![\"Photograph:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/67KUR2F4KNB4PHLVZHK4JPXZ7U.jpg\")
Photograph: Peter Dazeley via Getty Images <\/p>\nMain pointsKey Reads<\/p>\n
Jack White – 0 minutes ago<\/p>\n
Container ship off coast of Oman \u2018ignored warnings\u2019 before attack, Iranian media claims<\/p>\n
Iranian media has reported the container ship that was fired at by an IRGC gunboat off the coast of Oman had \u201cignored warnings from the Iranian armed forces\u201d. <\/p>\n
As reported earlier, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of a container ship coming under fire near the Strait of Hormuz by an IRGC gunboat, causing damage to the vessel but no casualties. <\/p>\n
The incident happened 15 nautical miles northeast of Oman, UKMTO said, adding that the captain of the tanker reported the gunboat opened fire without issuing a radio challenge.<\/p>\n
But Iran\u2019s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the vessel \u201cignored warnings from the Iranian armed forces [and] was fired upon \u2026 causing serious damage to the ship\u201d. – The Guardian<\/p>\n
Jack White – 12 minutes ago<\/p>\n
Condom prices could rise 30% due to Iran war, says world\u2019s top producerPhotograph: Peter Dazeley via Getty Images <\/p>\n
The world\u2019s \u200ctop condom producer plans to raise prices by 20-30 per cent and possibly further if supply chain disruptions drag \u200con due to the Iran war, its chief executive has said.<\/p>\n
Karex is also seeing a surge \u200bin condom demand as rising freight costs and shipping delays have left many of its customers with lower stockpiles than usual, chief executive Goh Miah Kiat sad in an interview.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe situation is definitely very fragile, prices \u200bare expensive … We have no choice but to transfer the costs right now to the customers,\u201d Goh said.<\/p>\n
Karex \u2060produces more than five billion condoms annually and is a supplier to leading brands such as \u200cDurex \u200cand \u200bTrojan, as well as state health systems such as Britain\u2019s NHS and global aid programmes run by the United Nations.<\/p>\n
The condom-maker \u2060joins a growing list of \u200bcompanies, including medical glove makers, bracing for supply \u200bchain bottlenecks as the Iran war strains energy and petrochemical flows from the Middle East, \u200cdisrupting procurement of raw materials.<\/p>\n
Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Jack White – 32 minutes ago<\/p>\n The head of the UN maritime agency has appealed for help for thousands of seafarers stranded in the Gulf by the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n About 20,000 seafarers and 2,000 ships have been stranded since US-Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February, according to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). <\/p>\n The agency said at least 10 seafarers have been killed and several more severely injured in attacks on commercial vessels since the start of the war.<\/p>\n The IMO\u2019s secretary general, Arsenio Dominguez, said the agency is working on an evacuation plan for the stranded ships but that it can only be put into action when there are clear signs of de-escalation. \u2013 The Guardian<\/p>\n Jack White – 46 minutes ago<\/p>\n Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel, Mizan reports<\/p>\n Iran executed a man convicted \u200cof spying for Israel\u2019s intelligence \u200bservice and passing sensitive information, the judiciary\u2019s news \u200boutlet Mizan reported on \u2060Wednesday.<\/p>\n Mizan identified the man \u200cas \u200cMehdi \u200bFarid, saying he had \u2060held a \u200bposition in a \u200bcivil defence \u200cunit within a \u200bsensitive organisation and had used \u2060his \u2060access \u200bto gather and transmit information to Israel\u2019s Mossad.<\/p>\n His death sentence was upheld by \u200cIran\u2019s supreme \u2060court and carried out after legal \u200cprocedures were completed, Mizan \u200bsaid. – Reuters<\/p>\n Iran fires on container ship in Strait of Hormuz Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has opened fire on and damaged a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz as planned ceasefire talks in Pakistan failed to materialise.<\/p>\n The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre said the attack happened at around 7.55am local time in the strait and targeted a container ship.<\/p>\n The UKMTO said no one was hurt and there was no environmental impact from the attack.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s semi-official Fars and Tasnim news agencies, believed to be close to the Guard, both reported on the attack, citing the UKMTO.<\/p>\n Fars went further to describe Iran as \u201clawfully enforcing\u201d its control over the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n However, the strait had been considered an international waterway for the world\u2019s shippers despite being in the territorial waters of both Iran and Oman.<\/p>\n It comes after the US seized an Iranian container ship after shooting it at the weekend and boarded an oil tanker associated with Iran\u2019s oil trade in the Indian Ocean. \u2013 Associated Press<\/p>\n Europe readies response to second energy crisis in four years<\/p>\n The European Commission will set \u200cout plans on Wednesday to cut electricity taxes and co-ordinate the summer refill of countries\u2019 gas storage, as it seeks to cushion the energy \u200bfallout from the Iran war.<\/p>\n Draft proposals seen by Reuters show the EU will, for now, avoid major market interventions such as capping gas prices or taxing energy companies\u2019 windfall profits – measures it used in 2022 when Russia cut gas supplies and prices hit \u200brecord highs.<\/p>\n Instead, the commission plans to curb EU tax rules to favour electricity over oil and gas, and make it easier for governments \u2060to cut industries\u2019 electricity taxes to zero, according to the drafts, which could still change before publication.<\/p>\n The EU \u200cwould \u200calso \u200bstep in to co-ordinate countries\u2019 efforts to fill gas storage in the coming months, and provide guidance on how governments should handle potential jet fuel shortages.