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US President Donald Trump has agreed to suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks.
Earlier, the White House denied that it has any plans to
use nuclear weapons against Iran as a deadline imposed by President Donald
Trump for Tehran to make a deal or face a massive onslaught looms.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday warned they would
retaliate beyond the Middle East and deprive Washington and its allies of oil
and gas if the United States crossed "red lines", a statement carried
on state television said.
Trump has threatened to “wipe out” the Iranian civilization
starting Wednesday dawn if Tehran failed to sign a ceasefire deal that suits US
demands.
Even before the deadline, US-Israeli forces launched strikes
on what they described as military targets in the key Iranian oil export
terminal of Kharg island, and Israeli separately targeted a number of critical
transport routes on Tuesday.
US-Israeli strikes also "completely destroyed" the
capital's Rafi-Nia synagogue, local media reported.
"The Revolutionary Guards once again declare that if
the American terrorist army crosses the red lines, our response will go beyond
the region," the statement said.
It added that the Guards -- Iran's ideological army -- would target infrastructure "to deprive the United States and its allies of oil and gas in the region for years".
Stay tuned with the Daily Sun as we bring you live coverage of the conflict...
Trump agrees to suspend attack on Iran by two weeks
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday he agreed to suspend a devastating attack on Iran by two weeks and was ready for a ceasefire in the war if Tehran completely reopens the vital Strait of Hormuz.
"I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for
a period of two weeks," Trump posted on social media a little more than an
hour before his deadline, after talks with Pakistani mediators. [AFP]
White House denies plan to launch nuclear attack on Iran after Trump’s threat
The White House has denied that it has any plans to use nuclear weapons against Iran as a deadline imposed by President Donald Trump for Tehran to make a deal or face a massive onslaught looms.
The denial from Washington came on Tuesday, as the
president employed apocalyptic language. Insisting that Iran capitulate to his
demands, Trump warned that a “whole civilisation will die tonight”. [Al Jazeera English]
Current oil and gas crisis worse than combined impact of 1973, 1979, 2022 chaos
The current oil and gas crisis triggered by the blockade of
the Strait of Hormuz is "more serious than the ones in 1973, 1979 and 2022
together", Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA),
told Le Figaro newspaper.
"The world has never experienced a disruption to energy
supply of such magnitude," he said in an interview with the French
newspaper released in its Tuesday edition.
He said the European countries, as well Japan, Australia and others will suffer, but the countries most at risk were developing nations. [Reuters]
Read the full story here...
US-Israeli strike destroys Jewish religious site in Tehran
United States-Israeli strikes have “completely destroyed” a
synagogue in Tehran, according to Iranian media, as the attacks across Iran
killed more around 35 people on Tuesday.
According to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, the
synagogue was destroyed when an adjacent residential building in central Tehran
was attacked.
Footage showed civil defence workers amid the rubble, with
Hebrew-language books scattered on the ground.
In a video published on Telegram by Iran’s official IRIB
News outlet, Homayoun Sameh, a Jewish representative in the country’s Islamic
Consultative Assembly, said “the Zionist regime showed no mercy to this
community during the Jewish holidays and targeted one of our ancient and holy
synagogues." [Al Jazeera]
Iraq’s armed group says it will release kidnapped US journo
Iraq’s armed group Kataib
Hezbollah has said it will free US journalist Shelly Kittleson, who was
abducted in Baghdad in late March, reports the Reuters news agency. The group,
which is Iran-aligned, said she must exit Iraq immediately.
Physical oil prices hit record highs
European and Asian refiners are paying record-high prices of near $150 a barrel
for some crude oil grades, far exceeding prices for paper futures, highlighting
the worsening supply crisis from the US-Israel war on Iran.
The war has forced the shutdown of at least 12 million barrels per day – about 12 percent of world supply –
from the Middle East due to Iran’s effective
closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
As a result, Brent oil futures reached $119.50 a barrel last
month, the highest since 2022, although still short of the 2008 record high of
$147.50. The nearby Brent contract is for June delivery.
Competition for supply from Asian and European refiners to
replace disrupted Middle Eastern oil flows has helped drive up prices of
replacement crudes for more immediate delivery, such as those in Europe and
Africa.
As a result, some crudes are hitting records already. [Al Jazeera]
UNSC resolution on Hormuz fails after veto from China, Russia
Bahrain, representing Arab countries, on Tuesday “expressed
their regret” that the United Nations Security Council resolution on free
navigation through the Strait of Hormuz had not been adopted, following vetoes
from China and Russia.
