Watch live: Donald Trump delivering prime-time address
US President Donald Trump delivers a national address to update on Iran war.
Trump praises US forces as he opens speech
Donald Trump has opened his national address by praising Operation Epic Fury against Iran, and the US forces in the Middle East.
“Never in the history of warfare, has an enemy suffered such clear and devastating, large-scale losses in a matter of weeks,” Trump said.
“We have by far the strongest military anywhere in the world.”
Watch live: Donald Trump delivering prime-time address
US President Donald Trump delivers a national address to update on Iran war.
WA invokes emergency fuel powers
Western Australia invoked emergency powers to force fuel suppliers to provide detailed information on their supply chains, as the state seeks to manage an ongoing shortage spurred by panic-buying because of the Iran war.
The state government activated the powers under the Fuel, Energy and Power Resources Act after several companies failed to provide specific data and information on fuel shipments, it said in a statement yesterday.
“Despite assurances from major suppliers that fuel shipments are expected to continue to arrive in April at normal levels, the ongoing conflict, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and other circumstances in the Persian Gulf region have impacted on the distribution of fuel,” the Western Australian government said in the statement.
That’s resulted in some mining and agricultural businesses experiencing shortages, and the distribution of fuel could be further affected “if these circumstances continue,” it said.
Bloomberg
Trump says he will share ‘how great I am’ in address
Donald Trump says he’ll use his national address today to “tell everybody how great I am”, as his administration works to clarify the Iran war’s objectives and prepare for an end to the conflict.
“Tonight, I’m making a little speech at 9 o’clock, and basically I’m gonna tell everybody how great I am, what a great job I’ve done, what a phenomenal job, what a phenomenal job I’ve done,” Trump told an audience at an event earlier today.
The White House issued a press release ahead of speech, saying Trump would “address the nation on Operation Epic Fury – a decisive campaign of American strength that is systematically dismantling the Iranian regime’s ability to threaten the United States and the free world”.
It follows global calls for increased certainty regarding US objectives about the war in Iran, including from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Trump has indicated the US would be operating in Iran for another two or three weeks, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said yesterday he could see the “finish line” on the war.
NATO chief to visit US after Trump threat
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte will visit Washington next week for what the military alliance called a “long-planned visit” that comes after Donald Trump blasted European allies over differences about the Iran war.
“I can confirm that the secretary-general will be in DC next week for a long-planned visit,” NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said. A White House official also confirmed the visit. No further details of the trip were immediately available.
Trump said he was considering pulling the US out of the Western military alliance due to the refusal of European members to send ships to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
In remarks yesterday to allies gathered for an Easter lunch at the White House, Trump criticised France and the United Kingdom, among other US allies, as a “paper tiger”.
“We’ve had some very bad allies in NATO,” Trump said. “Hopefully, we’re never going to need them. I don’t think we will need them.”
Reuters
Australia’s fuel shortage threatening animals, food supply
Australia’s red meat industry is asking to be given priority access to fuel, warning that shortages are risking animal welfare and supply chain disruption.
The Red Meat Advisory Council (RMAC) says up to three quarters of the producers it surveyed won’t be able to operate in April and May unless they have reliable access to fuel.
Cattle and sheep farmers use diesel and petrol to pump water, operate feedlots, farm machinery and livestock transport vehicles.
The survey found 85 per cent of farmers surveyed have enough fuel for just one week, and nearly half are uncertain about access beyond the next fortnight.
“This isn’t a future problem – it’s happening now,” said RMAC chair John McKillop. “Producers are already facing difficult decisions, including the potential early slaughter of animals, where access to feed, water and transport cannot be guaranteed.”
No guarantee of clarity in Trump’s address
Trump’s address to the nation (and the world) is an opportunity to provide clarity about next steps in the war – but there’s no guarantee of that, and we’re not expecting major announcements.
US officials are saying Trump will provide an operational update on the military campaign’s achievements against its objectives, and reiterate the two-to-three-week exit timeline he mentioned yesterday. It’s likely he will also fire a few shots across the bow at his NATO allies.
The White House sent out a statement earlier today touting the “Clear and Unchanging Objectives” of Trump’s war on Iran – which is not the kind of statement you send out if people already think your objectives are clear and unchanging.
To be fair, Trump and co have been pretty consistent about most of their goals – destroy Iran’s Navy, missile stocks and defence industrial base, and prevent the regime developing a nuclear weapon.
White House issues statement ahead of Trump address
The White House has issued a press release ahead of Donald Trump’s national address later today, in which it says the president will “address the nation on Operation Epic Fury — a decisive campaign of American strength that is systematically dismantling the Iranian regime’s ability to threaten the United States and the free world”.
The Trump administration has worked to clarify the objectives of the war in Iran, as world leaders including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for greater certainty from the US as the conflict entered its fifth week.
Trump has already indicated the US would be operating in Iran for another two or three weeks, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said he can see the “finish line” on the war.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei called claims his nation requested a ceasefire “false and baseless”, Iranian state TV reported. Trump has said he would consider a ceasefire when the Strait of Hormuz reopens.
Reprieve for motorists as fuel prices drop
As cuts to the federal fuel excise trickle down to the bowser, Sydneysiders expressed relief about the small reprieve to surging cost of living pressures brought by the war.
Sam Aiello, a 69-year-old from Croydon, filled up his car with petrol this morning at the Ampol service station in Ashfield. He supports the decision to halve the tax on fuel.
Aiello missed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s address to the nation, but said he supported the leader’s policies and the government’s overall response to the conflict abroad.
“I didn’t watch it … but I’m a supporter of Albanese and his policies,” he said.
Trump sends mixed signals ahead of address
Donald Trump once again sent mixed signals on his plans for the war in Iran ahead of a major address to the nation in a few hours’ time.
After insisting the US had no interest in the Strait of Hormuz, and would leave it to other ungrateful nations to prise the waterway back open, today he made reopening the strait a condition for a ceasefire deal.
The US president claimed Iran’s “new regime president” had asked for a ceasefire. It was not clear to whom he was referring, as Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has served since 2024, and Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen publicly and may be dead or incapacitated.
But, assuming Trump was referring to one of the Iranian leaders with whom the US says it is talking, his social media post dangles the carrot of a ceasefire in exchange for reopening the all-important strait. Iran continues to deny it is negotiating.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
