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US-Iran war as it happened: 45-day ceasefire discussions reportedly under way between US and Iran; Trump issues fiery expletive-laden threat over Strait of Hormuz reopening

Emily Kaine, Ellen Connolly and Alexander Darling
Updated ,first published

Key Posts

Iran, US receive plan to end war, source says
US, Iran in talks for potential 45-day ceasefire: reports
‘Criminal mindset’: Iran rejects Trump’s profane ultimatum
Iran claims US bombarded its own aircraft
Fuel prices may take months to reduce even if Hormuz reopens
Iran trolls Trump on social media
More than 140 Australian service stations without fuel: Bowen
Iraqi oil tanker exits Hormuz via Iranian waters
Pinned post from 5.21am on Apr 6, 2026
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That’s all for today

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Thank you for following our Monday coverage of the Middle East conflict and its global impacts.

Here’s a recap of key developments:

  • Iran and the United States have received a plan put forward by Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish mediators to end hostilities that could come into effect on Monday and reopen the Strait of Hormuz
  • Iran responded by warning it would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz for a “temporary ceasefire”
  • US President Donald Trump issued an expletive-laden ultimatum to rain “hell” on “crazy bastards” in Iran if it did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday.
  • Iran, via a foreign ministry spokesperson, later rejected this ultimatum. It said the threat amounted to “an express public incitement for war crimes and crimes against humanity” and would retaliate in kind if its energy infrastructure was hit.
  • Israel killed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s head of intelligence – one of 25 Iranians killed by US-Israel strikes on Sunday and Monday
  • Lebanon’s health ministry said 1461 people have now been killed by Israeli attacks, increasing the estimate by 39 over the past 24 hours
  • Iran’s parliament speaker warned that Trump’s “reckless moves” and rhetoric would mean “our whole region is going to burn”.
  • New details have emerged of the daring rescue of a second airman after an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet was shot down by Iran. This morning, Iran claimed the US had to bomb its own planes and personnel to “prevent embarrassment for President Trump.”

  • Trump said he will hold a news conference at the Oval Office at 1pm on Monday (Tuesday AEDT).

  • Back home, Australia has locked in another month’s worth of fuel, as consumers and motorists brace for higher prices at the bowser and checkout. Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the nation originally had supply until mid-April, but that had now been secured into May.

Latest Posts

Iran readies response to ceasefire plan

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Iran has formulated its positions and demands in response to recent ceasefire proposals conveyed via intermediaries, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, adding that negotiations were “incompatible with ultimatums and threats to commit war crimes”.

Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had a set of requirements based on its national interests that had already been conveyed via intermediary channels, adding that earlier US demands such as the 15-point plan were rejected for being “excessive”.

“Iran does not hesitate to clearly express what it considers its legitimate demands and doing so should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, but rather as a reflection of its confidence in defending its positions,” Baghaei said in a press conference.

“We have formulated our own responses” and will announce details in due time, he added in response to an Iranian journalist’s question regarding ongoing efforts to bring about a ceasefire between Iran and the US.

Reuters

Iran strikes US forces on Kuwaiti island

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US forces located on Kuwait’s Bubiyan Island were targeted by Iran, the spokesperson of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said in a video statement shared by state media on Monday.

Ebrahim Zolfaqari said Iran targeted satellite equipment and munitions on the island with drones, adding that US forces had relocated there from Arifjan camp after that base was repeatedly struck by Iran.

Bubiyan Island is the largest of Kuwait’s coastal islands chain, located in the northwest of the Gulf.

Six people were injured from debris falling in a residential area in northern Kuwait after an Iranian attack, Kuwait’s Health Ministry said earlier.

Reuters

Israel kills Revolutionary Guard intelligence boss

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Israel says it has killed the head of intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Iranian state media reported the death of Majid Khademi on Monday.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel was behind the strike and vowed to hunt Iranian leaders “one by one”.

US-Israeli strikes on cities across Iran killed more than 25 people on Sunday and Monday.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society posted footage online of emergency responders digging through rubble at the site of one strike in Tehran, which the organisation said was a residential area.

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AP, Reuters

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Iran not open to ‘temporary ceasefire’: official

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Iran won’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a “temporary ceasefire”, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday, adding that Tehran views Washington as lacking the readiness for a permanent ceasefire.

