1h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 10:06pmThe latest developments
9m agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 11:08pm
FBI says attack on Jewish temple was inspired by Hezbollah
Over in the US, the FBI says an attack on the largest Jewish temple in Michigan earlier this month was an “act of terrorism” inspired by Hezbollah.
Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old man who was born in Lebanon and became a US citizen in 2016, killed himself during the March 12 attack, when he crashed his truck into the Temple of Israel synagogue before opening fire on security guards and causing an explosion using fireworks, said Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Detroit field office.
No-one else died during the attack on the synagogue where children were attending preschool.
Ghazali consumed pro-Hezbollah ideology prior to the attack, Runyan said, but the FBI has not been able to verify if he was a member of Hezbollah. There is no evidence that he had co-conspirators, Runyan said.
Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was founded by Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in 1982.
Both Hezbollah and the IRGC are designated as foreign terrorist organisations by the US.
“Had this man lived, I am convinced that my office would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the federal crime of providing material support to Hezbollah,” said Jerome Borgen, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Runyan said the day before the synagogue attack Ghazali started sharing photos on social media of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes last month.
Reporting by Reuters
38m agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 10:39pmNetanyahu says Iran war goals achieved ‘beyond halfway point’
(Reuters: Ronen Zvulun)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the war on Iran had achieved more than half its aims, without putting a timeline on when it would end.
“It’s definitely beyond the halfway point. But I don’t want to put a schedule on it,” Netanyahu told the conservative US broadcaster Newsmax.
He said that he meant the war was more than halfway “in terms of missions, not necessarily in terms of time.”
Netanyahu said the war had achieved goals including killing “thousands” of members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Israel and the United States are also “close to finishing their arms industry,” he added.
“Just the whole industrial base — wiping out all, you know, just plants, entire plants, and the nuclear program itself,” he said.
Netanyahu also voiced confidence that Iran’s Islamic republic would fall, though he said again that this was not the goal.
“I think this regime will collapse internally. But at the moment, right now, what we’re doing is just degrading their military capacity, degrading their missile capacity, degrading their nuclear capacity and also weakening them from the inside,” Netanyahu said.
58m agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 10:19pm
Surge in ships utilising Panama Canal
The war in the Middle East has prompted a surge in ships utilising the Panama Canal, an executive for the interoceanic waterway said on Monday, local time.
The month-long conflict has seen Iran effectively blockade the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of world oil and gas exports normally transit.
“We had expected around 34 daily passages for this year, but in the last two weeks, we’ve been having 38, 39, 40,” the deputy administrator of the canal, Ilya Espino de Marotta, told the channel Telemetro in an interview.
Five per cent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, with the US and China as its main users.
The route primarily connects the US East Coast with China, South Korea, and Japan.
“The Panama Canal is a safe, short route, which, with gas prices, still reduces costs, Espino de Marotta said.
Nonetheless, the canal executive warned that the passage of 40 daily boats “isn’t sustainable” given the limited space on the route.
Reporting by AFP
1h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 10:06pm
Anthony Albanese calls for ‘more certainty’ on US objectives in Iran war
The prime minister has said he wants a clear outline from the US as to what it wants to achieve in Iran.
He told 7.30 last night that he wanted more “certainty” from the US on its objectives, especially after Trump’s three stated ones had been met.
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1h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 9:55pm
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Fuel prices are surging as a result of the Iran war, and flight cancellations are scuppering plans.
Join us today from 12pm AEDT when the ABC’s national tourism reporter Kristy Sexton-McGrath will answer your questions about how the conflict is impacting travel.
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1h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 9:51pmProjectile hits tanker off Dubai, UKMTO says
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations says an unknown projectile has struck a tanker north-west of Dubai.
UKMTO is a Royal Navy-sponsored maritime security organisation in the Middle East that works to protect trade routes by providing regional authorities with security information.
It told Reuters a security officer reported an unknown projectile had struck their tanker on the starboard side, causing a fire to the vessel.
All crew are safe and accounted for.
Reporting with Reuters
1h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 9:34pm
Bowen says it will take a few days for fuel savings to kick in
Energy Minister Chris Bowen says it will take a few days for people to notice savings at the petrol bowser.
Although the fuel excise cut will start on Wednesday, Bowen says petrol stations need to sell their existing stock first, which they’ve already paid the tax on.
Speaking on Sunrise, he didn’t say how many days it would take for the new, cheaper stock to arrive in petrol stations, but said it would likely take longer in regional areas than in cities.
“The fuel in the tank at the service station might have been there for days. They’ve already paid the tax,” Bowen says.
“So please, if you turn up tomorrow and the price hasn’t gone down, they’re just waiting for the new petrol with the lower tax to come in.
“And it’s really important we don’t yell at the poor guy behind the counter and say, ‘You haven’t passed petrol tax cut yet,’ because it will take a little while — days in city areas [and it] can be a bit longer in regional areas.”
1h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 9:23pm
Strait of Hormuz to reopen ‘one way or another’, Rubio says
Overnight, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave an interview with Al Jazeera, in which he told the Qatar-based broadcaster US President Donald Trump had “always preferred diplomacy” over conflict when dealing with Iran, but that the US had been left with little choice.
In the interview, Rubio said Iran would need to take “concrete steps” to shutter its nuclear program and halt the manufacture of drones and missiles as part of any resolution to end the war.
Marco Rubio is trying to reassure Gulf allies that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen soon. (Reuters: Nathan Howard)
And he also expressed optimism that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen in the near-future.
Iran’s blocking of oil and gas shipments through the strait has triggered the biggest energy crisis since the 1970s.
“The Strait of Hormuz will reopen one way or another once our military operation in Iran is over,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The strait will reopen either with Iran’s consent or through an international coalition including the US.”
