2h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 5:43amA recap of the latest eventsDonald Trump has singled out Australia while accusing allies of failing to help the US secure the Strait of Hormuz.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he wouldn’t comment on the remarks, but made the point Australia wasn’t consulted on America and Israel’s decision to start attacking Iran.The US president has also extended his deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to April 6, saying he will hold off on bombing Iran’s energy plants and that talks are going “very well”.G7 talks underway in attempt to narrow differences between the US and its allies.Trump weighs sending another 10,000 ground troops to the Middle East, reports say.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it attacked Israeli and US forces yesterday, while Israel said it carried out “wide-scale” strikes on Tehran today.A trickle of ships has been let through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump says Iran has allowed 10 ships to pass as a “present”.
Donald Trump has singled out Australia while accusing allies of failing to help the US secure the Strait of Hormuz.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he wouldn’t comment on the remarks, but made the point Australia wasn’t consulted on America and Israel’s decision to start attacking Iran.The US president has also extended his deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to April 6, saying he will hold off on bombing Iran’s energy plants and that talks are going “very well”.G7 talks underway in attempt to narrow differences between the US and its allies.Trump weighs sending another 10,000 ground troops to the Middle East, reports say.Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it attacked Israeli and US forces yesterday, while Israel said it carried out “wide-scale” strikes on Tehran today.A trickle of ships has been let through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump says Iran has allowed 10 ships to pass as a “present”.Stay with us as we bring you the latest today.
5m agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 8:35am
UN Rights Chief calls for release of findings from school bombing investigation
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has urged the US to release the findings of its probe into the the deadly bombing of an Iranian school on February 28.
“The bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab evoked a visceral horror,” Volker Turk told the United Nations Human Rights Council.
He stressed the “the onus is on those who carried out the attack to investigate it promptly, impartially, transparently and thoroughly”.
“Senior US officials have said the strike is under investigation. I call for that process to be concluded as soon as possible, and for its findings to be made public. There must be justice for the terrible harm done,” Mr Turk said.
He also called on the US and Israel to end their attacks on Iran, while also urging Iran to stop attacking its neighbours.
Reporting with AFP
19m agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 8:21am
Another port in Kuwait has been struck
Kuwait says infrastructure at the Mubarak Al-Kabeer port has been hit by drones and missiles, causing material damage.
No casualties have been reported, said the Kuwait Public Works Ministry.
Not long ago, we reported that Shuwaikh Port, Kuwait’s main commercial port, had also been hit by drones.
Reporting with Reuters
32m agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 8:07am
📷 Rocket trails above the Israeli city of Netanya
We’ve been reporting on the strikes between Israel and Iran that continued overnight, Middle East time.
Photos show rocket trails above the Israeli coastal city of Netanya.
(AFP: Jack Guez)
(AFP: Jack Guez)56m agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 7:43amMore attacks reported in Israel and Saudi Arabia
Not long ago we mentioned there were reports of incoming threats in Bahrain and Qatar, as well as a strike in Kuwait.
Just now, the Israeli military said it identified missiles launched from Iran toward the country.
And Saudi Arabia said it intercepted two drones in Riyadh and eastern regions, the state news agency reports.
Reporting with Reuters
1h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 7:34am
Germany’s foreign minister says US and Iran preparing to ‘meet directly’
Chatter regarding the progress of peace talks has continued, this time with Germany weighing in.
Germany’s foreign minister said today that the US and Iran have had indirect negotiations and that representatives from both sides plan to meet shortly in Pakistan.
“Based on my information there have been indirect contacts, and preparations have been made to meet directly. That would be very soon in Pakistan, apparently,” minister Johann Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk radio.
Reporting with Reuters
1h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 7:08am
Reports of incoming threats in Gulf countries
Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has posted on X a warning for residents.
“The siren has been sounded. Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place,” it said.
Meanwhile, reports are coming in that Qatar has issued a national emergency alert.
“The security threat level is elevated. Everyone must remain in their homes and safe places, and stay away from windows, glass facades, and exposed areas,” it said.
1h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 6:55am
Kuwait’s Shuwaikh Port struck by drones
Shuwaikh Port, Kuwait’s main commercial port, has been hit by drones, the Kuwait Ports Authority reports.
