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

Donald Trump’s dramatic blockade of Iran is not about shutting down the entire Strait of Hormuz — it’s about choking off access to Iranian ports and oil exports.

At its core, the plan is a naval interdiction operation with US warships positioned around key shipping routes to stop vessels heading to or leaving Iran.

Under the rules outlined by US Central Command, ships travelling to non-Iranian destinations can still pass through but any vessel linked to Iranian ports risks being intercepted, boarded or even seized.

It means the US Navy will effectively filter traffic, not fully close the waterway — targeting Iran’s economy while trying to keep global oil flowing.

Enforcement is expected to happen outside the narrow strait itself, likely in the Arabian Sea where US forces have more control and less risk of direct confrontation.

Boarding operations would involve helicopters landing on tankers or naval teams approaching by boat, allowing forces to inspect cargo and determine if ships are breaching the blockade.

There are also plans to track vessels electronically, monitor shipping movements and potentially seize ships suspected of carrying Iranian oil or paying tolls to Tehran.

Neutral ships already in Iranian ports may be given a short window to leave, but once that expires, any movement in or out could be stopped.

The strategy is designed to cut off Iran’s oil lifeline, which accounts for a major chunk of its economy, by making it nearly impossible to export crude.

However, the plan carries major risks including retaliation, sea mines and clashes with Iranian forces.

Talks between the US and Iran have ended without a deal — but fresh negotiations could be just days away.

Despite the setback in Islamabad, both sides remain engaged with behind-the-scenes diplomacy continuing through intermediaries.

Reuters reports that Pakistan is still passing messages between Tehran and Washington, with sources saying discussions are moving forward.

US officials also indicated there had been “continued engagement” and momentum towards a possible agreement.

According to the Associated Press, the two sides are now weighing a second round of face-to-face talks as early as Thursday, in a bid to end the six-week conflict before a ceasefire expires.

Islamabad is again being considered as the host city, although Geneva has also emerged as a potential location, with final details yet to be locked in.

Iran has reportedly offered to temporarily suspend uranium enrichment for five years in an attempt to secure a period of peace with the US.

The five-year pause would get us to a time when US President Donald Trump should be out of the White House after serving two full terms, potentially a motivation for the regime.

The US reportedly rejected the pause, according to Al Jazeera, which reported two sources saying the Trump administration wanted at least a 20-year suspension.

It comes as Russia has edged into the conversation, offering to take Iran’s enriched uranium from them. The Kremlin says it can accommodate the stocks, something the US might not be too keen on.

Iran has not accepted Russia’s offer.

Ongoing tensions in the Middle East and a still volatile oil market has forced Qantas to cut capacity on its domestic network, throwing the travel plans of countless Australians into chaos.

The bombshell news came in a trading update released by the Flying Kangaroo on Tuesday.

Qantas said jet fuel prices had more than doubled since the US and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran in late February and “remain highly volatile”.

While 90 per cent of the airline’s jet fuel prices for the second half of the current financial year are hedged it was largely exposed to movements in jet refining margins — the difference in price between crude oil and refined jet fuel.

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US President Donald Trump has deleted a controversial AI-generated image of himself that appeared to depict him as Jesus Christ.

The image featured a scene showing the president dressed in robes, placing a hand on the forehead of a patient lying in bed.

Light is emanating from both hands and “heavenly” figures can be seen in the clouds in the background.

But today he told journalists that it was “fake news”.

“It wasn’t a depiction,” he said.

“I did post it and I thought it was me as a doctor, and had to do with Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker, which we support, and only the fake news could come up with that one.”

US President Donald Trump says Iran will “never have a nuclear weapon”, reportedly the major sticking point of the failed peace talks.

“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon... If they don’t agree, there’s no deal,” Mr Trump said at the White House.

“There’ll never be a deal.

“Iran will not have a nuclear weapon and we’re going to get the dust back — either we’ll get it back from them or we’ll take it.”

Mr Trump added he was “sure” that Iran would agree to the condition.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told European governments that Donald Trump wants concrete commitments in the near future to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, diplomats told Reuters last week.

NATO could play a role in the strait if its 32 members could agree on the formation of a mission, Mr Rutte said on Thursday.

Several European countries have said they are willing to help in the Strait, but only once there is a durable end to hostilities and an agreement with Iran that their ships will not be attacked.

France will organise a conference with the UK and other countries to create an international mission to restore navigation in the strait, French President Emmanuel Macron said on X on Monday.

“This strictly defensive mission, distinct from the belligerents, will be deployed as soon as the situation allows,” Mr Macron said.

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NATO allies say they will not get involved in US President Donald Trump’s plan to blockade Iranian ports, proposing to intervene only once fighting ends.

Mr Trump said the US military would eliminate any Iranian ships that came near the blockade that began on Tuesday, after weekend talks failed to reach an agreement to end the six-week conflict with Iran.

Mr Trump initially said the US would work with other countries to block ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, but the US military later specified that the blockade would only apply to ships going to or from Iranian ports.

But NATO allies, including the United Kingdom and France, said they would not be drawn into the conflict by taking part in the blockade, saying instead they were working on an initiative to open the strait through which a fifth of global oil supplies normally pass.

“We’re not supporting the blockade,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the BBC.

“My decision has been very clear that whatever the pressure, and there’s been some considerable pressure, we’re not getting dragged into the war,” he said.

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US President Donald Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade has commenced, with any and all ships attempting to arrive at or leave an Iranian port now unauthorised to leave.

Mr Trump has confirmed that Iranian ships that come close to the US Navy blockade will be “eliminated”, identifying a lingering threat that Tehran has up its sleave.

“What we have not hit are their small number of, what they call, ‘fast attack ships,’ because we did not consider them much of a threat,” Mr Trump said on Truth Social.

“Warning: If any of these ships come anywhere close to our BLOCKADE, they will be immediately ELIMINATED, using the same system of kill that we use against the drug dealers on boats at Sea.

“It is quick and brutal.”