US-Iran war updates: Trump unleashes on Iran over Strait of Hormuz, Netanyahu says no ceasefire in Lebanon

Defence Minister Richard Marles has addressed ongoing questions about whether Australia could send a ship to the Strait of Hormuz if we wanted to (or if the mystery of whether the US has formally asked us to is resolved).

He insists, as did the ADF chief yesterday, that Australia has the capability, but it’s better used in our immediate region.

“We still have significant roles to play in the Indo‑Pacific, which is where the bulk of our naval effort goes right now. All of those issues don’t go away, and we work very closely with the United States in respect of all of that,” Mr Marles, who is the acting Prime Minister, told Radio National.

“What we do is ultimately not about capability. We have capability. It is a function of the conversations that we have with the United States about the roles that we play within the Indo‑Pacific, and then it’s a function of what we could usefully contribute based on the conversations we’re having with the UK, France and other countries in that coalition.”

Mr Marles said that Australia’s E-7 Wedgetail surveillance aircraft, initially sent to the Middle East for a four-week deployment, would now stay there “for the time being”.

Anthony Albanese is in Singapore today for talks with that country’s Prime Minister, Lawrence Wong, aimed at securing fuel supplies for Australia.

But with news that Iran may seek to impose tolls on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, questions remain about the price and availability of fuel, given that many of Australia’s Asian partners source their crude oil from the Middle East.

Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles wouldn’t say this morning whether Australia would be concerned if the countries it purchased refined fuel from had paid Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (which is listed as a terrorist organisation in Australia) for passage of their crude supplies.

He said Australia supported the global rules-based order, which included freedom of navigation in international waters like the Strait of Hormuz.

“That’s what we need to be working to as a global community, is to have the Straits of Hormuz open and where there is freedom of navigation through the Straits of Hormuz and where the rules‑based order applies. And that’s really the position of Australia,” he told Radio National when asked about payments to the IRGC.

“Now, in the here and now, we are working with our partner countries in East Asia that supply us with liquid fuels to make sure that Australia is supplied with fuel during this contingency.”

US President Donald Trump has raged at Iran in his latest Truth Social blast, saying the regime is not following the agreement.

“Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote.

“That is not the agreement we have!”

Reports are mixed on just how open the Strait of Hormuz is. Some ships have managed to get out, however, many are still stuck behind a blockade.

Fears remain that Iran has placed marine mines, and now ships are only able to navigate the Strait through a specific lane, slowing movement.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has told European governments that US President Donald Trump wants concrete commitments within days to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, diplomats say, as the alliance faces US threats to leave.

Mr Rutte, known in Europe as a “Trump whisperer”, is working to defuse a crisis after Mr Trump said he was considering withdrawing from the 32-member transatlantic military alliance, arguing that European allies have relied on US security guarantees while providing inadequate support for the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran.

Three diplomats told Reuters that Mr Rutte, who met with the US president at the White House on Wednesday, conveyed Mr Trump’s demands to European countries.

European leaders are under pressure to show they are quickly making tangible plans to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, which is a vital oil transit point that Iran has effectively blocked during the conflict.

Speaking in Washington DC a day after meeting Mr Trump, Mr Rutte said that some alliance members were initially “a bit slow” to provide assistance to the US in Iran and “a bit surprised” but that now there is a “massive amount” of support, including basing and logistics.

“Nearly without exception, allies are doing everything the United States is asking. They have heard and are responding to President Trump’s requests,” Mr Rutte said in a speech hosted by the Ronald Reagan Institute.

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Since the US-Iran ceasefire agreement was made, reports have circulated that the 10-point agreement included terms for Iran to charge for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said if Iran was doing this, “they better stop now”.

“There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait — They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

It comes after he confirmed that US military ships, aircraft, personnel, weapons and ammo would be staying in and around Iran until a “real agreement” was confirmed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says there is “no ceasefire in Lebanon”, confirming the IDF will continue striking Hezbollah targets, despite claims from Iran stating it is a breach of the US agreement.

“I want to tell you: there is no ceasefire in Lebanon. We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with force, and we will not stop until we restore your security,” Mr Netanyahu said on Thursday.

Mr Netanyahu, whose government rebuffed a historic offer for direct talks with Lebanon last month, said in a statement that he had given instructions to start peace talks as soon as possible, which would also include disarming Iran-aligned militant group Hezbollah.

“In light of Lebanon’s repeated requests to open direct negotiations with Israel, I instructed the cabinet yesterday to start direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible,” he said.

“The negotiations will focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between Israel and Lebanon.”

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