The authority said no injuries have been reported, but material damage has occurred.
Reporting with Reuters
2h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 6:36am
More details of earlier strikes on Iran emerge, multiple fatalities reported
It was reported earlier that residential areas in Iran had been struck overnight, local time.
More details have since come through.
Iranian state media said three residential homes in the Pardisan area of Qom, south of Tehran, were struck killing at least six people.
In Tehran, rescue workers from the Red Crescent pulled a survivor from the rubble of a residential building that was hit by airstrikes.
A housing complex in the north-western city of Urmia was struck by a direct missile attack, killing and injuring several civilians and destroying at least four residential units.
The Israeli military said earlier today it struck ballistic missile production sites and air defence systems across Iran overnight, including targets in Tehran and western regions.
Reporting with Reuters
2h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 6:14am
ASEAN summit to focus on war, Philippine president says leaders need to ‘help each other’
President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr says the ASEAN summit his country is hosting in May will be a streamlined affair with a focus on how best to handle the economic shocks of the Middle East war.
The meeting of the 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will centre around the issues of oil, food and migration.
Mr Marcos said he had consulted with other ASEAN members about the idea of postponing the summit in the face of the energy crisis that has struck the region, before determining to press forward.
“It is a bare bones ASEAN Summit. We will be talking about three main subjects — about the supply of petroleum and petroleum products, about the supply … and the price of food, and migrant workers,” Marcos said.
“What we really need at this time is for leaders to talk about … what do we do, how can we help each other, and what is the ASEAN position regarding all of these shocks that are coming our way,” he said.
(AFP: Ezra Acayan)
Reporting with AFP
3h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 5:38am
Marco Rubio joins G7 after pushing for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has landed in France to join a meeting of G7 foreign ministers today.
Mr Rubio, who skipped the first day of the talks, said yesterday it was in the “interest” of all G7 nations to push for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Marco Rubio touches down at Le Bourget Airport, France. (AFP: Brendan Smialowski)
European and allied nations said they were looking for ways to narrow differences with the US, signalling their hope for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said he was “quite confident” they could “define a common position” before entering yesterday’s meeting.
“The goal is to end this conflict as quickly as possible, but also sustainably,” he said.
However, in contrast to usual protocol, and in a sign of the distance between the US and its allies, there is to be no joint communique at the end of the meeting, a diplomatic source told the AFP.
Instead, it’s reported the G7 presidency, which France holds this year, will issue a statement.
It is Mr Rubio’s first trip abroad since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28.
Reporting with AFP
3h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 5:15am
Analysis: Pakistan is positioning itself at the centre of the war
This week, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif signalled Islamabad’s readiness to host talks between the United States and Iran, leaning into growing speculation that backchannel negotiations were underway — despite firm public denials.
“Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the WAR in Middle East,” he wrote on X, casting Islamabad as a willing broker in a conflict that is rapidly destabilising the region.
But the public signals from Washington and Tehran were contradictory.
Read more from South Asia bureau chief Meghna Bali and Som Patidar:
3h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 4:51am
📷 Photos from Lebanon and Israel
Earlier this week, Israel announced plans to occupy southern Lebanon creating a “security zone” to push back the threat of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah.
A man removes rubble from his destroyed house that was hit in an Israeli airstrike in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon. (AP: Hussein Malla)
Since March 2, Israel has killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than a million, Lebanese authorities say.
Children displaced from Dahiyeh shelter from the rain inside their tents along the coast in Beirut, Lebanon. (AP: Emilio Morenatti)
The Israeli military said yesterday one of its soldiers was killed during combat operations in southern Lebanon.
Israeli servicemen carry the soldier’s casket during his funeral in Jerusalem. (AP: Mahmoud Illean)
4h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 4:04am
How are other countries easing the cost of fuel and energy shortages?
Governments across the globe are lifting environmental restrictions, slashing “green” taxes and reducing petrol excises to ease fuel and energy crunches caused by the war.
Japan’s government plans to temporarily lift restrictions on coal-fired power plants, an official said today.
Power suppliers have previously been required to keep the operating rate of coal-fired thermal power stations that emit large amounts of carbon dioxide at or below 50 per cent.
