of Russian oil sanctions owing to the surge in oil prices.