What you need to know
Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump is due to deliver a prime-time address to the US on Wednesday at 9pm, Washington time (12pm Thursday AEDT) to provide an update on the war in Iran.
- Trump, in a post online, claimed Iran had asked for a ceasefire. He said he would consider it when the Strait of Hormuz reopens, but until then, the US would “blast Iran into oblivion”.
- Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s remarks about a ceasefire request “false and baseless”, Iranian state TV reported.
- In an interview with London’s The Telegraph, Trump also said he was thinking of withdrawing from the NATO alliance because of the lack of support from European leaders in the conflict.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has given a rare address to the nation, urging Australians to go about the Easter weekend as normal, but warning the economic shocks of the war will be felt for months to come.
- In a speech to the National Press Club today, Albanese will pledge $1 billion for interest-free loans for struggling businesses amid fears of a recession.
Albanese to pledge $1b for interest-free loans for struggling businesses
In a speech to the National Press Club today, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will pledge $1 billion for interest-free loans for struggling businesses amid fears of a recession.
Under pressure to project leadership and calm after weeks of panic buying, Albanese will use the global oil shock to propel his vision to overhaul Australia’s economic model by subsidising critical industries and traditional manufacturers.
Albanese will pledge he is preparing his most ambitious budget, tying his manufacturing agenda to social cohesion and “progressive patriotism”, and opening the door for potential state investments in oil refineries and boosting the nation’s low fuel stock holdings.
In a message to the nation on Wednesday night, Albanese urged Australians to go about the Easter weekend as normal, but warned about grim times ahead and tougher measures to conserve fuel in a rare address to the nation designed to prepare the public for a prolonged economic shock caused by the war in Iran.
Read more: Albanese calls for calm as world sits on edge of grim economic future
‘False and baseless’: Iran rejects Trump’s ceasefire claim
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said US President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran had requested a ceasefire was “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard separately issued a statement saying the Strait of Hormuz “is firmly and decisively under the control” of its forces.
“This strait will not be opened to the enemies of this nation through the ridiculous spectacle by the President of the United States,” it added.
Reuters, AP
Trump claims Iran has asked for a ceasefire
US President Donald Trump claims Iran has asked for a ceasefire, but said he would consider it if the Strait of Hormuz reopened.
“Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social at about midnight AEDT.
“We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”
This week, the White House and other parts of the US government have clarified that reopening the strait is not considered a core objective of the Iran mission, after Trump told the UK and other countries to “go get your own oil”.
The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush is slated to go to the Middle East along with three destroyers, two US officials said. The carrier strike group consists of more than 6000 sailors. It comes as thousands of soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have also begun arriving in the Middle East, according to two other US officials.
with AP
What you need to know
Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump is due to deliver a prime-time address to the US on Wednesday at 9pm, Washington time (12pm Thursday AEDT) to provide an update on the war in Iran.
- Trump, in a post online, claimed Iran had asked for a ceasefire. He said he would consider it when the Strait of Hormuz reopens, but until then, the US would “blast Iran into oblivion”.
- Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s remarks about a ceasefire request “false and baseless”, Iranian state TV reported.
- In an interview with London’s The Telegraph, Trump also said he was thinking of withdrawing from the NATO alliance because of the lack of support from European leaders in the conflict.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has given a rare address to the nation, urging Australians to go about the Easter weekend as normal, but warning the economic shocks of the war will be felt for months to come.
- In a speech to the National Press Club today, Albanese will pledge $1 billion for interest-free loans for struggling businesses amid fears of a recession.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
