US-Iran war updates: Trump lashes European countries for not ‘stepping up’ as Iran strikes Kuwaiti oil tanker

The Dubai Media Office is reporting four people have been injured after the UAE’s air defence systems intercepted a missile strike, which caused a fire in an abandoned house in Dubai’s central suburb of Al Bada’a.

The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting negotiations between states and territories to further slash petrol prices on top of the fuel excise have stalled, after leaders could not agree on how to reintroduce the extra GST generated from higher petrol prices to help Australians.

NSW premier Chris Minns reportedly suggested between an extra 7c and 10c per litre off fuel prices on top of the 26c excise, but the state and territory leaders were unable to agree.

The Australian is also reporting Queensland and Victoria’s premiers preferred to use the GST windfall within their states.

The negotiations — which require a unanimous agreement — will continue.

The state-run Dubai Media Office says response teams have managed to contain any oil spill after a Kuwaiti tanker was struck earlier on Tuesday.

The Al-Salmi tanker was set on fire after it was struck by Iranian forces while it was anchored 31 nautical miles off Dubai.

No injuries were reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has claimed his country’s military actions are only “aimed at enemy agressors who have no respect for Arabs or Iranians” in a pointed jab at the United States.

In a social media post, Minister Araghchi shared a photograph appearing to show an obliterated US Air Force aircraft, saying, “just look what we did to their aerial command”.

“High time to eject US forces,” the post said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed four Israeli soldiers were killed and two injured during combat in southern Lebanon.

Captain Noam Madmoni, 22, Staff Sergeant Ben Cohen, 21, and Staff Sergeant Maxsim Entis, 22, “fell during combat” with Iran-backed Hezbollah, a military statement said.

A seperate statement revealled another soldier, who had not been publicly named, also died.

The two injured have been evacuated to hospital.

New footage has emerged of a massive explosion in Isfahan, Iran, where the US and Israel reportedly dropped bunker-buster-style bombs on a target.

US officials have yet to release an official statement, but speculation is growing that a “missile city” was struck.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has given an update on the number of petrol stations around the country with fuel shortages at the moment:

• NSW – 247 with no diesel and 61 with no fuel at all
• Queensland – 77 with no diesel and 39 with no unleaded petrol
• Victoria – 82 with no diesel and 40 with no unleaded petrol
• SA – 20 with no diesel and 13 with no unleaded petrol
• WA – 18 with no diesel and 14 with no unleaded petrol
• Tasmania – 8 with no diesel and 15 short of at least one type of fuel
• NT – 5 with no diesel and 4 with no unleaded petrol
• ACT – 5 with no diesel and 2 with no unleaded petrol

These figures are provided by the States, which each collect slightly different types of data.

Israel and US strikes have wiped out senior Iranian leaders and hit key targets across the country. But after a month of fighting, it is arguably Iran that has secured the most significant strategic victory — a tightening grip over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

So far in March, the first full month of war, barely six vessels per day on average have traversed the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the world, in either direction.

That compares with about 135 a day in normal times, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.

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A map produced by American bank JPMorgan has outlined the exact date that most oil deliveries to Australia will stop as a result of supply disruptions from the war in the Middle East.

According to the bank, the situation is a “ticking time bomb” and blockages through the Strait of Hormuz over the past month will cause a “sequential” shortage running from east to west.

The diagram predicts most of the world will experience supplies reduced to a trickle in April, and “most deliveries” to Australia stopping on April 20.

“Obviously, there’s huge pressures on the supply chain. That’s what JP Morgan is pointing to, and that’s what we’re responding to,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in response to the warnings.

According to the JPMorgan map, Africa and Asia would be hit earlier, on April 1, while in the US, an impact was expected around April 15.

US President Donald Trump has shared video of an enormous explosion in Iran, which is understood to have taken place in the past hour or so.

Initial reports suggest that the US and Israel conducted joint strikes on the Iranian city of Isfahan overnight, with footage online showing an enormous explosion.

Intelligence in recent days had suggested that Iran may have moved highly enriched uranium stockpiles, estimated to be around 540kg, to an underground facility in Isfahan.

Some reports suggest a missile stockpile was hit.

If the US and Israel have successfully struck a storage facility containing that material, it could have a major impact on the ongoing war.