1h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 8:08amToday so far<\/p>\n
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Here is a quick rundown of what has unfolded already today:<\/p>\n
In an expletive-laden social media post<\/a>, US President Donald Trump issued Iran a fresh ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.There are reports a 45-day ceasefire could be in the works. One expert is doubtful the plan is likely to eventuate.\u00a0<\/a>In a series of media interviews, the US president later said<\/a> he had left “very little” off the table to end the war.\u00a0Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Australia’s fuel supply<\/a> had been secured “into May”.US-Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the guards said.<\/a><\/p>\n Stay with us throughout the evening for the latest updates.\u00a0<\/p>\n 12m agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 9:05am<\/p>\n Inaction by UN nuclear watchdog ’emboldens aggression’, says Iran atomic energy boss<\/p>\n Inaction by the UN nuclear watchdog “emboldens aggression” against nuclear facilities such as the Bushehr power plant, Iran’s atomic energy chief Mohammad Eslami says.<\/p>\n Eslami made the statement in a letter addressed\u00a0to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director.<\/p>\n He said Iran’s only functioning nuclear power plant had so far been targeted four times, with the most recent attack in its vicinity on April 4 killing a security staff member and injuring others.<\/p>\n He warned that such attacks could risk the release of radioactive material from an operating reactor and could have “irreparable consequences” for people, the environment and neighboring countries.<\/p>\n Reporting with Reuters\u00a0<\/p>\n 31m agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 8:46am<\/p>\n UAE official says Strait of Hormuz ‘cannot be held hostage’<\/p>\n UAE official Anwar Gargash says any settlement of the US-Iran war must guarantee access through the Strait of Hormuz, warning a deal that fails to rein in Iran’s nuclear program and its missiles and drones would pave the way for “a more dangerous, more volatile Middle East”.<\/p>\n Gargash, the diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, told a weekend briefing that the Strait of Hormuz could not be weaponised.<\/p>\n “The Strait of Hormuz cannot be held hostage by any country,” Gargash said.<\/p>\n He said freedom of navigation through the waterway “has to be part and parcel of the settlement of any conflict with clear agreement on that”.<\/p>\n “We don’t want to see more and more escalation,” Gargash said.<\/p>\n “But we don’t want a ceasefire that fails to address some of the main issues that will create a much more dangerous environment in the region \u2026 notably [Iran’s] nuclear program, the missiles and drones that are still raining down on us and on other countries.”<\/p>\n 52m agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 8:25amUS forces on Kuwait’s Bubiyan island targeted by Iran<\/p>\n US forces on Kuwait’s Bubiyan island were\u00a0targeted by Iran, the spokesperson of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a video statement.<\/p>\n It was shared by state media.<\/p>\n Ebrahim Zolfaqari said Iran targeted satellite equipment and munitions on the island with drones, adding US forces had relocated there from Arifjan camp after that base was repeatedly struck by Iran.<\/p>\n Bubiyan island is the largest of Kuwait’s coastal islands chain, located in the north-west of the Gulf.<\/p>\n 1h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 8:14am<\/p>\n Trumps comments reflect an angry and frustrated president, analyst says<\/p>\n Donald Trump’s social media posts threatening Iran reflect an “angry president who appears to be over-confident but incredibly frustrated”, says Aaron David Miller, former Middle East negotiator for the United States and a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.<\/p>\n Loading…<\/p>\n “Not only did it seem to relish the prospect of demolishing, destroying civilian infrastructure, but the deployment of profanity, the attack on Islam, I mean frankly as an American citizen \u2026 it’s shameful,” Miller says.<\/p>\n While legal experts in the US are discussing whether Trump’s comments constitute threatening a war crime, Miller doesn’t see that discussion impacting the US president.<\/p>\n “That didn’t stop the president from blowing up fast boats in the Caribbean and in the Pacific, a clear violation of international law and probably a war crime. Or attacking sailors, attacking the men in those ships after the initial strike that sunk the boats,” he says.<\/p>\n “I don’t think that’s a concern to the president.<\/p>\n “I think we’re in for weeks of escalation.”