“The council failed to shoulder its responsibility in
relation to an illegal conduct that requires decisive action with no delay,” Bahrain’s
FM said at the council.
Earlier, Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al Zayani said, “We declare
loudly and unequivocally, that the Islamic Republic of Iran has no right to
close the Strait of Hormuz to international navigation, nor to deprive the
peoples of the world of these resources, essential for life.” [Al Jazeera]
Democrats criticise Trump threats
Democratic Party lawmakers have been responding to Trump’s
threat to destroy Iranian “civilization” if the country doesn’t meet his
deadline to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz:
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer: “This is an
extremely sick person. Each Republican who refuses to join us in voting against
this wanton war of choice owns every consequence of whatever the hell this is.”
Democratic House of Representatives leader Hakeem Jeffries:
“Congress must immediately end this reckless war of choice in Iran before
Donald Trump plunges us into World War III. It’s time for every single Republican
to put patriotic duty over party and stop the madness. Enough.”
Congressman Jim McGovern: This is pure evil. The President
of the United States’ genocidal threat to commit war crimes is illegal under
federal and international law. The US military swears an oath to the Constitution,
not the president. The joint chief of staff is required to disobey any and all
illegal orders. [Al Jazeera]
Iran releases two French nationals
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reports that Iran’s release of two
French nationals jailed on spying charges is part of an agreement under which
France freed an Iranian national and withdrew a complaint against Iran at the
International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Mahdieh Esfandiari, convicted in France of “justifying terrorism” over
alleged social media comments, was sentenced to one year in prison and released
in February after time served. IRNA said her release came “in accordance with
an agreement between Tehran and Paris”.
In September, the ICJ said it had dropped a case
concerning the detention in Iran of the two French nationals at France’s
request. [Al Jazeera]
Lebanon death toll rises to 1,530
At least
1,530 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across Lebanon since 2 March,
according to the latest figures from Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Another 4,812 people have been injured over the same period, it said. [Al Jazeera]
Key infrastructure in Iran hit
Iran said critical infrastructure, including two bridges, was struck Tuesday by the United States and Israel, with US President Donald Trump warning "a whole civilisation will die" if a midnight deadline for a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz was not met.
But hours before that deadline, the Israeli military said that it had already completed a broad wave of strikes targeting "infrastructure sites" across Iran.
Iranian authorities reported a US-Israeli attack on a bridge
outside the city of Qom and a strike on a rail bridge in central Iran that
killed two people.
Regional authorities also said that a US-Israeli strike shut
down a key highway in northern Iran connecting the city of Tabriz with Tehran.
The Mizan news agency additionally reported a strike on railway tracks in Karaj, outside Tehran. [AFP]
Military targets on Kharg island hit
"The American-Zionist enemy has carried out several
attacks on Kharg island, and several explosions have been heard there,"
Iran's Mehr news agency reported.
According to an X post by journalist Barak Ravid of the news
site Axios, citing a US official, the US carried out "strikes on military
targets" on the island located off Iran's western coast.
The Wall Street Journal reported, quoting US officials, that
over 50 military targets were hit on the island.
Kharg Island is at the heart of Iran's oil export industry,
a lynchpin of the country's battered economy, and lies in the narrow, strategic
Hormuz Strait. [AFP]
Qatar warns war near ‘point of no return’
Qatar on Tuesday warned the war in the Middle East was close
to a threshold where it cannot be controlled after Trump’s warning.
"We have been warning since 2023 that escalation left
unchecked will get us into a situation where it cannot be controlled and we are
very close to that point," Qatar's foreign ministry spokesman Majed
al-Ansari said.
"This is why we have been urging all parties to find a
resolution to find a way of ending this war before it's too late," he
added. [AFP]
Iran warns Arab neighbours all limits on attacks will be ‘removed’
"America's regional partners should also know that
until today, we have exercised great restraint for the sake of good
neighbourliness and have had some reservations in choosing targets for
retaliation, but all these reservations have since been removed," Iran's
Revolutionary Guards said on Tuesday.
Overnight, attacks on Saudi Arabia hit a petrochemical
complex in a sprawling industrial area in the eastern city of Jubail, a witness
who requested anonymity told AFP, hours after similar installations in Iran
were struck. [AFP]