Middle East crisis live: Trump claims Iran war will be over ‘very soon’ but Tehran says it will determine when | US-Israel war on Iran

The Australian government confirmed earlier today that it had offered humanitarian visas to five Iranian football players in the country for the Asian Cup..

Now protesters have briefly blocked a bus taking members of the Iranian women’s football team from their hotel on Australia’s Gold Coast.

Andrew Messenger reports:

A group of several dozen people physically sat in front of the vehicle and blocked it. They chanted “save our daughters” slogans as the vehicle exited. Protesters say they believe the bus was heading to Gold Coast airport.

A group of Queensland police officers led them away.

The bus is leaving now.

The Guardian saw at least one of the football players in tears from the window.

A protester at the Gold Coast hotel where Iranian football players were staying said he saw one of the players being put on a bus by an official who held his wrist.

Hello and welcome to our ongoing coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and the broader Middle East crisis. Here are the important developments.

• Donald Trump has described the Iran war as a “short-term trip” and said the war will end “very soon” as the attack on Tehran enters its second week. He said the war was “almost complete” and ahead of schedule, a significant change from his earlier suggestions that it could last several weeks. However, the US president also stated that he has not yet declared the completion of the US mission. “We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough.” He later added that the operation would only end if Tehran does not have the weapons capability against the United States, Israel or any of the United States’ allies in the region for a long time. Here’s our report and analysis of what our global affairs correspondent does Andrew Roth A vague and contradictory press conference was called for by the president.

• Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said Tehran would not allow “one liter of oil” to be exported from the region if US-Israeli attacks continue. Donald Trump then threatened to hit the Islamic Republic much harder if it stopped the flow of oil through the vital Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement carried by state media that it would “determine the end of the war” after the US president had previously said the conflict would end “soon”.

• Oil prices increased by 20 percent It rose to a four-year high before falling below $90 a barrel after Trump suggested the war would end soon. Iran has previously mocked the US for skyrocketing oil prices and branded its campaign as “Operation Epic Mistake”.

• Trump twice refused to say whether Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has a target on his backHe said only that he was “disappointed” and thought it would “lead to more of the same problem for the country.” This followed a day in which Trump belittled the late Ayatollah’s son, saying his selection was a “big mistake” and that he was “not happy” about it, and reiterating that Trump still wanted to be involved in the selection of a leader. Meanwhile, Israel has publicly vowed to target the new religious leader.

• This came as large crowds took to the streets in Tehran in a defiant show of support for Khamenei.

• Meanwhile, Israel launched its second wave of attacks against Tehran today. The IDF has claimed to have launched a broad wave of attacks against “terror targets” in Iran’s capital, but it is also hitting critical energy and fuel infrastructure that serves ordinary Iranians.

• Israel also continued its offensive against Hezbollah, launching raids on southern Lebanon and airstrikes on Beirut. According to Lebanese state news, citing the country’s health ministry, 486 people, including at least 83 children, have died in Israel’s attacks on Lebanon since March 2. At least 600,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon, raising fears of a humanitarian disaster.

• Iran’s new missile and drone attacks also targeted Israel, US bases in the Middle East and energy infrastructure in the Gulf.

• British Typhoon jets intercept drones heading towards Jordan and BahrainThe UK Ministry of Defense said the following.

• Türkiye says NATO defenses shot down a ballistic missile in its airspaceIt is the second missile seized from Iran in a week.

• Five Iranian women football players were granted humanitarian visas by Australia Following Trump’s call to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Our story is here.