<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s heavy reliance \u2060on oil and gas imports has \u200bleft it exposed to spiralling prices since the Strait of \u200bHormuz was effectively closed and Iran started attacking energy infrastructure in the Middle East.<\/p>\n Europe\u2019s \u200cbenchmark gas price on Tuesday was roughly \u200ba third higher than before the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28th.<\/p>\n However, the EU\u2019s biggest oil \u2060and gas suppliers, the US and Norway, are \u2060outside the Middle East, \u200band the Iran crisis has not yet triggered fuel shortages in Europe. Airlines have warned, though, that jet fuel shortages could emerge in weeks.<\/p>\n EU officials told Reuters the bloc\u2019s relatively restrained response reflects the fact that national governments, rather than Brussels, control many crisis-management levers, including subsidies and cutting national taxes and levies.<\/p>\n The commission\u2019s plans outline non-binding ways for governments to provide \u201cimmediate relief\u201d, including requiring businesses to avoid air travel where possible.<\/p>\n Some officials said the response also reflects an assessment that the war-driven energy \u200cshock could last for \u2060months, making it prudent to hold back more extreme measures for now.<\/p>\n Elisabetta Cornago, assistant director at the Centre for European Reform think tank, said continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz \u201cmay lead \u200cus to a worse shock regarding oil than in 2022, a similar gas shock, but I think a smaller shock on electricity prices\u201d.<\/p>\n That\u2019s \u200bbecause countries have significantly expanded renewable electricity since 2022, she said. <\/p>\n The EU \u200bproduced 71 per cent of its electricity from low-carbon sources, including renewables and nuclear, last year, up from around 60 per cent in 2022, data from think tank Ember showed. – Reuters<\/p>\n One person killed in Israeli strike in Lebanon<\/p>\n One \u200cperson was \u200bkilled and two others \u200bwounded in \u2060an Israeli \u200cdrone \u200cstrike \u200bovernight \u2060on \u200bthe outskirts \u200bof \u200cal-Jbour in \u200bLebanon\u2019s western \u2060Bekaa \u2060Valley, Lebanese \u200bstate news agency \u200csaid on \u2060Wednesday.<\/p>\n Israel and Lebanon are supposed to be adhering to a 10-day ceasefire, which was agreed on Friday and included Hizbullah. <\/p>\n Israel and Lebanon will hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday, according to a US state department official. The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, will reportedly be part of the US delegation involved in those talks.<\/p>\n Trump claims Iran collapsing financially<\/p>\n The US president has posted to Truth Social about 90 minutes ago<\/a>, claiming Iran is \u201ccollapsing financially\u201d and was losing $500m every day the strait of Hormuz is closed. <\/p>\n \u201cIran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately- Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!\u201d<\/p>\n Trump posted about Iran several times on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople approached me four days ago, saying, \u2018Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.\u2019 But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!\u201d Trump said in an earlier post.<\/p>\n No response from Iran to threats<\/p>\n There was no response early on Wednesday to Trump\u2019s announcement that the US blockade of Iran\u2019s ports would continue from senior Iranian officials, although some initial reactions from Tehran suggested \u200bTrump\u2019s comments were being treated sceptically.<\/p>\n Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, said Iran had not asked for a ceasefire extension and repeated threats to break the US blockade by force. <\/p>\n An adviser to Iran\u2019s lead negotiator, the speaker of parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said Trump\u2019s announcement \u2060carried little weight and may be a ploy. <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s wartime rhetoric has veered between extremes. In an expletive-filled threat against Iran only two weeks ago he promised that a \u201cwhole civilisation will die tonight\u201d, while \u200cat other \u200ctimes \u200bhe has appeared keen to end the violence and market uncertainty.<\/p>\n With his announcement, Trump again pulled back at the last moment from his threats to bomb Iran\u2019s power plants and bridges. <\/p>\n United Nations secretary general Ant\u00f3nio Guterres and others have condemned those threats, noting international humanitarian law forbids attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n Trump extends ceasefire with Iran Donald Trump <\/a>has extended the ceasefire with Iran<\/a>, saying the Tehran regime was \u201cseriously fractured\u201d.<\/p>\n The last-minute move follows a request from Pakistan, which has been mediating in the conflict.<\/p>\n However, the US president said the blockade of Iran\u2019s ports would remain in force.<\/p>\n The extension comes as the deadline loomed on the current fragile truce and proposed talks in Islamabad were put on hold, amid tensions over the ongoing stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Pakistan\u2019s leaders, including prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, had made frantic efforts on Tuesday to get both Washington and Tehran to agree to further talks.<\/p>\n![\"Tankers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776844209_205_5IWTI22FNBZW2NCKKM2R6UH6JU.jpg\")
Tankers and bulk carriers anchored in the Strait of Hormuz. Photograph: AP <\/p>\n![\"Donald](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/YDRTVFNNY5FQ5IHHSGT6Y6MSLY.jpg\")
Donald Trump claimed Iran is ‘collapsing financially’ <\/p>\n![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/WILJMXER4LEERRHMS2F6FB4WBI.jpg\")
Police officers stand guard in the Red Zone area in Islamabad, Pakistan, where talks between Iran and the US were scheduled to take place. Photograph: Aamir Qureshi\/AFP <\/p>\n