Middle East crisis live: Iran dismisses Trump claim of talks; von der Leyen says global energy situation is ‘critical’ | US-Israel war on Iran
important events
New Zealand to give cash to families as global fuel crisis worsens
Eva Corlett
About 150,000 New Zealand families will soon receive weekly cash payments to help them buy petrol, the government has announced in what is believed to be the world’s first fuel subsidy package. This has been direct payments to citizens since the start of the Iran war.
Prime Minister on Tuesday Christopher Luxon and finance minister Nicola Willis It announced that around 143,000 families with children would receive an extra NZ$50 ($29/£22) a week through in-work tax relief; This is a payment made to families with dependent children where at least one parent is in paid employment and neither parent receives benefits.
Another 14,000 families with slightly higher incomes would be eligible for payments, but they would receive less than $50 a week.
The increase will be temporary and will last for a year from April 1, or until the price of 91-octane petrol falls below NZ$3 ($1.75/£1.30) per liter for four consecutive weeks.
A liter of gasoline increased by approximately 40-50 cents. The average price of unleaded fuel in New Zealand has risen to over $3 per liter since the start of the conflict in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, some gas stations have reportedly run out of gas as people rush to stock up. As of Tuesday, the country had a total stock of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel for 46 days.
See the full report here:
Stocks rise and oil recovers as Trump extends Iran ultimatum
To summarize the reaction of financial markets after Donald Trump postponed the bombing of Iranian power plants: Oil prices recovered and Asian stocks rose as fears of a deeper energy shock quickly disappeared.
Traders reacted quickly to this reversal on Monday, sending crude oil futures lower and stocks higher, while U.S. dollar and government bond yields also fell, Reuters reported.
Much of the movement was reflected in the Asian trading session on Tuesday; MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.3%, while Australian shares rose 0.7%.
Japan’s Nikkei rose more than 2%, reversing most of Monday’s 3.5% decline.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose on Tuesday after falling 10% in the previous session. Brent crude futures rose 1% to $100.94 per barrel, while U.S. crude rose 1.9% to $89.84.
Yet the movement was highly variable. “Markets are not out of control,” he said Chris WestonHead of research at Pepperstone.
Price movements may remain volatile until Friday’s revised deadline… The question is whether participants see this as a genuine extension that will bring a deal closer, or just a delay prolonging uncertainty.
Opening summary
Welcome to our ongoing coverage of the US-Israeli war on Iran and its broader repercussions in the Middle East and globally.
Donald Trump He claimed that the US and Iran had held talks in which the two sides had “significant points of agreement” and speculated that a deal to end the war could be reached soon, but Tehran contradicted this claim.
Iran is strong Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) described Trump’s words, which had no effect on Tehran’s struggle, as “psychological operations”. Speaker of the Parliament Mohammed Baqir Qalibaf He said it was “fake news… used to manipulate financial and oil markets.”
Despite doubts about direct negotiations, a European official said Egypt, Pakistan and Gulf countries were getting the message across. on tuesday European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen He said it was time to negotiate with Iran, given that the global energy situation was now “critical”.
Speaking in Australia at the signing of a new free trade agreement between the EU and Australia, he said: “The situation is critical for energy supply allies around the world. We are all feeling the knock-on effects on gas and oil prices, our businesses and our societies, but it is crucial that we reach a negotiated solution that puts an end to the hostilities we are seeing in the Middle East.”
A Pakistani official and a second source told Reuters that direct talks to end the war could be held in Islamabad this week. The Pakistani official said the US president said: J.D. Vanceand Middle East ambassador Steve Witkoff And Jared KushnerHe was expected to meet with Iranian officials in Islamabad this week, following the meeting between Trump and Pakistan’s army chief. Asim Munir.
In other important developments:
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Embers US threat to attack Iranian power plants has been postponed after “very good and productive” talks with Iran, he said About the “complete and total solution of our hostilities” in the Middle East. The price of oil reached a four-year high before falling dramatically following Trump’s comments, while stocks in Asia rebounded.
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Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu said that he spoke with Trump, who sees a chance for a deal with Iran, but added: Israel will continue its attacks against Iran and Lebanon. In a video statement released by his office, the Israeli prime minister claimed that Trump believes there is a possibility of “taking advantage of the great successes achieved by Israel and the US military to achieve the goals of the war with an agreement – an agreement that will protect our vital interests.”
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Israel announced it had launched “large-scale” attacks on Iran on Monday morning, while Tehran continued to fire missiles at the UAE and Saudi Arabia.. The Israeli military also claimed to have hit the main security headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as part of a “recently completed wave of attacks in the heart of Tehran.”
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The Israeli offensive also hit the southern suburbs of Beirut on Monday, hours after the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of residents, Agence France-Presse quoted state media as saying. AFPTV’s live broadcast showed a cloud of smoke forming over the densely populated southern suburbs, which are considered a Hezbollah stronghold and have not been hit since Friday night.
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British destroyer HMS Dragon An Iranian-made drone has reached the eastern Mediterranean three weeks after it hit the British RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus, Britain’s defense secretary said. The British government has faced criticism for the slow pace of deploying warships to the region following moves by Greece and France to send extra naval support to Cyprus following the attack.
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Slovenia Became the first EU member state to introduce fuel rationing In order to overcome the disruptions caused by the US-Israeli war against Iran and Tehran’s retaliation against its Gulf allies.
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Saudi Arabia’s defense ministry said the missiles were intercepted and destroyed. at least five drones Over the eastern region of the kingdom.
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The US embassy in Muscat lifted its protection to remove guidance for the city, but guidance remains in place for the rest of Oman, the embassy said in a statement on X. It had previously issued a security alert for the entire country due to “ongoing activities,” without elaborating.