But the government now intends to allow full operation of older, less efficient coal-fired plants, Takahide Soeda, an industry ministry official, told AFP.
Motorists queue to buy fuel at a petrol station in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Reuters: Khanh Vu)
Vietnam’s finance ministry also announced today it has suspended an environmental protection tax and special consumption tax on fuels to stabilise the domestic market.
Spain’s parliament approved a sweeping package worth five billion euros ($8.3 billion) aimed at curbing the economic impact of the war, including steep cuts to energy taxes.
India slashed its special excise duties on petrol and diesel.
Poland’s prime minister announced yesterday a series of measures to cushion the impact of soaring fuel costs, including reduced taxes and price ceilings.
It comes as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese leaves the door open to temporarily halving fuel taxes.
Read more from senior political correspondent Jake Evans here:
5h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 3:40am
Conflict reshapes Persian New Year for Iranian Australians
Reporting by Jostina Basta
The Persian New Year, Nowruz, is a celebration centred around traditions with family and loved ones.
But for Nasrin Pour, getting in touch with her family in Iran right now is nearly impossible.
Iranian Nasrin Pour says it can feel lonely celebrating occasions like Nowruz without family in her small town in southern NSW. (Supplied: Nasrin Pour)
“I can’t even ring my family and make sure they’re OK, let alone talk to them about Nowruz and congratulate them for the new year,” she said.
While Ms Pour is in her southern NSW home at Adelong, the rest of her family remains in Iran where the war is continuing.
And while the war casts a shadow over the ancient festival, many are determined to mark the occasion.
“This year will be a bit different. We are definitely still celebrating because this is a celebration that is more than 2,000 years old,” Ms Pour said.
You can continue reading this story in the link below.
5h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 3:10amTrump weighs sending another 10,000 ground troops to the Middle East, reports say
Reports are coming through that US President Donald Trump is weighing up sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East.
The Wall Street Journal reported this first, citing Department of Defense officials with knowledge of the planning, saying the Pentagon was looking to give Mr Trump more military options as he weighs up peace talks.
Right now about 5,000 US troops are already on their way to the Middle East.
ABC correspondent Allyson Horn wrote this morning that Washington isn’t revealing whether or not those troops could lead a ground invasion into Iran or try to seize Iran’s oil export hub of Kharg Island.
5h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 2:43am
IRGC says it carried out attacks on Israeli and US forces
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it has carried out missile and drone strikes targeting sites in Israel and military facilities in the Gulf that are used by US forces.
The strikes yesterday involved long- and medium-range missiles and “destructive and roaming drones”, and targeted sites in Israel, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, the IRGC said in a statement carried by the IRNA and Fars news agencies.
The statement said a maintenance facility for US Patriot air defence systems was targeted in Bahrain.
Reporting with AFP
6h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 2:17am
Iran sends letter to UN over threats against government officials
Iran has sent a letter to the United Nations over claims that the country’s foreign minister and parliament speaker had been “targets for assassination”.
The letter, dated Thursday and signed by ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani, focused on media reports that Israel and the US had spared Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf for the time being amid negotiations to reach a ceasefire.
“The reports indicate the existence of an operational framework contemplating the assassination of the highest-ranking political officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the letter reads.
It added: “The conditional nature of the purported ‘suspension’ further underscores that the threat remains real, deliberate and ongoing.”
The letter called any such program “state-sponsored terrorism”.
The war’s opening air strikes by Israel killed supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Other military commanders have been killed as well.
Qalibaf has been considered a possible negotiating partner to the US, while Araghchi has continued diplomatic outreach.
Pakistan is leading an indirect exchange of positions between Tehran and Washington, supported by Egypt and Türkiye.
Reporting with AP
6h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 1:58amIsrael military says it’s carried out ‘wide-scale’ strike on Tehran
Israel’s military says its forces have carried out strikes on “infrastructure” targets in Tehran.
A brief military statement said Israeli forces “completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime in the heart of Tehran” on Friday morning, local time.
We’ll bring you more when it becomes available.
Reporting with AFP
6h agoFri 27 Mar 2026 at 1:47am
📷 War enters its fourth week