<\/p>\n 1h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 7:52amUS-Israeli strikes kill intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards<\/p>\n US-Israeli strikes killed the intelligence chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the guards said.<\/p>\n “Major General Majid Khademi, the powerful and educated head of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was martyred in the criminal terrorist attack by the American-Zionist enemy\u2026 at dawn today,” said the guards in a post on its Telegram channel.<\/p>\n 1h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 7:48am<\/p>\n Aftermath of Israeli strike in Beirut<\/p>\n Strikes hit the Jnah area of Beirut on Sunday.<\/p>\n 1h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 7:24am<\/p>\n Iran won’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for ‘temporary ceasefire’<\/p>\n Iran won’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a “temporary ceasefire”, a senior Iranian official told Reuters.<\/p>\n They said Tehran viewed Washington as lacking the readiness for a permanent ceasefire.<\/p>\n The official said Iran had received Pakistan’s proposal for an immediate ceasefire and was reviewing it.<\/p>\n Reporting with Reuters<\/p>\n 2h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 7:15am<\/p>\n Israelis take stock after latest strikes Iran and the US have received a plan to end hostilities that could come into effect soon and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a source aware of the proposals told Reuters.<\/p>\n A framework to end hostilities has been put together by Pakistan and exchanged with Iran and the US overnight, the source said.<\/p>\n “All elements need to be agreed today,” the source said.<\/p>\n It is understood Pakistan is the sole communication channel in the talks.<\/p>\n Axios first reported<\/a> the US, Iran and regional mediators were discussing a potential 45-day ceasefire as part of a two-phase deal that could lead to a permanent end to the war, citing US, Israeli and regional sources.<\/p>\n The source told Reuters that Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, had been in contact “all night long” with US Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.<\/p>\n Under the proposal, a ceasefire would take effect immediately, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with 15\u201420 days to finalise a broader settlement.<\/p>\n There was no immediate response from US and Iranian officials.<\/p>\n Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi declined comment.<\/p>\n Reporting with Reuters<\/p>\n 2h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 6:38amIran’s deputy foreign minister says Trump threats could amount to war crimes<\/p>\n Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi says Donald Trump’s threats to strike power plants and bridges in Iran could amount to war crimes.<\/p>\n “The American president, as the highest official of his country, has publicly threatened to commit war crimes,” Gharibabadi said in a post on X.<\/p>\n He also cited\u00a0 provisions of international law that could be breached.<\/p>\n “The threat to attack power plants and bridges (civilian infrastructure) is a war crime under Article 8(2)(b) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court,” he added.<\/p>\n 2h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 6:26amJapan-owned tanker crosses Strait of Hormuz<\/p>\n A Japanese shipping firm says an Indian-flagged tanker owned by its subsidiary had passed through the Strait of Hormuz and was travelling to the South Asian country.<\/p>\n A spokeswoman of Mitsui OSK Lines told AFP the LPG tanker Green Asha had crossed the strait.<\/p>\n “Both the crew and the cargo are safe,” she said.<\/p>\n It was the third Japan-linked ship to transit the strait.<\/p>\n Reporting with AFP<\/p>\n 3h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 6:05am<\/p>\n A downed fighter jet and a CIA deception campaign: how US forces pulled off a daring rescue<\/p>\n When Iranian fire hit a US fighter jet on Friday, the two-man crew ejected just in time, landing behind enemy lines.<\/p>\n The pilot was rescued in a matter of hours after US military forces were able to verify his position and send in a rescue mission.<\/p>\n But the fighter jet’s weapons specialist was missing, and the effort to rescue him was anything but straightforward, involving the CIA, subterfuge and specialist aircraft in a second mission after the first ran into difficulty deep in hostile territory.<\/p>\n 3h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 5:36am<\/p>\n Iran executes man convicted for role in January protests<\/p>\n Iran has executed Ali Fahim \u2014\u00a0a man convicted over an attempt to storm a military facility and access an armoury during unrest in January.<\/p>\n It comes after the Supreme Court upheld his sentence.<\/p>\n Iran has already executed three others linked to the incident, including Amirhossein Hatami\u00a0last week, and Mohammadamin Biglari and Shahin Vahedparast on Sunday.