There is concern globally that Iran may seek to place tolls on oil tankers passing through the strait, even after a peace agreement is struck.
2h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 9:06pm
Iran calls US peace proposals ‘unrealistic’
Iran’s foreign ministry appears to have rejected US peace proposals it says it received via intermediaries, following talks on the weekend between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the proposals were “unrealistic, illogical and excessive”.
“Our position is clear. We are under military aggression. Therefore, all our efforts and strength are focused on defending ourselves,” he told a press conference.
Soon after Baghaei’s remarks, Trump said in a social media post that the US was in talks with a “more reasonable regime” to end the war in Iran, but he also issued a new warning over the Strait of Hormuz.
“Great progress has been made but, if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island,” the US president wrote.
(Truth Social/@realdonaldtrump)2h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 8:52pmNATO downs Iranian ballistic missile over Türkiye
A ballistic missile launched from Iran entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by NATO air and missile defences deployed in the eastern Mediterranean, according to Türkiye’s defence ministry.
The incident marked the fourth such incident since the start of the Iran war, following three earlier interceptions by NATO systems earlier this month that promoted Ankara to protest and warn Tehran.
The ministry said all necessary measures were being taken “decisively and without hesitation” against any threat directed at Türkiye’s territory and airspace.
Reporting with Reuters
2h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 8:45pmIsrael makes death penalty default sentence for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks
Israel’s parliament has passed a law making the death penalty a default sentence for Palestinians convicted in military courts of deadly attacks, fulfilling a pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right allies.
You can read more here:
2h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 8:35pm
Trump threatens to ‘obliterate’ Iranian oil and energy sites
US President Donald Trump is threatening to obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it does not open the Strait of Hormuz, as Tehran describes US peace proposals as “unrealistic”.
It comes as thousands more US troops arrive in the Middle East, with the US president yet to decide on the next course of action.
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2h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 8:25pmTwo UN peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon
The United Nations’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) says two of its members were killed in southern Lebanon on Monday after an explosion of “unknown origin” destroyed their vehicle.
It said a third peacekeeper was severely wounded and another was also injured in the incident, which took place near the Bani Haiyyan municipality.
The incident was the second in 24 hours. A UNIFIL peacekeeper was killed when a projectile exploded at one of its positions in a southern Lebanese village.
UNIFIL chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix said the two peacekeepers killed on Monday, local time, were Indonesian nationals.
Reporting by Reuters
3h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 8:16pmSpain closes airspace to US planes involved in war
Spain has closed its airspace to US planes involved in the Iran war, the country’s defence minister, Margarita Robles, says.
Spain’s government under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, one of Europe’s most prominent left-wing leaders, has been Europe’s loudest opposing voice against US and Israeli military actions in the Middle East.
Earlier in the month, after Sánchez denied the use of the Rota and Morón military bases in southern Spain, Trump threatened to cut trade with Madrid.
The country had already said that the US could not use jointly operated military bases in the Iran conflict, which Sánchez has described as illegal, reckless and unjust.
Robles said on Monday that the same logic applied to the use of Spanish airspace in the conflict.
“This was made perfectly clear to the American military and forces from the very beginning,” Robles told reporters on Monday, local time.
“Therefore, neither the bases are authorised, nor, of course, is the use of Spanish airspace authorized for any actions related to the war in Iran.
“I think everyone knows Spain’s position; it’s very clear.”
Reporting by AP
3h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 8:11pmMore than 10,000 Australians return from Middle East amid conflict
More than 10,000 Australians have now returned home from the Middle East.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said more than 103 direct commercial flights, carrying close to 10,400 Australians, had arrived since March 4.
Another three flights are due to arrive this morning. Wong reiterated that Australians in the region should not delay their departure.
“While there are talks to end the conflict, the situation in the Middle East remains volatile and could deteriorate rapidly. Australians should not delay their departure … given the continued uncertainty,” she said.
Australians are also being urged not to transit through Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
3h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 8:05pmTrump interested in getting Arab countries to pay for Iran war
US President Donald Trump is interested in calling on Arab countries to pay for the cost of the Iran war, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
She added on Monday, local time, that talks with Tehran to end the conflict were progressing well.
Asked at a news briefing whether Arab countries would step up to help pay for the war, Leavitt she would not get ahead of the US president but that it was an idea that Trump had.
“I think it’s something the president would be quite interested in calling them to do,” she said.
“It’s an idea that I know that he has and something that I think you’ll hear more from him on.”
Reporting by Reuters
3h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 8:01pmThousands of US troops begin arriving in the Middle East
Thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division have started arriving in the Middle East, officials have told Reuters.
The paratroopers, based in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, add to the thousands of additional sailors, marines and special operations forces sent to the region.
Over the weekend, about 2,500 marines arrived in the Middle East.
The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not say specifically where the soldiers were deploying to.
No decision has been made to send troops into Iran, but they will build up the capacity for potential future operations in the region, one of the sources has said.
Reporting with Reuters
3h agoMon 30 Mar 2026 at 7:48pm
Welcome to our coverage
Good morning. I’m Caitlin Rawling and I, along with my ABC colleagues, will be bringing you the latest on the war in the Middle East.
Here are the key developments from overnight:
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says Donald Trump is interested in getting Arab countries to pay for the Iran war.Two UN peacekeepers have been killed in southern Lebanon.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says it will target the private homes of US and Israeli officials.Thousands of US troops have arrived in the Middle East.Donald Trump has threatened to obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it does not open the Strait of Hormuz.Israel’s parliament has passed a law making the death penalty the default sentence for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks.
Stick with us as we bring you rolling coverage of the war in the Middle East.