Israel threatens entire Iran train network<\/p>\n
The Israeli military has just warned the people of Iran not to use trains, saying that doing so \u201cendangers your life\u201d.<\/p>\n
The military\u2019s Farsi channel on X<\/a> said (translated here) in what it called an \u201curgent warning to users and train passengers in the country of Iran\u201d:<\/p>\n double quotation markDear Citizens, for the sake of your security, we kindly request that from this moment until 21:00 Iran time, you refrain from using and traveling by train throughout Iran.<\/p>\n Your presence on trains and near railway lines endangers your life.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.37 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Show key events only<\/p>\n Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n In Philippines, inflation jumped dramatically in March, government figures showed on Tuesday, hitting a nearly two-year high on the back of historically high fuel prices driven by the Middle East war.<\/p>\n The spike to 4.1% \u2013 the highest since July 2024 and well up from 2.4% in February \u2013 comes as the import-dependent archipelago struggles with a declared \u201cnational energy emergency\u201d.<\/p>\n The past month has seen the Philippines open supply chains with non-traditional partners such as Russia to secure desperately needed oil, while instituting measures ranging from cash handouts for transport workers to a four-day work week for civil servants, AFP is reporting.<\/p>\n The economic planning department said on Tuesday that a surge in transport prices was largely responsible for the March rise.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.16 EDT<\/p>\n Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese says he will fly to Singapore this week to help secure petroleum imports as oil prices surge during the Middle East war.<\/p>\n Australia relies on imports for an estimated 90% of its refined petroleum products and Singapore is its largest single supplier.<\/p>\n Albanese said on Tuesday he would visit Singapore from Thursday to Saturday to discuss trade in \u201cessential supplies\u201d such as diesel and liquefied natural gas with prime minister Lawrence Wong.<\/p>\n double quotation markTogether, we share concern over the situation in the Middle East, including the consequences for both of our nations.<\/p>\n Agence France-Presse also reports that Australia and Singapore committed in a joint statement last month to keep fuel flowing between both countries and to work together to strengthen energy supply chain resilience.<\/p>\n Service station outages of diesel and unleaded petrol in Australia are falling, the government said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.58 EDT<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia-Bahrain bridge closed amid Iranian attack threat<\/p>\n The King Fahd Causeway, a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia to the island kingdom of Bahrain, closed early on Tuesday over threats from Iranian attacks.<\/p>\n The King Fahd Causeway Authority made the announcement in a post on X.<\/p>\n It said vehicle movements had been \u201csuspended as a precautionary measure\u201d over Iranian attacks targeting Saudi Arabia\u2019s Eastern Province.<\/p>\n The 25km (15.5 mile) bridge is the only connection by road for Bahrain \u2013 home to the US navy\u2019s 5th Fleet \u2013 to the Arabian Peninsula, the Associated Press reports.<\/p>\n File shot of the King Fahad Causeway bridge. Photograph: shmooj\/Getty Images\/iStockphotoShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a001.20 EDT<\/p>\n South Korea has said that it will send officials to Kazakhstan, Oman and Saudi Arabia to secure supplies of crude oil amid disruptions to shipping through the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n A special envoy will hold talks with governments, energy firms and ship operators to ensure cargoes reach domestic ports and to support stable supplies of key goods, including medical products, he said.<\/p>\n South Korea relies on the Hormuz route for about 61% of its crude oil, the country\u2019s president told a press briefing.<\/p>\n Motorists queue to fill up at a petrol station in Seoul after a surge in the price of oil. Photograph: Jung Yeon-Je\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said shipments of crude oil secured last month from the United Arab Emirates under a 24m-barrel supply deal had already started arriving at South Korean ports.<\/p>\n The government was also working with international partners to ensure the safe passage of 26 South Korean-flagged vessels currently waiting inside the strait of Hormuz, he said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.24 EDT<\/p>\n Malaysia\u2019s foreign ministry has said that one of seven Malaysian commercial vessels stranded in the strait of Hormuz has been allowed to pass and is now heading to its destination.<\/p>\n The ministry said this followed diplomatic talks with Iranian officials led by Malaysian prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. It didn\u2019t give further details.<\/p>\n Malaysia reaffirmed its support for safe and open sea routes under international law and called for continued dialogue to maintain peace and stability in the region.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Iran has rejected a proposed ceasefire deal, state media has reported, confirming earlier reporting that diplomatic negotiations appeared to be faltering a day before Donald Trump\u2019s deadline, in which he has threatened to destroy Iran\u2019s bridges and attack its power plants.<\/p>\n \u201cIran has conveyed to Pakistan its response to the American proposal to end the war,\u201d the news agency Irna said, without revealing its source or what the US offer contained.<\/p>\n Several countries have been acting as mediators <\/a>to try to halt more than five weeks of fighting sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran.<\/p>\n \u201cIn this response \u2013 set out in ten points \u2013 Iran … has rejected a ceasefire and insists on the need for a definitive end to the conflict,\u201d the Iranian state news agency added.<\/p>\n Irna also said Tehran\u2019s demands included \u201can end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reconstruction, and the lifting of sanctions\u201d.<\/p>\n The New York Times, citing two unnamed senior Iranian officials, reported that Tehran was also seeking guarantees it would not face future attacks, and that Israeli strikes against its ally Hezbollah in southern Lebanon would cease.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a023.52 EDT<\/p>\n Oil prices rose on Tuesday while equities were mixed as investors assessed Donald Trump\u2019s latest deadline for Iran to reopen the strategic strait of Hormuz or be \u201cdecimated\u201d.<\/p>\n The US president warned Tehran that its civilian infrastructure would be destroyed if it did not let ships through the waterway, through which a fifth of global crude and gas passes.<\/p>\n Both main oil contracts rose Tuesday, with West Texas Intermediate topping $115 \u2013 its highest in a month \u2013 and Brent sitting around $111.<\/p>\n A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan\u2019s Nikkei index at a securities firm in Tokyo. Photograph: Eugene Hoshiko\/AP<\/p>\n Equity markets fluctuated, with Tokyo, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta down while Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Wellington and Taipei rose.<\/p>\n That followed a positive start to the week on Wall Street.<\/p>\n \u201cFinancial markets are oscillating in a narrow, uneasy range as traders sized up the countdown to Donald Trump\u2019s Iran<\/a> deadline,\u201d wrote Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.<\/p>\n double quotation markTentative ceasefire optics [were] offering brief relief but never fully offsetting the lingering risk of escalation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a000.33 EDT<\/p>\n Opening summary<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran<\/a> and its consequences for the region, the world and the global economy.<\/p>\n Donald Trump said he was \u201cnot at all\u201d concerned about committing possible war crimes as he again threatened to destroy Iran\u2019s bridges and power plants if Tehran does not meet his Tuesday 8pm ET deadline to reopen the strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not worried about it,\u201d the US president said. \u201cYou know what\u2019s a war crime? Having a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking at the White House, Trump refused to say whether any civilian targets would be off-limits. Iran on Monday rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wanted a permanent end to the conflict.<\/p>\n \u201cWe only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won\u2019t be attacked again,\u201d Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, the head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told the Associated Press.<\/p>\n At a news conference, Trump said all of Iran could be \u201ctaken out\u201d in one night \u201cand that night might be tomorrow night\u201d, referring to Tuesday. Without an agreement with Tehran, he said, \u201cevery bridge in Iran will be decimated\u201d by midnight ET (0400 GMT) on Wednesday and \u201cevery power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again\u201d.<\/p>\n