LIVE: Trump willing to end war ‘without reopening Strait of Hormuz’

Here’s all the latest developments on the US-Israel war with Iran:

• Donald Trump has reportedly signalled to aides he is willing to leave the Iran war without reopening the Strait of Hormuz
• It comes just hours after Trump threatened to blow up Iranian power plants and oil wells
• Trump later shared video as the US unleashed devastating air strikes on an ammunition depot believed to house Iran’s enriched uranium
• An Iranian drone has stuck a fully loaded Kuwaiti tanker anchored at Dubai port
• Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have claimed an Israeli-owned ship has been struck in the Persian Gulf and US marines have been targeted with drones in the UAE
• Israel’s emergency services say eight people have been injured after an Iranian missile strike in central Israel
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the war on Iran had achieved more than half its aims without putting a timeline on when it would end
• Italy denied US bombers access to an air base in Sicily last week after pilots apparently failed to ask for permission to land
• China has expressed its ‘gratitude’ after ships pass Strait of Hormuz

Stick with us for the latest developments throughout the day.

Iranian media said airstrikes have put a desalination plant on Iran’s Qeshm Island out of service, though the report did not specify when the attack took place.

It comes after Donald Trump threatened yesterday to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power infrastructure, oil wells and ‘possibly all desalinisation plants’.

There have been several attacks on desalination plants in the ongoing war, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

Bahrain reported an Iranian strike on a facility on March 8, apparent retaliation for the US hit on Qeshm the day before.

Kuwait reported an Iranian attack on a desalination and electricity plant on Monday, which Tehran blamed on Israel.

The Middle East is among the driest regions in the world, with many countries dependent on desalination plants for domestic and industrial water supplies.

Desalinated water provides 42 percent of drinking water in the United Arab Emirates, 70 percent in Saudi Arabia, 86 percent in Oman and 90 percent in Kuwait, according to a 2022 report from the French Institute of International Relations think tank.

Average US gas prices have soared past $4 a gallon, the American Automobile Association (AAA) reported Tuesday, the highest for nearly four years on the back of the Iran war.

Spiking gas prices, up from less than $3 at the end of February, represent the latest bad news for President Donald Trump after he ordered strikes on Iran in a war that has threatened to drag down the global economy.

The average price was $4.018 per gallon as of Tuesday morning, the AAA data said on its website.

The last time prices were above $4 was in August 2022, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

The price jump heightens the political risks for Trump several months before crucial midterm elections.

Iran has claimed US-Israeli strikes have struck one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country.

In a statement on X, the Iranian government said: ‘During the US and Zionist regime attacks on civilian centres, on the morning of Tuesday, one of the largest companies producing anti-cancer, anaesthetic and specialised medicines was damaged and the drug production line was damaged.’

The pharmaceutical company is owned by the Social Security Investment Company, a state-run holding firm managing pension funds.

This picture shows the Kuwait-flagged Al Salmi crude oil tanker which was attacked by an Iranian drone while anchored in Dubai.

The Al Salmi vessel was fully loaded when it was hit earlier today.

Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship’s owner, said the ‘direct, heinous Iranian attack’ caused a fire and hull damage and sparked fears of an oil spill.

Dubai authorities said maritime firefighting teams successfully put out the blaze which was contained and added all 24 crew members were safe.

China and Pakistan will ‘strengthen’ their co-operation on Iran, Beijing’s foreign ministry has said.

The Asian neighbours have both sought to mediate in the Middle East to prevent the conflict from escalating, with Islamabad saying it was ready to host ‘meaningful talks’ between the United States and Iran.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, who is also deputy prime minister, is visiting Beijing where he will meet with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi for talks on international and bilateral issues.

‘The two foreign ministers will strengthen strategic communication and coordination on the Iran situation and… make new efforts toward advocating for peace,’ Beijing’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a press conference.

Authorities in Dubai have confirmed four Asian nationals have suffered minor injuries after shrapnel from a drone interception fell onto houses.

Israel’s military says it is prepared for ‘weeks’ more of fighting in Iran.

It comes after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview the war was ‘beyond the halfway point.’

Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told reporters the decision is up to political leaders but that the military was ready for further weeks of conflict.

‘We are prepared to keep operating for weeks to come.

‘We have the targets for that, the munition for that, the manpower for that, and it’s up to the leadership to decide,’ he said.

Airstrikes have damaged a desalination plant Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media is reporting.

Health authorities in Iran say the plant has been completely shut down as a result.

‘One of the desalination plants on Qeshm Island was targeted… and is now completely out of service, as it is not possible to repair it in the short term,’ the ISNA news agency reported, quoting health ministry official Mohsen Farhadi.

It was not immediately clear when the attack took place.

Earlier this month, Iranian foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi accused the US of attacking a freshwater plant on Qeshm Island which impacted water supplies to 30 villages.

People accused of spying or cooperating with ‘hostile states’ could face the death penalty under a recently enhanced law, an Iranian judiciary spokesperson said.

Even sharing photos or videos that could aid enemy targeting may be treated as intelligence cooperation, the spokesman added.

Iranian media have reported more than 1,000 arrests over the course of the month, related to individuals accused of filming sensitive locations, sharing anti-government content online, or ‘cooperating with the enemy’.

The judiciary spokesman said the legislation, passed last year, applies to operational, intelligence and certain media activities deemed to support hostile governments, notably the United States and Israel.

He warned those creating ‘fear’ through misinformation could face prison terms, with penalties increased in wartime.

A drone interception has left two people injured in Saudi Arabia, authorities have said.

Saudi Arabia’s civil defence officials say the incident took place in a region southeast of the capital Riyadh.

‘Falling debris from the interception of a drone in Al-Kharj province caused two minor injuries and limited material damage to three homes and several vehicles,’ said a statement carried by Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency.

Al-Kharj province is home to Prince Sultan air base.

Damage to Dubai hotel after an Iranian attack

by Perkin Amalaraj, Foreign News Reporter

A human rights activist has claimed that paranoid residents in Dubai have started reporting members of group chats who share pictures of Iranian drone and missile attacks to authorities.

The war in the Middle East has seen Iran launch dozens of strikes at its Gulf neighbours for more than a month.

Harrowing footage and pictures of these attacks have made their way around the world, thanks in large part to residents in cities like Dubai who take them and share them on social media.

But the dissemination of these pictures and videos purportedly undermines the ‘national security and stability’ of Gulf nations, which have long sought to uphold their ‘carefully constructed brand’ as safe and glamorous travel destination.

As a result, tourists, expats and cabin crew who have dared share clips of these attacks have been detained in overcrowded police cells and prisons – and in some cases denied sleep, food and medicine – as they fall foul of draconian laws that purport to protect ‘national security and stability’.