<\/p>\n Another man linked to the same case is believed to face execution in the coming days, according to rights group Amnesty International.<\/p>\n Nationwide anti-government protests in January were repressed in the biggest crackdown in the Islamic Republic’s history.<\/p>\n Reporting with Reuters<\/p>\n 3h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 5:25am<\/p>\n Falling debris injures Ghanaian national in Abu Dhabi<\/p>\n Abu Dhabi media is reporting a Ghanaian national has been injured from falling debris after an air defence interception.<\/p>\n In an X post, they wrote: “Abu Dhabi authorities have responded to an incident of falling debris on the Raneen Systems company in ICAD in the Musaffah area, following a successful interception by air defence systems.”<\/p>\n The person’s injuries are moderate.<\/p>\n 4h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 5:14am<\/p>\n Israeli emergency service says woman seriously injured by shrapnel<\/p>\n Israel’s emergency service has detailed several injuries after strikes towards Israel.<\/p>\n In a social media post, Magen David Adom said a 34-year-old woman was in a serious condition after being hit by shrapnel in Petah Tikva.\u00a0<\/p>\n A man in his 30s was also mildly injured from shrapnel in Tel Aviv.<\/p>\n 4h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 4:53am<\/p>\n Projectile launched from Iran heads towards Israel 4h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 4:38am<\/p>\n Why an expert says Trump’s threat to target Iranian infrastructure could backfire<\/p>\n US President Donald Trump’s fresh threat<\/a> to punish Iran if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz may backfire, according to an expert.<\/p>\n If the Islamic Republic does not comply with his demands, Trump says he will order strikes on the country’s power plants and bridges.<\/p>\n But Iran has likely interpreted the ultimatum as a suggestion the US has “very few options” to clear the strait,\u00a0Ross Harrison, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told ABC News Channel.<\/p>\n “I think what [Trump is] trying to do is threaten them, and bully them, and dominate the Iranians into opening the strait \u2014 something that is actually probably going to require some kind of de-escalation and some kind of diplomacy,” he said.<\/p>\n The Islamic Republic has already signalled it will retaliate to any attacks on its infrastructure.<\/p>\n “If you think about the strategy the Iranians have followed so far, once they were attacked and the late supreme leader was killed, they widened the conflict horizontally.<\/p>\n “They started lobbing missiles into Doha, the Qatar, the UAE, into Bahrain, into Kuwait, basically to make themselves bigger than they actually were.<\/p>\n “What they are planning on doing, I believe … is not just to escalate horizontally, but to escalate vertically \u2014 which is to target similar kinds of civilian infrastructure in the Gulf Arab states, and possibly even Israel.”<\/p>\n 4h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 4:27amReported ceasefire talks unlikely to succeed, expert says<\/p>\n![\"Machinery](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/lcimg-f0cb9d54-bde5-4266-97a9-82c4d0cf4746.jpeg\")
(Reuters: Mohamed Azakir)![\"Machinery](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/lcimg-8824105e-3dd6-4263-9cfe-101fa2c4b300.jpeg\")
(Reuters: Mohamed Azakir)<\/p>\n![\"Rescuers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/lcimg-503890ad-7eb4-42a4-bf2d-7bb4e1f7ac78.jpeg\")
Emergency personnel in Tel Aviv. (Reuters: Florion Goga)![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/lcimg-e500dde8-26f5-4f4b-87af-b93324c43db8.jpeg\")
(Reuters: Rami Amichay)2h agoMon 6 Apr 2026 at 6:57amIran and the US have received a plan to end hostilities: Reuters sources<\/p>\n![\"Emergency](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/lcimg-beb84eee-f6f4-43d0-9e5f-ed593cbd3e0c.jpeg\")
Emergency services after Israeli strikes. (X: Magen David Adom\u00a0)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/lcimg-679f3b50-b91d-4174-ba1f-41d9c413cdc8.jpeg\")
(Reuters: Mohammed Torokman)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/lcimg-b0b0a63b-7d09-498a-b9c0-3cd3a00e7000.png\")
Ross Harrison says negotiating the reopening of the strait will likely require de-escalation. (ABC News)<\/p>\n
![\"Tessa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/lcimg-87c9b4b3-fa49-4479-af36-cf5cd8ec530c.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Nelli](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/lcimg-7d6981b5-348b-4c34-914b-8da2727e5072.jpeg\")
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<\/p>\n![\"Elissa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/lcimg-64c2e7bd-e5a2-4d3b-aef3-3c1fc0fddff2.jpeg\")
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