19m agoThu 7 May 2026 at 11:59pm
Saudi official says US did not consult with kingdom before launching Project Freedom
US President Donald Trump did not consult with US ally Saudi Arabia before launching the short-lived effort to force open a shipping passage through the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Saudi official who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
”We told them that we are not part of this and that they can’t use our territories and bases for this,” the official told the Associated Press.
The official said Saudi Arabia sent a message to Iran that the kingdom would not be involved in US attacks related to Trump’s attempt to reopen the strait.
Trump suspended the effort, dubbed Project Freedom, during its second day on Tuesday.
Only two American-flagged merchant ships are known to have passed through the US-guarded route.
The US military said it sank six Iranian small boats threatening civilian ships.
47m agoThu 7 May 2026 at 11:31pm
‘Long road ahead’ even if US and Iran agree to new proposal
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US and Iran have had “good talks” and that he was confident a deal could be reached in the next few days.
It’s been reported that the two sides are closing in on a 14-point memorandum of understanding to end the war, which includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
While this is a step in the right direction, Alan Eyre, distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute and former US career diplomat, believes there’s still “a long road ahead”.
“I’m not breaking open the champagne,” Eyre told ABC Radio National.
“Even if they agree to this one-page document, that signals the start of negotiations, not the end of it.
“If Iran tomorrow announces the strait is fully reopened, it will still take months in terms of the global supply chains to get close to where we were before, with about 130 ships going through the Strait of Hormuz each day.
“So best case, we’re months away [from normality].”
57m agoThu 7 May 2026 at 11:20pm
‘Australians are paying a hefty price’ for the war in the Middle East: Jim Chalmers
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says people are under serious pressure as a result of the war in the Middle East.
“We expect the cost and consequences of that war to linger for longer,’ he said at a budget press conference this morning.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty associated with that war,” Chalmers says.
“Even today and every day, we see more speculation about the potential end of the war in the Middle East, but we know that even when we see a proper and enduring end … that the cost and consequences for Australians will linger a bit longer in the form of higher inflation, higher prices in our economy, and the budget will set out those sorts of scenarios as well.
“Australians are paying a really hefty price.”
1h agoThu 7 May 2026 at 11:08pm
Fuel prices spike across south-east Queensland
(ABC News)
Since April 26, average south-east Queensland prices for unleaded have been $1.82 while diesel has fallen to a low of $2.45 — thanks in part to the fuel excise cut.
But RACQ Principal Economic and Affordability Specialist Dr Ian Jeffreys said at least 72 sites, 13.3 per cent of the south-east total, had now hiked unleaded prices to $2.19, and that number was expected to grow in the coming days and weeks.
“It’s too early to say whether this is a short-term spike, but historically price cycles last for around six weeks in south-east Queensland,” he said.
“[Thursday’s] new high of 219.9cpl includes the temporary 32-cent fuel excise cut, which is currently due to finish at the end of June.”
The RACQ is urging motorists to fill up now before other stations lift their prices.
1h agoThu 7 May 2026 at 10:37pm
Iran UN ambassador calls US-backed peace resolution ‘deeply-flawed’
(Reuters: File)
Iranian UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani has rejected a US-proposed UN resolution on the Strait of Hormuz, labelling it “deeply flawed” and “one-sided”.
The US has urged countries to support its United Nations resolution demanding Iran halt attacks and mining of the Strait of Hormuz, but diplomats said China and Russia were likely to veto it.
Standing alongside envoys from Gulf countries that support the new draft, Washington’s UN envoy, Mike Waltz, told reporters that any countries that “seek to throw it out are setting a very, very dangerous precedent”.
“We have to ask ourselves, if a country chooses to oppose such a simple proposition, do they really want peace?”
The new text was drafted by the US and Bahrain, with support from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar.
“The United States has neither the legal, political, nor moral standing to portray itself as a defender of freedom of navigation or maritime security,” Amir Saeid Iravani said, referring to the US military’s blockade on Iranian ships.
Diplomats said the resolution ran into strong Chinese and Russian objections when the Security Council discussed it in closed session this week and would likely prompt them to veto this effort.
Reporting with Reuters
1h agoThu 7 May 2026 at 10:24pm
Iran creates agency to control vessels transiting Strait of Hormuz
(AP: File)
The Associated Press has reported that a shipping data company reported Iran has created a government agency to vet and tax vessels seeking passage through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian effort to formalise control over the channel took place as Tehran said it was reviewing the latest US proposals for ending the war.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the Islamic Republic was reviewing messages from Pakistan, which is mediating peace negotiations, but Iran “has not yet reached a conclusion, and no response has been given to the US side,” Iranian state TV reported.
A government agency tasked with controlling vessels through the Strait raised new concerns about international shipping, with hundreds of commercial ships bottled up in the Persian Gulf and unable to reach the open sea.
2h agoThu 7 May 2026 at 9:49pm
12 killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon, health ministry reports
Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least 12 people killed, including two children and a paramedic, in a series of Israeli airstrikes carried out on Thursday, despite a ceasefire.
In separate statements, the ministry reported 11 people killed, two of them children, in strikes on three different villages in Nabatieh district.
Another strike in Marajayoun district killed one paramedic from a Hezbollah-affilitated rescue service and wounded another, the ministry said.
Reporting with AFP
2h agoThu 7 May 2026 at 9:27pm
Welcome to our live coverage
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the war in the Middle East.
Iran’s state media is reporting the Iranian navy has hit US Navy ships with missiles in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tasnim news agency reported the attack was in response to a US Navy attack on an Iranian oil tanker.
It reported that three US destroyers near the Strait of Hormuz were targeted and forced to retreat.
It is unclear when exactly this happened.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.
On Wednesday, the US military said it had disabled an Iranian-flagged oil tanker that was trying to sail towards an Iranian port.
We’ll bring you more news on this as it comes through.