The official confirmed Iran had received Pakistan’s proposal for an immediate ceasefire and was reviewing it, adding that Tehran does not accept being pressured to accept deadlines and make a decision.

Reuters

Iran, US receive plan to end war, source says

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A pro-government gathering in Tehran on Sunday. AP

Iran and the United States have received a plan to end hostilities that could come into effect on Monday and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a source aware of the proposals told Reuters on Monday.

A framework to end hostilities has been put together by Pakistan and exchanged with Iran and the US overnight, the source said, outlining a two-tier approach with an immediate ceasefire followed by a comprehensive agreement.

“All elements need to be agreed today,” the source said, adding the initial deal would be structured as a memorandum of understanding finalised electronically through Pakistan, the sole communication channel in the talks.

Axios first reported on Sunday that the United States, Iran and regional mediators were discussing a potential 45-day ceasefire as part of a two-phase deal that could lead to a permanent end to the war, citing US, Israeli and regional sources.

Japan’s PM seeks talks with Iranian leader

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Sanae Takaichi meeting Donald Trump at the White House last month. Bloomberg

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she is looking to hold talks with Iran’s leader and possibly also a separate call with Donald Trump, as the clock ticks on the US president’s latest threat to bomb key Iranian infrastructure.

“We are currently making preparations for leadership level talks,” Takaichi said of talks with Iran during a parliamentary session today.

Takaichi’s comments came with Trump warning Tehran that the US will bomb Iranian power plants unless it opens up the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint through which Japan secures over 90 per cent of its oil.

Two Japanese ships successfully traversed the waterway in recent days for the first time since the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran over a month ago.

Bloomberg

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Iran executes man over January protests

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Iranians protesting against the government in Tehran in January.AP

Iran executed a man named Ali Fahim convicted over an attempt to storm a military facility and access an armoury during unrest in January, state media said today, after the Supreme Court upheld his sentence.

Iran has already executed three others linked to the incident.

Another man linked to the same case is believed to face execution in the coming days, according to Amnesty International.

Authorities said the defendants had tried to seize weapons and military equipment during protests, describing them as “rioters” acting against national security.

Amnesty International said several defendants were facing execution over the unrest, adding in a recent report that detainees in such cases had been subjected to torture and “grossly unfair trials”.

Reuters

Analysis: Trump’s next mistake could be his biggest

By David Crowe

The skies over Abu Dhabi and Dubai seemed just as dangerous last weekend as they were two or three weeks earlier.

So much for the White House talk of defeating Iran’s missile program or dominating its airspace.

The confident claims from Washington in the early days of the war are defied each day by the proven capacity of the Iranian regime to inflict damage.

Iran is being weakened by the day, but it looks more determined than Donald Trump.Stephen Kiprillis

No wonder Trump is sending angry posts on social media.

At least 11 killed in Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Easter Sunday

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An Israeli airstrike on Kfarhata, a village in south Lebanon, killed seven people on Sunday, including a 4-year-old child, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a statement.

As Lebanese Christians, who make up roughly a third of the population, marked Easter Sunday, the country experienced one of its most violent days since fighting with Israel erupted early last month.

The Lebanese health ministry said 1461 people had been killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon as of Sunday, raising the death toll since the start of the war by 39 in around 24 hours. More than 1 million people have been displaced.

Separately, four people were killed and 39 wounded in a strike on Beirut’s Jnah neighbourhood on Sunday, which Doctors Without Borders said hit a “a densely populated residential area” only metres from a public hospital.

Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East conflict when Iranian-backed Hezbollah began to launch rockets at Israel on March 2 in support of Tehran.

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Iran drone strikes damage Kuwait’s oil facilities

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Kuwait’s oil sector came under a fresh barrage of attacks overnight as drone strikes sparked fires at operational facilities, including a refining complex and petrochemical plant, hours after the country’s energy headquarters was set ablaze by unmanned drones.

The attacks have continued into Monday, with the nation in the north of the Persian Gulf reporting twice in several hours that it was repelling missiles and “hostile drones”.

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The renewed hits to petroleum and petrochemical facilities caused significant damage as emergency and fire response teams worked to contain conflagrations at several sites, the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) said in a statement. There were no reported injuries.

Those attacks followed hits on KPC’s headquarters, located in the Shuwaikh area of the country’s capital, which also houses the oil ministry. That fire has since been extinguished.

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