Iran war updates: Donald Trump announces two week ceasefire after Pakistani negotiations with Tehran

Energy Minister Chris Bowen says while the number of stations without fuel is decreasing Australia was “continuing to deal with very high demand for diesel” with the issue acute in NSW.

Mr Bowen said there were a total of 221 service stations without diesel out of the 7,940 total sites in Australia. It equates to about three per cent currently without diesel supply.

New South Wales: In NSW, there are 124 stations with no diesel, which is down one from yesterday, and 27 stations with no fuel at all.

Victoria: Victoria has 40 service stations with no diesel and 28 with no unleaded petrol, representing around two per cent of the state’s stations.

Queensland: Queensland reports 30 stations with no diesel and 25 stations with no regular unleaded petrol.

Western Australia: WA has eight stations with no diesel, a decrease of 12 from yesterday’s update, and 21 stations with no unleaded.

Tasmania: Tasmania currently has seven stations without diesel and five without unleaded petrol.

South Australia: SA has four stations with no diesel and two without unleaded, with both of those figures trending down.

Northern Territory: The NT has four stations without diesel and four without unleaded petrol.

Australian Capital Territory: The ACT has four stations with no diesel and zero stations with no unleaded.

“The supply chain in regional New South Wales in particular, has been stretched as its sowing and seeding season,” Mr Bowen said.

“We have, with the industry, been prioritising getting diesel to farmers so they can get their crops into the ground.

“But nevertheless, good progress, more work to do to ensure that that fuel continues to flow to where it’s needed.”

Iran and the United States have agreed on a two-week ceasefire, sparking an enormous sigh of relief worldwide.

But no one should exhale too long.

The US President Donald Trump took his bombastic negotiating style to a new and worrying extreme in the process.

“A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he said in a Truth Social, hours before his deadline to blow up power plants and bridges was due.

But the same post, which legal experts interpreted as an intention of genocide and others wondered if it could even be the invocation of a nuclear threat, also hinted at a breakthrough.

“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!”

Read more.

Opposition leader Angus Taylor says he will “work with the government” on efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as Iran’s de facto closure continues to hurt the global energy market.

“We absolutely welcome the ceasefire. We want to see it hold, and we want to see ships moving again,” he said, during a press conference in Melbourne on Wednesday.

“We want to see oil coming to Australia. Crude oil and refined products coming to Australia as soon as possible, again from the Strait of Hormuz.

“We will continue to do whatever we need to do to work with the government to support that outcome.”

Energy Minister Chris Bowen says he has spoken with his Malaysian counterpart overnight to increase cooperation on energy.

He marks the latest of several leaders, including Penny Wong, Anthony Albanese, Richard Marles and Julie Collins, to speak with Asian counterparts to shore up refined fuel imports.

“I spoke to my Malaysian counterpart yesterday. We continue to engage very strongly with our international counterparts, particularly in Southeast Asia,” he said.

“We’ve been very pleased that our counterparts have recognised their role in being a reliable energy supplier to Australia when it comes to liquid fuels, just as they recognise our role and our history as reliable suppliers of other types of energy.”

Australia is reliant on Asian markets for petrol, diesel and jet fuels, while many other nations rely on Aussie LNG.

An Australian journalist and Energy Minister Chris Bowen have clashed at a Sydney press conference dedicated to updating the nation’s fuel security in the wake of the Iran war.

7NEWS Liam Bartlett had peppered Mr Bowen with multiple questions about his “renewables obsession”.

He also claimed the minister had “continuously rejected our approach” for a sit-down interview after sending 13 emails.

“Why can’t you sit down and answer open, honest questions?” he said, labelling him “hypocritical”.

Mr Bowen fired back, telling him to show a “little bit more respect for your colleagues” who were also waiting to ask questions.

“I’ve held a press conference every day. This is the first press conference you’ve been to ask me a question,” Mr Bowen said.

“Renewable energy is a secure form of energy. The Australian sun cannot be interrupted by a war or anything else. Solar energy has to travel 150 million kilometres from the sun. It doesn’t have to travel the 150 kilometres of the Straits of Hormuz,” he said.

“While we’re building that secure renewable energy, obviously, we continue to ensure that our most immediate task is energy security.”

Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have issued a joint-statement welcoming the two-week ceasefire deal over the US-Israel-Iran war.

“The Australian Government has been calling for de-escalation and an end to the conflict for some time now,” they stated.

“Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, coupled with its attacks on commercial vessels, civilian infrastructure, and oil and gas facilities, is causing unprecedented energy supply shocks and impacting oil and fuel prices.

“We have been clear the longer the war goes on, the more significant the impact on the global economy will be, and the greater the human cost.

“We thank and support the work of negotiators, including Pakistan, Egypt, Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, in advancing de-escalation efforts.”

They stated that they wanted the ceasefire upheld, a resolution to the conflict, and for all parties to “uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilian life”.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has labelled his conversation with Premier Li Qiang of China overnight about the global energy crisis as “constructive”.

“It’s certainly a very constructive conversation that I had with the Chinese Premier last night,” the PM told Sky in a special sit-down interview on Wednesday.

“It went across the full range of topics. I don’t go into all of the details of private conversations that I have with leaders, but it was a very constructive conversation.

“It was certainly a positive discussion about the importance of trade between our two nations.”

Anthony Albanese said, despite the war in the Middle East, the United States remained Australia’s most important ally.

It comes after the US President has publicly criticised Australia’s lack of support in Iran and in his pursuit to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

“They remain our most important ally,” he told Sky on Wednesday.

“The relationship between our two nations is a relationship on many levels between leaders.

“I’ve had a constructive relationship with President Trump, but it’s also between our armed forces, between our economies and between business people and people-to-people links as well.

“We are two great democracies, and that will continue into the future.”

Anthony Albanese has labelled US President Donald Trump’s threats to target civilian infrastructure as an “extraordinary statement” and inappropriate rhetoric.

Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Mr Albanese labelled a ceasefire as “positive” and said, as the conflict continued to harm the global energy stability, he wanted “to see a resolution”.

“The potential of damage to civilian infrastructure in Iran was an extraordinary statement to make,” he said.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to use language such as that from the President of the United States, and I think it will cause some concern.”

Benchmark oil futures plummeted, and Wall Street equity futures surged on Wednesday morning, after US President Donald Trump said he agreed to suspend bombing on Iran for a period of two weeks, subject to Iran agreeing to open the Strait of Hormuz.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 2.6 per cent to 9955 points in morning trade, led higher by big gains in banking, tech, and mining stocks. The only sector lower was energy with a 7.5 per cent fall.

“We received a 10-point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate,” Mr Trump posted to his Truth Social channel.

“Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”

News reports suggested Iran agreed to a conditional reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks. Brent crude oil futures tumbled 6 per cent on the news to $US102.61, with US WTI oil sinking 16 per cent to $US94.80. Gold also jumped 2.3 per cent to $US4814 an ounce.

Risk bellwether Bitcoin jumped 4.5 per cent to $US71,972. Futures in the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index in the US jumped 660 points or 2.7 per cent.

The Australian dollar rose 1.6 per cent to buy $US70.2 cents.

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