2h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 3:51pm
The latest key events from the Middle East
Here are the latest developments from the Iran war:
US President Donald Trump says “a whole civilisation will die tonight” unless Iran makes a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has until 10am today AEST before Mr Trump’s deadline passes. The US president has previously said he would then order strikes on bridges and power plants.US Vice-President JD Vance says US forces have tools they “so far haven’t decided to use”. The White House later denied suggestions that was hinting at a nuclear strike on Iran.Iran has been barraged with strikes to infrastructure including bridges, railways and the strategically important Kharg Island.Three gunmen with links to a terror organisation were ‘neutralised’ by police following an attack on the Israeli consulate in Istanbul. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has met to discuss the Hormuz crisis. China vetoed a resolution from Gulf nation Bahrain on encouraging the protection of shipping through the strait.
21m agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 6:01pm
Trump’s fitness for office questioned by former allies
Donald Trump’s threat to wipe out Iran’s “whole civilisation” has been met with some fierce criticism, including from former allies.
“We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness,” hard-right ex-congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who split with Trump last year, said on X.
Former loyalists including Greene have even questioned his fitness for the presidency.
Right-wing TV host Tucker Carlson called Trump’s Easter Sunday comments the “first step toward nuclear war,” ex-White House press secretary Anthony Scaramucci called him a “crazy person” and sought Trump’s removal from office.
Former Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz meanwhile said “the President has lost his mind.”
34m agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 5:48pm
International efforts to reopen shipping strait continue
The United Arab Emirates says it “deeply regrets” the UN Security Council’s failure to pass a resolution on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
It says it will keep pushing for international efforts to reopen the vital shipping route.
The UN Security Council voted down the resolution earlier tonight after Russia and China vetoed it.
Russia has since claimed the resolution, which was put forward by Bahrain, contained “unbalanced, inaccurate and confrontational elements”.
49m agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 5:33pm
Israel’s military ‘regrets’ damaging synagogue in Iran
The Israeli military said it regretted the “collateral damage” caused to a synagogue in Tehran during a strike and said it was not targeting a place of worship.
A man clears rubble of a synagogue, which was damaged in a strike. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)
“The IDF struck a senior commander in the emergency headquarters ‘Khatam al-Anbiya’ of the Iranian terror regime,” an Israeli military spokesperson said.
“The IDF regrets the collateral damage to the synagogue and emphasises that the strike was targeted at a senior military target within the regime’s armed forces, not at any place of worship.”
Iranian media had earlier reported that the Rafi-Nia Synagogue in central Tehran had been “completely destroyed”.
Reporting with AFP
57m agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 5:25pm
Israel’s military vows to ‘intensify the damage inflicted’ on Iran
Israeli military chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir says the US-Israeli offensive against Iran is “approaching a strategic crossroads”.
“So far, we have achieved significant gains, including relative to the objectives we set at the outset of the operation,” Zamir said in a military statement.
“We will continue to act with determination and intensify the damage inflicted on the regime.”
The remarks came after the Israeli military said it had struck eight bridges that it said were used by Iran’s armed forces “for transporting weapons and military equipment”.
Reporting with AFP
1h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 5:13pm
UN issues reminder that infrastructure attacks are war crimes
The UN rights chief has warned that deliberate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure is considered “a war crime”.
“Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime,” Volker Turk said in a statement.
“Anyone responsible for international crimes must be held to account by a competent court.”
While Mr Turk did not indicate which country he was referring to the comments were made as US President Donald Trump ramped up his rhetoric against Iran, vowing to carry out the “complete demolition” of critical infrastructure, particularly bridges and power plants if Iran did not agree a deal by late Tuesday local time.
Hours before the deadline, the Israeli military said it had already completed a broad wave of strikes targeting “infrastructure sites” across Iran.
1h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 5:01pm
Iran could join peace talks but show no sign of compromise, Pakistan officials say
The next few hours are crucial for talks between the United States and Iran.
US President Donald Trump has given Iran until 8pm in Washington (10am AEST) to end its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, or face the destruction of bridges and power plants in Iran.
Pakistan has been the main go-between for proposals and peace talks.
Iran has shown no sign of a compromise, according to a Pakistani security source.
“We are in touch with the Iranians. They have lately shown flexibility that they could join the talks, but they are at the same time taking hard lines as a prerequisite for any negotiations,” a Pakistani security source said.
That unnamed source told Reuters Iran’s attacks on Saudi Arabia’s industrial facilities overnight threatened to further derail discussions with the US.
Reporting with Reuters
1h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 4:59pm
Iraqi group says it will release abducted US journalist
Iranian-backed Iraqi Shia paramilitary group Kataib Hezbollah says they will release abducted American journalist Shelly Kittleson, according to news agency Reuters.
Ms Kittleson was kidnapped in Baghdad a week ago.
Shelly Kittleson in Syria in a photo posted to her X account this year. (X: Shelly Kittleson)
She had previously written for a number of publications, including Middle Eastern news outlet Al-Monitor.
