Second ship attacked in strait of Hormuz
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of a second ship coming under attack in the strait of Hormuz.
A cargo ship was fired at about 8 nautical miles northwest of Iran, UKMTO said, although it did not say where the shots were fired from.
In a report issued this morning, UKMTO said: “A master of an outbound cargo ship reports having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water. Crew are safe and accounted for. There is no reported damage to the vessel.
“UKMTO is aware of high levels of activity in the SoH (strait of Hormuz) area and encourages vessels to report any suspicious activity.”
It follows an earlier report of a container ship that was fired at by an IRGC gunboat off the coast of Oman.
Key events
Two million people in Iran lost their jobs because of war, says Iranian minister
More than two million people have lost their jobs in Iran as a result of the war, according to an Iranian minister, pushing a fragile economy already battered by sanctions and an internet blackout deeper into crisis.
The war has inflicted severe damage on Iran’s critical infrastructure, including its oil and gas facilities, petrochemical industries, steel plants and aluminium factories. Internet disruptions during the January protests, and the blackout since the start of the war on 28 February, have also paralysed the digital economy.
Widespread redundancies have followed, with Hadi Kahalzadeh, a former economist at Iran’s Social Security Organisation, estimating 10 to 12 million jobs, roughly 50% of Iran’s workforce, are at risk.
Earlier this week, Gholamhossein Mohammadi, an Iranian deputy labour minister and head of Iran’s technical and vocational training organisation, said initial estimates showed the war has led to the loss of more than one million jobs and direct and indirect unemployment of two million people, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
He said the Iranian government has launched initiatives to train and recruit people for the reconstruction of damaged homes and industries. He was quoted as saying: “Our approach this year has shifted from quantity to quality, with a focus on the training required for reconstruction, renewable energy and the digital economy.”
Second ship attacked in strait of Hormuz
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said it received a report of a second ship coming under attack in the strait of Hormuz.
A cargo ship was fired at about 8 nautical miles northwest of Iran, UKMTO said, although it did not say where the shots were fired from.
In a report issued this morning, UKMTO said: “A master of an outbound cargo ship reports having been fired upon and is now stopped in the water. Crew are safe and accounted for. There is no reported damage to the vessel.
“UKMTO is aware of high levels of activity in the SoH (strait of Hormuz) area and encourages vessels to report any suspicious activity.”
It follows an earlier report of a container ship that was fired at by an IRGC gunboat off the coast of Oman.
Iran has executed a man convicted of spying for Israel’s intelligence service and passing sensitive information, the judiciary’s news outlet Mizan reports.
Mizan said the man had held a position in a civil defence unit within a sensitive organisation and had used his access to gather and transmit information to Israel’s Mossad, Reuters reported.
His death sentence was upheld by the supreme court, Mizan said.
In the UK, inflation rose by 3.3% in March after the surge in fuel prices triggered by the Iran war led to the biggest jump in transport costs since December 2022.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show the consumer prices index increased last month from 3% in February, adding to pressure on household finances already battered by a cost of living crisis. The rise matched City economists’s forecasts.
Grant Fitzner, the ONS chief economist, said: “Inflation climbed in March, largely due to increased fuel prices, which saw their largest increase for over three years.
“Air fares were another upward driver this month, alongside rising food prices.”
Read the full report here:
Iranian media has reported the container ship that was fired at by an IRGC gunboat off the coast of Oman had “ignored warnings from the Iranian armed forces”.
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.
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.
But Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that the vessel “ignored warnings from the Iranian armed forces [and] was fired upon … causing serious damage to the ship”.
IRGC warns it would inflict ‘crushing blows’ if fighting resumes
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned it would inflict “crushing blows” against “the enemy’s remaining assets” in the Middle East if fighting resumed, according to Iranian media.
The warning came after Donald Trump announced an extension of the US-Iran ceasefire that was set to expire today.
In a statement carried by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency, the IRGC said it is “prepared to confront any threat or renewed aggression from the enemy decisively, conclusively, and immediately, and in the next phase of a potential military conflict, will inflict crushing and unimaginable blows on the enemy’s remaining assets in the region”.
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.
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 Organization (IMO).
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.
IMO’s 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.
Interim summary
If you’re just joining us, here’s the main news of the day. It is 9.30am in Tehran, 9am in Jerusalem and Beirut, and 2am in Washington DC.
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Donald Trump unilaterally said he is extending the ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request while awaiting a “unified proposal” from Tehran, even as the US military maintains its blockade of Iranian ports.
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Trump made the announcement as ceasefire talks looked increasingly uncertain with a two-week truce set to expire on Wednesday. Both countries had said they were prepared to resume fighting if no deal is reached.
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Trump said he would “extend the ceasefire until such time as [Iran’s] proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other”.
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Trump later claimed in a Truth Social post that Iran is “collapsing financially” and was losing $500m every day that the strait of Hormuz is effectively closed.
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Iran has yet to decide whether to join the negotiations in Pakistan, a foreign ministry spokesman said earlier on Tuesday, and will only take part if Tehran believes the discussions would yield results.
