Main PointsKey ReadsDisruptions to jet fuel supply expected from early May – Ryanair chief<\/p>\n
Disruptions to jet fuel supply are expected from \u201cearly May\u201d if the war continues beyond the end of April, Ryanair chief executive Michael O\u2019Leary has said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fuel companies are happy there won\u2019t any disruption until early May. But if the war continues, we do run the risk of supply disruptions in Europe in May and June,\u201d he said, speaking on Sky News on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, we hope the war will finish sooner than that and that the risk to supply will be eliminated.\u201d<\/p>\n
O\u2019Leary said Ryanair was \u201creasonably well hedged\u201d on 80 per cent of its fuel but added it is paying almost double (at around $150 a barrel) on the other 20 per cent. <\/p>\n
He said if the war ends and the Strait of Hormuz reopens by the end of this month, \u201cthen there\u2019s no risk to supply\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike everybody else in the industry, we hope that this war will end sooner rather than later,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Oil tanker in Qatar struck by Iranian missile<\/p>\n
Qatar was targeted by three Iranian cruise missiles on Wednesday, Qatar\u2019s ministry of defence has confirmed.<\/p>\n
Its armed forces intercepted two of the missiles, while the third struck an oil tanker leased to QatarEnergy in northern waters.<\/p>\n
The crew of 21 people were evacuated from the tanker and no injuries have been reported, the ministry said.<\/p>\n
QatarEnergy, the world\u2019s largest producer of liquefied natural gas, said there is \u201cno impact on the environment as a result of this incident\u201d.<\/p>\n
Houthis claim responsibility for missile attack on Israel <\/p>\n
Houthi forces in Yemen have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on southern Israel this morning, saying it was a joint operation with Iran and Hizbullah. <\/p>\n
In a statement, the Houthi movement said it carried out its third missile attack in the conflict in conjunction with Iran and Lebanon\u2019s Hizbullah. <\/p>\n
The Houthis targeted \u201csensitive Israeli enemy targets\u201d with a \u201cbarrage of ballistic missiles\u201d, the Tehran-backed group said.<\/p>\n
It threatened \u201cfurther escalation\u201d if Israel continues to attack Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, the occupied West Bank and Gaza. <\/p>\n
The statement comes about three hours after the Israeli military said a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen at southern Israel was intercepted. No injuries were reported. – The Guardian<\/p>\n
11-year-old in serious condition and 12 others wounded in central Israel after missile attack![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2KP4UAPQFXAPOKZRZQ7Z6OGFYA.jpg\")
A first responder gestures at the scene of an impact following an Iranian strike over Bnei Brak in central Israel on Wednesday. The Israeli military said its air defences responded to a missile attack from Iran, with warning sirens activated across central Israel. Photograph: Marco Longari\/AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s emergency medical service said an 11-year-old girl was in serious condition after a missile attack the military blamed on Iran and police said caused damage at several sites, reports AFP. <\/p>\n
The military said it had identified missiles launched from Iran for the first time in about 20 hours, with air raid sirens activated across central Israel. <\/p>\n
Another warning of incoming missile fire came less than an hour later, prompting alerts across large parts of northern and central Israel.<\/p>\n
The Magen David Adom emergency medical service said an 11-year-old girl was seriously wounded by shrapnel in central Israel as a result of the first launch.<\/p>\n
Spokesman Zaki Heller told Israeli TV that at least 13 others were also wounded, including a 13-year-old boy and a woman (36) in moderate condition, all from the same impact site. <\/p>\n
Israeli media said cluster munitions, which explode mid-air and scatter bomblets across a wide area, were used in the attack. Iran and Israel have previously accused each other of using cluster bombs.<\/p>\n
IDF working to intercept missiles from Iran![\"Missiles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/B73KVUXY34M365DPBCVG5NJ4YM.jpg\")
Missiles launched from Iran streak across the sky over central Israel. Photograph: Ohad Zwigenberg\/AP <\/p>\n
A number of missiles have been launched from Iran towards Israel on Wednesday morning, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).<\/p>\n
In several alerts posted on social media, the IDF warned those living in affected areas to enter a \u201cprotected space\u201d and remain there until further notice.<\/p>\n
It said defensive systems are operating to intercept the missiles.<\/p>\n
One person killed by drone debris in UAE<\/p>\n
One person has been killed after debris from an intercepted drone fell on a farm in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, state media said. The individual killed was a Bangladeshi national. – The Guardian<\/p>\n
Strikes reported across Middle East as war rages<\/p>\n
Large numbers of aerial attacks have been reported in various parts of the Middle East on Wednesday, with drones hitting fuel tanks at Kuwait\u2019s international airport causing a big blaze and authorities in Bahrain reporting a fire at an undisclosed company facility from an Iranian assault.<\/p>\n
A tanker was hit by \u200can \u200cunknown \u200bprojectile near the Qatari capital Doha causing damage to the hull at the waterline, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said, adding the crew were safe.<\/p>\n
Explosions were heard in multiple areas of Tehran early Wednesday after US-Israeli air attacks, Iranian state media reported, adding that its air defences were activated. <\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s military said early on Wednesday it had carried out a \u201cwide-scale wave of strikes\u201d on Tehran. Separately, it said an Israeli military drone had been downed by a surface-to-air missile during operational activity in southern Lebanon overnight on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Shahid Haghani Port, Iran\u2019s largest passenger terminal located in Bandar Abbas port on the Gulf, was hit by \u2060an overnight air strike but there were no casualties, the deputy governor Ahmad Nafisi told state media, calling it \u200ba \u201ccriminal\u201d attack against civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Israel said early on Wednesday it had also struck a plant supplying Iran with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, to allegedly use in a chemical weapons programme.<\/p>\n