Video released by regional media outlets, which the ABC has been unable to verify, purportedly shows Ms Kittleson being kidnapped on a Baghdad street.
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1h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 4:52pm
Oil prices spike after US hits Kharg Island
Oil prices jumped and stocks have slumped after US-Israeli strikes on the key Iranian oil export terminal of Kharg Island.
“The market remains on tenterhooks as ceasefire hopes flagged and Trump threatened to destroy Iran’s infrastructure,” said Joe Mazzola, an analyst at Charles Schwab.
The US crude benchmark jumped almost four per cent to over $US116.50 a barrel, while Brent North Sea crude gained almost one per cent to just under $US111 a barrel.
The three main US stock indexes were all lower in mid-morning trading, while Paris, London and Frankfurt all closed around one percent lower.
“The conflict in the Middle East is one long deadline after another and there is a constant stream of promises to end the war coming out of the White House,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.
“Ultimately no one knows what the president will do next, and this is causing tensions to remain high in financial markets.”
1h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 4:37pm
Israel issues evacuation order for southern Lebanon’s ships
Israel’s military has told all vessels anchoring or sailing in the maritime area between Lebanon’s Tyre and Ras Naqoura to evacuate the maritime area and head north.
It likely means an attack is imminent.
2h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 4:16pm
UN Security Council votes down Hormuz resolution
Russia and China have vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Of the 15-member council, 11 voted in favour, two against and two abstained.
Bahrain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayan during the United Nations Security Council meeting. (Reuters: Jeenah Moon)
Even if the resolution put forward by Bahrain had been adopted, it’s doubtful it would have impacted the war because it had been significantly weakened to try to get Russia and China to abstain rather than veto it.
The initial proposal would have authorised countries to use “all necessary means” to ensure transit through the strait.
The vote took place hours before the deadline US President Donald Trump has set for Iran to open the crucial shipping waterway.
2h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 4:10pm
‘Only the president knows’ what he will do, White House says
Donald Trump is the only person who knows what the US will do when his deadline for an Iran deal expires, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says.
“The Iranian regime has until 8pm Eastern Time to meet the moment and make a deal with the United States,” Ms Leavitt said in a statement, when asked if Trump was prepared to use a nuclear weapon, and about a report that Iran had cut off negotiations.
“Only the President knows where things stand and what he will do.”
Reporting with AFP
2h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 4:06pm
White House denies considering nuclear strikes on Iran
The White House is denying that remarks by Vice President JD Vance about military operations in Iran had contained any suggestion of a US nuclear strike against the Islamic republic.
Mr Vance was speaking from Hungary when he made the comments that US forces have tools they “so far haven’t decided to use”.
He was speaking in regards to how US President Donald Trump intended to enforce a dramatic ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes.
In response to claims that Mr Vance was suggesting the use of nuclear weapons, the White House said on X: “Literally nothing @VP said here ‘implies’ this, you absolute buffoons.”
The White House post was in response to one from an account associated with former vice president Kamala Harris that said Mr Vance implied the US president “might use nuclear weapons.”
2h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 4:05pm
A timeline of Donald Trump’s Iran deadlines
As Donald Trump’s latest deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is the latest of a handful given by the US president since the outbreak of war.
On March 21, he gave Iran a 48-hour window to reopen the strait or face the obliteration of its powerplants. He later postponed that deadline by another five days, citing good negotiations.
On March 27, he then delayed that deadline by a further 10 days, to April 6. Mr Trump said he would pause attacks on Iranian energy.
On April 6, or Monday this week, Mr Trump said he had given Iran until 8pm Tuesday, Washington DC time, to reopen the strait. He said the regime could be “taken out in one night” if a deal was not reached.
2h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 4:02pm
US hits Kharg Island
The US military has carried out additional strikes on military targets on Iran’s Kharg island, a US official told Reuters on Tuesday, adding the strikes did not impact oil infrastructure.
The official said the strikes occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, local time, adding that some of the strikes were targeting sites that had been previously struck.
The Wall Street Journal reported that more than 50 sites across the island were hit.
2h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 3:51pm
‘A whole civilization will die tonight’, posts Donald Trump
As we just mentioned, the US president’s rhetoric on Iran is getting harsher.
In the last hour, he posted on his Truth Social platform:
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.
“However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?
“We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”
Mr Trump has been threatening to carry out mass strikes on targets across Iran if the regime does not re-open the Strait of Hormuz by 10am AEST, or 8pm Washington DC time.
He has specifically said he will target bridges and power stations, and refused to rule out strikes on schools or hospitals.
Under international law, it is a war crime to target civilian infrastructure not directly involved in a country’s military.
2h agoTue 7 Apr 2026 at 3:50pm
Welcome to our live blog on the Iran war
We’re kicking off a new blog as the clock ticks down on Donald Trump’s ultimatum for Iran to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, due to expire at 10am AEST.
With hours to go, the US president is ramping up his threats, posting on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Tehran does not make a deal.
The increasingly dark warnings came as US strikes pummeled Iran’s Kharg Island again on Tuesday, local time. The island is a major petrochemical complex.
Stay with us as we bring you the latest.