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A container ship has reported being fired at by an IRGC gunboat, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. The incident occurred 15 nautical miles north-east of Oman. The vessel sustained “heavy damage” to its bridge, the master of the ship said. All crew members were reported as safe.
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Shares were mixed in Asia as markets waited to see if the US and Iran may resume talks. Brent crude edged higher to $98.51 a barrel, while US benchmark crude fell 0.4% to $89.29 a barrel.
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One person was killed and two others wounded in an Israeli drone strike overnight on the outskirts of al-Jbour in Lebanon’s western Bekaa Valley, Lebanese state media reported. Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire on Friday.
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Since the war started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon, the Associated Press reported. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have been killed.
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Iran’s Revolutionary Guards threatened to prevent oil production in the Middle East if the Islamic republic faced attacks launched from its Gulf neighbours’ territory.
Europe readies energy crisis response amid jet fuel shortage warnings
The European Commission will set out plans today to cut electricity taxes and coordinate the summer refill of countries’ gas storage, as it seeks to cushion the energy fallout from the Iran war.
Draft proposals seen by Reuters show the EU will, for now, avoid major market interventions such as capping gas prices or taxing energy companies’ windfall profits – measures it used in 2022 when Russia cut gas supplies and prices hit record highs.
Instead, the Commission plans to curb EU tax rules to favour electricity over oil and gas, and make it easier for governments to cut industries’ electricity taxes to zero, according to the drafts, which could still change before publication.
The EU would also step in to coordinate countries’ efforts to fill gas storage in the coming months, and provide guidance on how governments should handle potential jet fuel shortages.
Europe’s heavy reliance on oil and gas imports has left it exposed to spiralling prices since the strait of Hormuz was effectively closed and Iran started attacking energy infrastructure in the Middle East.
Europe’s benchmark gas price on Tuesday was roughly a third higher than before the war began on 28 February.
The EU’s biggest oil and gas suppliers – the US and Norway – are outside the Middle East, and the Iran crisis has not yet triggered fuel shortages in Europe. Airlines have warned, however, that jet fuel shortages could emerge in weeks.
Trump administration halts US dollar shipments to Iraq: report
The Trump administration has halted US dollar shipments to Iraq and frozen security cooperation programs with its military, as it presses Baghdad to dismantle Iranian-backed militias operating in the country, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing Iraqi and US officials.
US Treasury department officials recently blocked a delivery of nearly $500m in US banknotes – the proceeds of Iraqi oil sales – from accounts at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the Journal said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The US Treasury department and the federal reserve did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Washington has also informed Baghdad it is suspending funding for some counter-terrorism and military training programs until militia attacks end and Iraqi authorities take steps to dismantle armed groups, the report added.
The US earlier this month summoned Iraq’s ambassador after a drone struck a major US diplomatic facility in Baghdad, following a series of drone attacks that Washington has blamed on Iran-aligned “terrorist militias”.
One person was killed and two others wounded in an Israeli drone strike overnight on the outskirts of al-Jbour in Lebanon’s western Bekaa Valley, Lebanese state news agency has reported.
Israel and Lebanon are meant to be adhering to a 10-day ceasefire, which was agreed on Friday and included Hezbollah.
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.
IRGC gunboat attacks container ship off Oman: report
We’re seeing reports that a container ship off the coast of Oman was fired at by an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps gunboat, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
The shots “caused heavy damage to the bridge”, but all crew are reportedly safe, the UKMTO said.
Iran did not immediately acknowledge the assault.
It comes after the US seized an Iranian container ship after shooting it this past weekend and boarded an oil tanker associated with Iran’s oil trade in the Indian Ocean.
We’ll have more on this as it comes to hand.
Trump’s musings on UAE’s wartime economy and ‘currency swap’ elicits denial
Donald Trump’s appearance on CNBC, where he discussed the state of the United Arab Emirates’ wartime economy, drew a quick response from the UAE’s ambassador to the US, denying his country was in financial strife because of the war.
Trump had said the US was considering helping the UAE financially, and spoke about a potential currency swap.
“It is,” Trump told CNBC on Tuesday when asked if a currency swap with the UAE was under consideration, calling them a good ally.
“They’re really led by incredible people … I mean, I’m surprised, because they are really rich,” he said.
“If I could help them, I would, I mean, we’re helping them much more with what we’re doing with the war,” Trump said, referring to the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the UAE’s central bank governor raised the idea of a currency swap line with the US Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and federal reserve officials in meetings in Washington last week, in case the war plunges the oil-rich country into a deeper crisis.
“If the UAE had a problem – I find it hard to believe – but if they had a problem, we would be there for them,” Trump said.
Later, Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE’s ambassador to US, said he appreciated Trump’s recognition of the country as an important partner but maintained that the UAE’s economy remained resilient.
“Any suggestion that the UAE requires external financial backing misreads the facts,” he said in a statement posted on X by the embassy. “The UAE is one of the world’s most financially resilient economies, underpinned by more than $2 trillion in sovereign investment assets; more than $300 billion in foreign currency reserves held by the UAE’s central bank; and a banking sector with approximately $1.5 trillion in deposits.”
