US-Iran war updates: China teases ‘countermeasures’ as Donald Trump threatens fresh tariffs

China has vowed to impose “countermeasures” as Donald Trump threatens new tariffs on its goods entering the US if Beijing provides military assistance to Iran during the war..

Speaking at a news conference, foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said “If the US insists on using this as an excuse to impose additional tariffs on China, China will definitely take resolute countermeasures.”

Jiakun also labelled the United States’ blockade of Iranian ports “dangerous and irresponsible”.

“Increased military operations and took a targeted blockade action, which will only exacerbate tensions and undermine the already fragile ceasefire agreement,” he said.

Jaukin added that the move “further jeopardises safety of passage through the Strait”.

Asia’s stocks were trading higher and oil fell on Tuesday amid hopes of renewed talks between the US and Iran.

Benchmark US crude was down 1.7 per cent to $97.37 a barrel on Tuesday morning. Brent crude fell 0.9 per cent to $98.49 per barrel.

Tokyo’s Nikkei rose to 2.3 per cent to 57,804.81 and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 2.7 per cent to 5,968.06.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.5 per cent to 25,783.41. The Shanghair Composite index increased by 0.5 per cent to 4,007.93.

Chinese President Xi Jingping has put forward a four-point plan to promote peace in the Middle East.

He floated the proposal during a meeting with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, according to Chinese official news agency Xinhua.

The outlet reports the proposal seeks to respect national sovereignty and regional peaceful coexistence. It also highlights a need to coordinate security and development.

“Safeguard the authority of the international rule of law. It can’t be ‘use it when it suits us, discard it when it doesn’t,’ and we cannot allow the world to revert to the law of the jungle,” Xi said.

Anthony Albanese has arrived in Brunei Darussalam, the first Australian Prime Minister to fly to the oil-rich country for a bi-lateral meeting with the Sultan, where he’ll discuss fuel supplies with the world’s longest serving monarch.

Arriving in Bandar Seri Begawan on Tuesday for his second trip to Asia in a week, the Prime Minister was officially welcomed on the tarmac before making his way to the Brunei Darussalam-Australia memorial to lay a wreath.

Mr Albanese is being accompanied by Foreign Minister Penny Wong for the overnight visit where he’ll meet His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah on Wednesday to discuss fuel and food trade between both countries.

Brunei Darussalam provides 9 percent of Australia’s annual diesel imports as well as 11 percent of annual crude oil imports and 11 percent of annual fertiliser-grade urea imports.

The last Australian leader to travel to Brunei Darussalam was Tony Abbott in 2013 to attend the East Asia Summit, but Mr Albanese is the first Prime Minister to be invited for a bi-lateral visit.

Following his talks with the Sultan, who has ruled Brunei Darussalam since 1967 and is one of the world’s richest people, Mr Albanese will fly to Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday to discuss fuel supplies with his Malaysian counterpart.

Australia was one of Brunei Darussalam’s first diplomatic partners after the country’s full resumption of independence in 1984, but historic links date back to 1945 when Australian forces landed there as part of an allied campaign to liberate Borneo.

Pakistan has suggested hosting a second round of discussions between the US and Iran in Islamabad in the coming days, according to two Pakistani officials.

Speaking under anonymity due to being unable to speak to the media, the officials said the meeting would depend on whether the parties request a different location.

Although the first talks ended without reaching an agreement, one official said the discussions were part of an ongoing diplomatic process.

The supply chain and energy cost chaos unleashed by the Middle East conflict are wrecking consumer confidence as companies reveal a broad range of profit warnings.

Already this week, Westpac blamed soaring interest rate volatility for a hit to its profit margins, infant-formula supplier a2 Milk warned on rising freight costs, Qantas flagged a soaring fuel bill, and payments company EML blamed a huge profit downgrade on weak consumer demand.

Beneath the surface the S&P/ASX 200 is creaking, but its modest 2.2 per cent fall since the war’s February 27 start disguises growing alarm bells about falling corporate profits and the rising living costs for Australian consumers.

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Israel is reviewing a strike on a Lebanese Red Cross centre in the south of the country on Monday.

The Israel Defense Forces said the “incident is under review” after it struck a Hezbollah target in the Bint Jbeil area.

There were reports about a “Red Cross team injured in the strike”.

WA will stockpile four million litres of diesel in the State’s north after the Cook Government secured a shipment as part of a strategic reserve.

The State-owned stockpile will be held in Wyndham, in WA’s north, and comes from a shipment from Cambridge Gulf at a cost of $10 million.

“This strategic stockpile will be a lifeline for regional areas at times of acute need, an emergency supply of diesel 100 per cent managed by the State for the use of West Australians,” Energy Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said.

The stockpile will not be for general public use but rather a top up for when it is needed, with a focus on providing emergency supply for areas in need such as agriculture and remote communities.

Premier Roger Cook says WA’s unique makeup meant it was necessary to go it alone with the supply.

“The Prime Minister, and indeed, the Federal Government, understands that Western Australia has a unique set of circumstances,” he said.

“We are a very vast state with a very highly dispersed population, and we have an industry which is crucial for the national economy.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has warned that the country has not yet “revealed” many of its “capabilities” and said that “if the war continues, we will unveil capacities that the enemy has no conception of”.

According to reports, IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi said that Iran would introduce “modern” methods of warfare that the “enemy will have very limited ability” to counter.

An Israeli soldier had been killed in Lebanon, the first since a US-Iran temporary truce came into force that Israel insisted does not include the country where it is fighting Tehran-backed Hezbollah.

“Sergeant Major (Res.) Ayal Uriel Bianco, aged 30, from Katzrin, a firefighting vehicle driver in the 188th Brigade, fell during combat in southern Lebanon,” the Israeli military said.