![\"Rescue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/3CSWQYLRUXUDOG54CKSAHH563Y.jpg\")
Rescue workers check the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, early on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Hussein Malla) <\/p>\n
Iran acknowledged the strike on Tofigh Daru factory, but insisted it only supplied \u201chospital drugs\u201d used in medical operations. The strike happened on Tuesday, both the Israelis and the Iranians said.<\/p>\n
Gulf countries, some home to US bases, have been repeatedly fired on by Tehran during the US-Israeli war, \u200bwith concerns mounting about Iran\u2019s closure of the Strait of Hormuz and ability to use the vital waterway, a conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, as a bargaining chip. <\/p>\n
Oil markets were subdued as trading resumed in Asia on Wednesday but stocks \u200cand bonds rallied at the start of the session on hopes of a de-escalation. <\/p>\n
The MSCI\u2019s \u200bbroadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 2.7 per cent after a four-day losing streak as the Nikkei 225 jumped 3.9 per cent at one point.<\/p>\n
Rubio says US should \u2018re-examine\u2019 Nato relationship<\/p>\n
US secretary of state Marco Rubio<\/a> has said Washington \u200bcould see the \u201cfinish line\u201d in the Iran war, which is now in its fifth week, and the US will have to re-examine ties with Nato<\/a> after the conflict.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can see the finish line. It\u2019s not today, it\u2019s not tomorrow, but it is \u200bcoming,\u201d Rubio told Fox News Channel\u2019s Hannity show.<\/p>\n The war began on February 28th when the US and Israel attacked Iran<\/a>. Tehran responded \u2060by launching its own attacks on Israel and Gulf states with US bases.<\/p>\n Joint US-Israeli strikes in \u200cIran \u200cand \u200bIsraeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions. The war has also raised oil prices and shaken global markets.<\/p>\n Rubio said there were messages being \u2060exchanged between Iran and the US and \u200bthere is the potential to have a \u201cdirect meeting at \u200bsome point\u201d between the two sides.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are messages being exchanged, there are talks going on. There is the \u200cpotential for direct meeting at some \u200bpoint,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n Donald Trump<\/a> – who has offered shifting timelines and objectives for the war, ranging from toppling \u2060Iran\u2019s government to weakening its military and \u2060regional influence – said on Tuesday \u200bthe US could end its military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks.<\/p>\n Rubio said \u201cthat there\u2019s nothing any government is doing, or any country in the world is doing now to help Iran that is in any way impeding our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n He added Washington will have to re-examine its relations with Nato after the Iran war.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, that\u2019s a decision for the president to make, and he\u2019ll have to make it,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I do think, unfortunately, we are \u200cgoing to have to re-examine whether \u2060or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is still serving that purpose, or has it now become a one-way street where America is \u200csimply in a position to defend Europe, but when we need the help of our allies, they\u2019re going to deny us basing \u200brights, and they\u2019re going to deny us overflight,\u201d he added in reference \u200bto use of military bases.<\/p>\n European leaders have refused to get directly involved in military attacks against Iran.<\/p>\n Iran foreign minister in contact with Witkoff<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has acknowledged receiving direct messages from US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.<\/a><\/p>\n In an interview with Al Jazeera aired late on Tuesday, he said: \u201cI receive messages from Witkoff directly, as before, and this does not mean that we are in negotiations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe do not have any faith that negotiations with the US will yield any results. The trust level is at zero.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about a possible ground offensive by the US, Araghchi said \u201cwe are waiting for them.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe know very well how to defend ourselves,\u201d he told the Qatar-based broadcaster. \u201cIn a ground war, we can do it even better. We are completely ready to confront any sort of ground attack. We hope they do not make such a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n US president Donald Trump <\/a>said securing the Strait of Hormuz is \u201cnot for us\u201d and estimated that the US will be done attacking Iran i<\/a>n two to three weeks.<\/p>\n Trump said the US \u201cwill not have anything to do with\u201d what happens in the strait, instead telling reporters on Tuesday that the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will rest with countries that rely on it.<\/p>\n The president said there is \u201cno reason for us to do this\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not for us. That\u2019ll be for France. That\u2019ll be for whoever\u2019s using the strait,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n Earlier on Tuesday, Trump lashed out at US allies such as the United Kingdom and France for not doing more to support the American efforts in the Iran war.<\/p>\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/QHQG7VUQVYAHMTJUZ55DTSGVYQ.jpg\")
US secretary of state Marco Rubio: ‘We can see the finish line.’ Photograph: SMIALOWSKI \/ POOL \/ AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n![\"Smoke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/UEML5CJZTBTZMJZHVTN24OFEGA.jpg\")
Smoke rises after an air strike in central Tehran. A joint Israeli and US military operation, launched on February 28th, continues to target multiple locations across Iran Trump claims war will end in \u2018two or three weeks<\/p>\n