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US-Iran war live updates: Strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’, Iran says; Stock market’s record-setting rally continues

Follow our live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East and related developments in Australia.

  • Bianca Hall and Anthony Segaert

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US President Donald Trump during a Las Vegas event on Thursday.

Price of oil tumbles as Iran, Trump declare Strait of Hormuz ‘completely open’

In a series of social media posts, Trump foreshadowed a deal with Iran to end the war, including the US taking Iran’s highly enriched uranium, and said he had banned Israel from bombing Lebanon any further.

  • Michael Koziol
Benjamin Netanyahu made his hard sell in the Situation Room in February.

Israel-Lebanon 10-day ceasefire off to a shaky start as all sides take a breather

It’s not clear how the agreement, which was announced by US President Donald Trump will work in practice as Israel is fighting the terrorist group Hezbollah, rather than the Lebanese state.

  • Michael Koziol
Pakistan’s Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, right, is greeted by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

US-Iran war as it happened: 100 million litres of diesel to arrive in May; Blaze erupts at Geelong oil refinery; Ceasefire extension request ‘not true at this moment’, says White House

Follow our live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East and related developments in Australia.

  • Emily Kaine, Sarah McPhee and Carla Jaeger
Illustration by Dionne Gain

Trump and Netanyahu started the war together. Only one is determined to keep fighting

Both men have looming deadlines – national elections.

  • Peter Hartcher
President Donald Trump said the US Navy and others would blockade the Strait of Hormuz.

‘Blown to hell’: Trump says US will blockade Strait of Hormuz after failed Iran talks

US forces will begin the blockade at midnight (AEST), enforced against any vessels entering or departing Iranian ports, while Tehran warned that any military vessels approaching the strait would be dealt with “harshly”.

  • Michael Koziol
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Right-wing Israeli settlers walk in the direction of the Israel-Gaza border during a rally near the Kibbutz Kfar Aza in southern Israel on February 5, 2026.

Religious Zionists spearheading a radical movement sweeping Israel

Their goal – a “Greater Israel”, encompassing Gaza, the West Bank and more.

  • Paul Nuki and Nedal Hamdouna
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, center, walks with Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshall Asim Munir, left, and Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar after arriving for talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday, April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)

Vance in Pakistan for Iran talks as impasse looms over Lebanon

The US and Iran are trying to end to the six-week-old war despite a series of sticking points over the conflict in Lebanon and the still-closed Strait of Hormuz.

Donald Trump

Trump has an Achilles heel, and the Iran war has exposed it

America’s standing is at a low ebb – not just because of the way the US president has prosecuted the war on Iran, but because of how he’s pursued all foreign policy.

  • Michael Koziol
Vice President JD Vance speaks to the press before boarding Air Force Two on Friday.

Vance warns Iran not to ‘play’ US as he departs for peace talks

Lebanon, where Israel is fighting a parallel war against the Iran-aligned Hezbollah militia, remains a flashpoint in the negotiations.

  • Alisa Odenheimer, Sherif Tarek and Eltaf Najafizada