1h agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 12:41amThe latest key updates
Welcome to today’s live blog.
Here are the latest developments out of the Middle East:
Five members of the Iranian women’s football team have fled their accommodation at the Gold Coast and have been granted asylum in Australia. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says the remaining members are welcome to seek asylumPrime Minister Anthony Albanese says one of Australia’s most sophisticated military surveillance planes will be deployed to the Middle East after a request from the United Arab Emirates.Donald Trump has said the US-Israel conflict with Iran could be over “very soonIran’s IRGC called Trump’s claims about the war “nonsense” and said they will decide when the war endsOil prices surged to over $US150 a barrel, with G7 nations saying they are ready to take “necessary measures” to protect the global energy supplyTürkiye has said an Iranian ballistic missile was intercepted in Turkish airspace by NATO defence systems. It marks the second such incident since the war began.US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has said “there will be more casualties” after the number of US soldiers killed rose to seven on SundayQatar said its air defences had intercepted17 ballistic missiles and six dronesThe United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defence said it detected 15 ballistic missiles, destroying 12, while three fell into the seaIsrael has resumed strikes on Beirut, Tehran and Isfahan, and says it detected further attacks from Iran16m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 1:28amTrump says US will hit Iran much harder if it stops oil flow in Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump has taken to Truth Social with a new warning for Iran:
“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,” Trump has posted on social media.
He added:
“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 highly strategic Strait of Hormuz has been blocked to nearly all oil tankers.
21m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 1:23am
No shortage of fuel in Australia despite global disruptions, peak body says
The peak body for petrol stations says there’s no shortage of fuel in Australia, despite global disruptions caused by the war in the Middle East.
A spike in sales has left wholesalers struggling to meet demand.
The federal government is urging people not to buy more than they need, and that shipments of fuel to Australia remain steady.
Rowan Lee, CEO of the Australasian Convenience and Petroleum Marketers Association,says the bigger issue is panic buying.
“We’ve got plenty of supply we’re actually exceeding the mandated requirement of about 27 days. We’re actually at about 32, 34 days of supply of diesel and petrol in the country so there are supplies there.”
35m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 1:09amAnalysis: How soon is soon for ending the war?
(Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)
Donald Trump’s media appearance at Doral, Florida, was a master class in double-speak.
He had primed the audience of assembled reporters, and the markets, by telling CBS ahead of time that the war was “very complete, pretty much”.
At the press conference he confirmed he thought Operation Epic Fury, which he referred to as an “excursion” would be “ended soon”.
Pressed on whether that meant this week, the US president said, “No, but soon.”
How soon is soon in a military operation initially predicted to last four to six weeks and already in week two?
Trump declined to be pinned down.
Another reporter tried again.
“You’ve said the war is ‘very complete’, but your defence secretary says this is just the beginning, so which is it?” she asked.
“I think you could say both, the president replied.
“It’s the beginning of building a new country.”
Trump took question after question and didn’t say much at all, yet, as the positive reaction of the markets to his optimistic take highlights, they and the rest of the world are hanging on every word.
54m agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 12:50am
More on Australia’s military assistance to Gulf states
Earlier, we brought you the news of Anthony Albanese’s announcement that Australia would send military aircraft and ADF personnel to assist in the defence of Gulf nations attacked by Iran.
The Australian Defence Force will deploy an E-7A Wedgetail aircraft to the United Arab Emirates to protect and defend the region.
Mr Albanese said the Wedgetail provided“long-range reconnaissance capabilities”, which would “help protect and secure the airspace above the Gulf”.
He also said:
Eighty-five personnel will be deployed, leaving Australia today.They will be operational by the end of the week for an initial four-week period for the “collective self-defence of Gulf nations”.The government will also provide the UAE with medium-range air-to-air missiles.
You can read further details on that by clicking the link below.
1h agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 12:29am
Key points from Donald Trump’s press conference
US President Donald Trump spoke to reporters in Miami, Florida earlier, on the Iran war.
He’s what we learnt:
Donald Trump believes the conflict could be over “very soon”.He added the military operation in Iran is “ahead of our initial timeline by a lot”.The US president says he will hit Iran “much harder” if it blocks oil supplies.51 Iranian ships have been destroyed.Donald Trump says he’s “disappointed” that Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the supreme leader of the country.
President Donald Trump at a news conference in Miami . (AP: Mark Schiefelbein)1h agoTue 10 Mar 2026 at 12:15amIran’s revolutionary guards spokesperson says Trump’s comments are ‘nonsense’
Iran’s IRGC has responded to Donald Trump’s claim this morning that the US would end the war “very soon”.
“We are the ones that will determine the end of the war,” a spokesperson told state media, adding that the US president’s comments were “nonsense”.
We will bring you more information as it comes through.
1h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 11:48pm
Iranians rallying behind new hardline leader, state media says
Iranian politicians and institutions have issued pledges of loyalty to the new supreme leader, whose father, wife, son and mother died at the start of the US-Israeli air onslaught, according to state media.
“We will obey the commander-in-chief until the last drop of our blood,” a defence council statement said.
Many Iranians had initially celebrated the elder Khamenei’s death, weeks after his security forces killed thousands of anti-government protesters in the worst domestic unrest since the era of Iran’s 1979 revolution.
