US-Iran war updates: Donald Trump launches ‘Project Freedom’ as ship attacked near Iran, peace talks stall

Motorists looking for extended relief at the bowser will have to wait until June to see what the Government decides to do.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says while the $2.5 billion cost of the three-month halving of that fuel excise that’s in place now will be reflected in next week’s Budget papers, “people shouldn’t expect to see in the Budget on Tuesday night an extension of that, because we’ve made it really clear that it’s a temporary thing”.

However, he acknowledged that the global oil price “has been a real rollercoaster”, fluctuating between $80 and $120 a barrel, and that flowed through to the prices people paid and the pump.

The cut to the excise started on April 1 and is currently in place until June 30.

“If we get closer towards the end of that three month period, obviously, like all of these policies … we’ve got a range of contingencies, but people should expect that that petrol tax cut will be in the Budget until the end of June,” Dr Chalmers said.

The US-Iran ceasefire may be holding - just - but tensions are still playing out online.

Donald Trump has shared what appears to be an AI-generated image of himself holding a stack of UNO Wild cards, alongside the caption: “I HAVE ALL THE CARDS”.

The phrase has become a recurring point of friction between US and Iranian leaders in recent weeks, emerging as a symbolic line in the ongoing war of words even as ceasefire talks continue.

Penny Wong says talks are underway to secure additional fuel supplies from China following recent discussions with her counterpart Wang Yi.

After her visit, Senator Wong confirmed China had agreed to resume shipments, adding: “Our fuel security depends on each other in many ways,” noting Australia’s energy exports are closely tied to supply chains.

She said she remained hopeful the ongoing, commercially sensitive negotiations would deliver a positive outcome for Australia.

Senator Wong also described the latest attack on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as “deeply concerning”, backing international calls to reopen the critical waterway.

“We’re engaging with the US, with the UK, with France, with others, around the Strait of Hormuz,” she said, adding, “Obviously, we all want to see the strait opened.” She confirmed, however, that Australia is not directly involved in the current US-Iran negotiations.

US President Donald Trump said that he had yet to review the exact wording of a new Iranian peace proposal, but he was unlikely to accept it, because the Iranians had not yet “paid a big enough price”.

Mr Trump’s remarks on social media concluded a day in which he publicly mused about the possibility of restarting air strikes, the latest mixed signal as he seeks to end the war he launched more than two months ago.

On Sunday, Israel ordered thousands of Lebanese to leave villages in southern Lebanon, an escalation of a war between Israel and Iran’s Hezbollah allies that has run in parallel to the Iran war and could further complicate wider peace efforts.

Iran has said talks with Washington cannot resume unless a ceasefire also holds in Lebanon, which Israel invaded in March to attack Hezbollah after the Iranian-backed Lebanese group fired across the border in support of Tehran.

Read more.

The world is watching the Strait of Hormuz with renewed unease after US President Donald Trump announced a US-backed mission to escort stranded ships out of the critical oil chokepoint, coupled with a blunt warning that any interference would be met with force.

In a statement, Mr Trump said multiple countries had asked the United States to help free vessels stuck in the narrow waterway, describing them as “neutral and innocent bystanders” caught in a widening Middle Eastern conflict.

The operation, dubbed “Project Freedom,” is set to begin Monday morning local time and will involve US efforts to guide ships safely out of what Mr Trump called “restricted waterways”.

But the announcement quickly pivoted from humanitarian framing to a harder edge.

“If, in any way, this Humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully,” he said.

Read more.