The UAE is an autocratically ruled federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, and home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
While able to export some oil through a pipeline to the Gulf of Oman, the continued chaos around the strait of Hormuz has cut off a lot of its oil from reaching the market.
The war also has affected businesses in Dubai and the country’s long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad.
Far-flung Pacific nations are reeling from the impact of a global fuel crisis.
Aid agencies have warned that the crisis has driven up prices for diesel, petrol and kerosene by as much as 70% in Papua New Guinea since the start of the Iran war.
Pacific Island nations are the most reliant on diesel for power generation worldwide, the International Finance Corp said in 2024.
Pacific countries imported about 2.2 million metric tons of gasoline, diesel, gasoil and jet fuel in 2025, largely from Singapore and South Korea, Kpler shiptracking data showed. But imports for the first half of April were just a quarter of the figure for all of March.
In Kiribati, people are struggling to get to work, school and access healthcare, a charity has warned. Meanwhile, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands have both declared states of emergency.
The Cook Islands, Nauru and Papua New Guinea have moved to subsidise or cap rising fuel costs.
In Fiji, ministers agreed to take a pay cut of 20% to help shoulder some of the measures to offset fuel costs, though parliament must approve the change.
Donald Trump posted to Truth Social about 10 minutes ago, claiming Iran is “collapsing financially” and was losing $500m every day the strait of Hormuz is closed.
Iran 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!!!
Trump has posted about Iran several times on Tuesday (it has just gone 11.55pm in Washington DC).
“People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately.’ 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!” Trump said in an earlier post.
Asian shares mixed, oil prices ease
Shares have been mixed in early trading across Asia, while oil prices have eased on hopes the US and Iran may resume talks to end their war.
The price of Brent crude edged 0.2% lower but was still above $98 a barrel. US benchmark crude fell 0.4% to $89.29 a barrel.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.5%, the Kospi in South Korea edged 0.2% lower and Australia’s S+P/ASX 200 dipped 0.9%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 1.3%, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.1%. In Taiwan, the Taiex was up 1.1%.
In Tuesday trading on Wall Street, the S+P 500 added 1.2% to its leap from the day before, closing at 6,967.38.
Global inflation this year looks set to accelerate to 4.4% from 4.1% in 2025, according to the International Monetary Fund, which had earlier thought inflation would slow to 3.8%.
Welcome
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East.
Hours before the ceasefire between the US and Iran was due to expire, Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would extend it at Pakistan’s request while awaiting a “unified proposal” from Tehran, even as the US military maintained its blockade of Iranian ports.
The move comes as the White House put on hold vice-president JD Vance’s planned trip to Pakistan for a second round of truce talks with Iran, which has balked at further discussions.
Iran has said the US must end the blockade of its ports in order for negotiations to resume. But Trump and Treasury secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday both warned that the US Navy blockade will continue. Tehran’s position has been it will only take part in talks if it believes discussions in Islamabad will yield results.
After Trump’s unilateral announcement, Pakistan’s president, Shehbaz Sharif, thanked the US president for extending the ceasefire with Iran, saying it would allow ongoing diplomatic efforts to proceed.
In a post on X, Sharif said he was expressing gratitude “on my personal behalf and on behalf of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir” for Trump’s “gracious acceptance” of Pakistan’s request to extend the ceasefire.
Oil prices also wavered before Trump announced the extension, and the price for a barrel of Brent crude went from less than $95 to about $100 during the day. It settled at $98.48, up 3.1%.
In other developments:
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Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah traded some fire on Tuesday. Hezbollah said it had fired rockets and drones at Israeli forces maintaining a buffer zone in southern Lebanon. In response, Israel said it had struck the launcher, calling Hezbollah’s strikes a blatant violation of the ceasefire.
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The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, will be part of the US delegation for upcoming direct talks between Israel and Lebanon, according to CNN. Israel and Lebanon, will hold fresh talks in Washington on Thursday, a state department official said.
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The US Treasury’s Scott Bessent said that as a result of the US blockade, “in a matter of days, Kharg Island storage will be full and the fragile Iranian oil wells will be shut in”. In a statement posted on X, Bessent said the US “will continue to apply maximum pressure through Economic Fury to systematically degrade Tehran’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds”.
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Gen Majid Mousavi, the aerospace chief for Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said oil facilities across the region would be harmed if neighbouring countries allow the US to carry out attacks. “If southern neighbours allow the enemy to use their facilities to attack Iran, they should say goodbye to oil production in the Middle East region,” he told Iranian state media.
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Britain will host military planners from over 30 countries for two days of talks starting Wednesday on a multinational mission led by the UK and France to protect navigation in the strait of Hormuz, the defence ministry said.
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Since the war started, fighting has killed at least 3,375 people in Iran and more than 2,290 in Lebanon, the Associated Press reports. Additionally, 23 people have died in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 US service members throughout the region have been killed.