But there has since been little sign of anti-government activity, with activists fearful of taking to the streets while Iran is under attack.
Israel had said it would kill whoever succeeded the elder Khamenei unless Iran ended its hostile policies.
Reporting with Reuters
2h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 11:21pm
📸: Aftermath of Israeli strike in Beirut
(AP: Hassan Ammar)
(AP: Hassan Ammar)
(AP: Hassan Ammar)
2h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 11:09pm
Here’s what’s happening on the ground in the Middle East
We’ve been focusing on the political side of things today, but here’s what we know about what’s happening on the ground this morning.
The Israeli military says it has launched a new wave of “broad strikes” on Tehran, the second time in a single day.
It follows an anouncement it completed a wave of strikes against “six military airfields” in Iran.
Those strikes appeared to include attacks announced on Saturday, local time, on Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport.
Earlier, Hezbollah said it targeted an Israeli base near Tel Aviv with “advanced missiles”.
The head of the group’s parliamentary bloc vowed to continue fighting Israel “whatever the cost”.
In Bahrain, officials said an Iranian attack on a residential area of the capital killed one person and injured more.
ABC/AFP
2h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 10:54pm
Latest pictures from Iran
The coffin of Mehdi Hosseini, a man killed in a US-Israeli strike, is carried for burial at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran. (AP: Vahid Salemi)
Smoke from a US-Israeli strike on an oil facility lingers in the cloudy sky in Tehran. (AP: Vahid Salemi)
People gather to support Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as supreme leader, in Tehran. (AP: Vahid Salemi)
People wave Iranian flags as they hold posters of the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, showing him at different ages, during a rally. (AP: Vahid Salem)
2h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 10:47pm
One killed in Iranian attack on Bahrain
Bahrain’s interior ministry said an Iranian attack on a residential area in the capital Manama killed one person and injured others.
“Initial reports indicate one person died and others were injured in a blatant Iranian attack targeting a residential building in the capital,” the ministry said.
Reporting with AFP
3h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 10:43pm
Outside the hotel hosting the Iranian women’s football team
The remaining members of the Iranian women’s football team are currently at a hotel on the Gold Coast after five were granted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia.
Reporters and protesters are outside.
Here’s what they had to say:
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3h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 10:30pm
Former Matildas captain calls for ‘safe space’ for remaining Iranian women’s footballers
Former Matildas captain Kate Gill has called on the Australian government and sporting bodies to create a “safe space” for remaining Iranian footballers to be able to accept the offer of humanitarian visas in Australia.
“You have had five players that have been brave enough to actually escape the confines of where they were able to go and seek asylum,” she said.
“For the players who are in an environment where they are under coercive control … [we need] to make sure they have a safe space to be able to communicate away from those people.
“The tournament itself has an obligation to do that.
“It shouldn’t take the government stepping in, there should be processes in place.”
Gill is calling for better systems when players from war-torn countries are brought into our environment.
“We have to be given the opportunity to go in there and have those conversations and make sure the players feel like they can articulate how they are feeling.”
3h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 10:23pm
Trump says the US is focused on ‘keeping energy and oil flowing to the world’
Donald Trump says America will hit Iran harder if they hurt the oil supply.
He says of the war:
“This was just an excursion into something that had to be done”.
3h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 10:09pm’We’re way ahead of schedule’: Trump
(AP: Mark Schiefelbein)
Donald Trump is telling reporters the US is “way ahead of schedule” and the war is “going to be ended soon”.
He claims that 90 per cent of Iranian missile launchers have so far been destroyed.
He is pressed by reporters if it will be this week.
“Soon, very soon,” he says.
3h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 10:03pm
US forces hit drone manufacturing: Trump
President Donald Trump says United States forces have begun hitting Iranian drone manufacturing.
He says the US is ahead of schedule in its destruction of Iranian targets.
3h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 9:56pmDonald Trump is giving an update on Iran
The US president is speaking in Miami, Florida and says on Iran:
“Over the past nine days we’ve carried out some of the most powerful and complex military strikes the world has ever seen.”
3h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 9:54pm
US has struck more than 5,000 Iranian targets so far, military says
The US military has struck more than 5,000 Iranian targets since launching its attacks against the country on February 28 and has destroyed or damaged 50 Iranian vessels, US Central Command said in a fact sheet released on Monday.
Donald Trump is about to speak.
4h agoMon 9 Mar 2026 at 9:45pm
Visa for players ‘sends a strong signal’, Iranian Women’s Association secretary says
This morning, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke confirmed Australia has granted humanitarian visas to five Iranian soccer players.
There were concerns for their safety if they returned home after they were labelled traitors on Iranian state TV for not singing their country’s national anthem during the Women’s Asian Cup on the Gold Coast.
Nos Hosseini is the secretary of the Iranian Women’s Association, based in Melbourne.
She said the team had been accompanied by government minders who restrict communication between the women and the public, and monitor their behaviour, including demonstrating loyalty to the regime.
She said the women had shown bravery in seeking asylum.
“It’s wonderful news that the minister has taken these threats and this situation so seriously,” Ms Hosseini said.
“It sends a strong signal.
“The other players are undoubtedly facing a really difficult decision-making process given they need to consider their safety but also their families’ safety.”