Middle East crisis live: Iran attacks tanker in Dubai; explosions in Tehran and Jerusalem amid wave of strikes
Interim summary
For those just joining our live coverage of the Middle East war, here’s a snapshot of the latest:
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Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai. Local authorities later said response teams contained the incident with no oil leakage and that no injuries had been reported
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Donald Trump warned that the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it did not open the strait of Hormuz.
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The Israeli military said four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with Iran-backed Hezbollah.
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Two giant Chinese container ships have sailed through the strait of Hormuz on their second attempt to leave the Gulf after turning back on Friday, ship-tracking data shows. The transit signals a diplomatic breakthrough between Beijing and Tehran as Iran widens its list of approved nations for transiting the vital route, Lloyd’s List reported.
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Indonesia’s foreign minister called for an emergency UN security council meeting and a thorough investigation” into a “heinous attack” after three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in southern Lebanon.
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Blasts were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some areas of the capital, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Israel earlier carried out missile strikes on what it called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Hezbollah in Beirut.
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Japan and Indonesia agreed to step up coordination on energy security, Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday.
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Two Iranian missile launches targeted central Israel, Israeli media reported, with the emergency service saying it had not received reports of any injuries.
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Turkey reported a ballistic missile launched from Iran had entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by Nato air and missile defences.
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An earlier summary of key developments is here.
Key events
Here are some of the latest images coming in from the Middle East in week five of the war.
Macron due in Japan for talks dominated by Iran war
French president Emmanuel Macron arrives in Japan on Tuesday for a visit that initially aimed to strengthen partnerships in nuclear energy and space innovation but will now be dominated by the Middle East war.
Macron will hold talks with prime minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday and “the crisis in the Middle East will be at the heart of discussions”, the Élysée Palace said ahead of the trip.
It added that the two leaders would discuss “how we can try to find common solutions”, reports Agence France-Presse.
Japan depends on the Middle East for 95% of its oil imports and has had to dip into strategic stockpiles to temper the impact of rising fuel prices since the start of the war.
Economy and finance ministers of G7 countries, which include France and Japan, said on Monday they stood ready to take “all necessary measures” to ensure the stability of the energy market as they tackled the economic consequences of the war.
Israel finishes ‘another wave’ of strikes in Tehran
The Israeli military says it has “just completed another wave of strikes” targeting Iranian regime infrastructure in the heart of Tehran.
The post on social media also said the military “continues to deepen the damage” to the infrastructure.
No oil leakage after Kuwaiti oil tanker attack – authorities
Dubai response teams have successfully contained the incident involving a Kuwaiti oil tanker in Dubai waters with no oil leakage, authorities say.
The Dubai media office also reiterated no injuries were reported.
Earlier on Monday Iran reportedly carried out a drone attack that set ablaze to a fully loaded crude oil tanker in Dubai waters, while the ship’s owner warned of a possible oil spill.
Japan and Indonesia have agreed to step up coordination on energy security, Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday.
“In light of the Iran situation, the strategic importance of resources and energy security is once again being recognized globally. Indonesia is a major resource-rich nation,” Takaichi said alongside Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto after they met for talks in Tokyo.
The summit came as the US-Israeli war on Iran squeezes oil and gas supplies vital to Asia.
Indonesia is the world’s biggest exporter of thermal coal for power generation, supplying about half of global exports, Reuters reports. It is also a major liquefied natural gas exporter, with roughly a quarter of its shipments bound for Japan.
More now on three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia being killed in two incidents in southern Lebanon: Indonesia’s foreign minister has called for an emergency UN security council meeting and “for a swift, thorough and transparent investigation” into the “heinous attack”.
Sugiono made the call on Tuesday in a post on X after speaking with UN secretary António Guterres.
Israel’s military said it was aware of the reports regarding the two incidents and they were being reviewed thoroughly to determine whether they resulted from the military’s activity or Hezbollah’s.
Two peacekeepers were killed on Monday after an explosion from an unknown origin destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan in south Lebanon, the UN peacekeeping force (Unifil) said. Another Indonesian soldier was killed overnight into Monday when a projectile exploded near one of the group’s positions close to the southern Lebanese village of Adchit al-Qusayr.
In response to the first death, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said on Monday the deceased peacekeeper was one of its citizens and that three others were injured by “indirect artillery fire”.
Indonesia condemned the incident and said any harm to peacekeepers was unacceptable, while reiterating its condemnation “of Israel’s attacks in southern Lebanon”.
Guterres said attacks on peacekeepers were grave violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.
Four Israeli soldiers killed in southern Lebanon – IDF
The Israeli military said on Tuesday four soldiers had been killed in combat in southern Lebanon, where its forces are clashing with the Iran-backed Hezbollah.
A military statement named three soldiers from the same battalion who “fell during combat” and a separate statement said another soldier – who had not yet been publicly named – had died in the same incident, Agence France-Presse is reporting.
Another soldier was severely wounded and a reservist moderately wounded, a second statement said.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran and its impact on the region, the world and the global economy.
Iran attacked and set ablaze a fully loaded crude oil tanker off Dubai on Monday while Donald Trump warned the US would obliterate Iran’s energy plants and oil wells if it did not open the strait of Hormuz.
The apparent strike on the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi is the latest in a string of assaults on merchant vessels by missiles or explosive air and sea drones in the Persian Gulf and the strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February.
Crude oil prices briefly spiked anew after Kuwait’s state news agency reported the attack on the tanker, which can carry around 2m barrels of oil worth more than $200m at current prices.
Kuwait Petroleum Corp, the ship’s owner, said work was under way to assess damage and warned of a possible oil spill. Authorities in Dubai later said they had brought the fire under control after a drone attack on the tanker, and that no injuries were reported.
In other key developments:
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Blasts were heard in Tehran and power cuts hit some areas of the capital, Iranian media reported on Tuesday. Israel earlier carried out missile strikes on what it called military infrastructure in Tehran and infrastructure used by Iran-backed Hezbollah in Beirut, leaving black smoke hanging over the Lebanese capital.
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Two successive Iranian missile launches targeted central Israel, the Times of Israel reported, quoting the emergency service as saying it had not received any reports of injuries.
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Turkey reported a ballistic missile launched from Iran had entered Turkish airspace before being shot down by Nato air and missile defences.
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Oil prices were headed on Tuesday for a record monthly rise while Asian shares were headed for their steepest fall since 2022, capping a tumultuous month as the war fanned fears of higher inflation and slower growth. Bonds were headed for their largest decline in months, while the dollar recorded its strongest gain in eight months.
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The US national average retail price of fuel crossed $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years on Monday, data from price-tracking service GasBuddy showed, as tightening global supplies pushed US crude prices above $101 a barrel.
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Three UN peacekeepers from Indonesia were killed in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon.
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Thousands of soldiers from the US Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division have started arriving in the Middle East, two US officials told Reuters. , as part of a reinforcement that would expand Trump’s options to include the deployment of forces inside Iranian territory, even as he pursues talks with Tehran.
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The White House later said talks with Iran were progressing and Trump wanted to reach a deal with Tehran before a 6 April deadline he set last week after extending an earlier deadline he had set for Iran to open the largely blocked strait of Hormuz oil route.
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Trump had told aides he is willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the strait or Hormuz remains largely closed and leave a complex operation to reopen it for a later date, the Wall Street Journal later reported.
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Iran said on Monday it had received US peace proposals via intermediaries and that they were “unrealistic, illogical and excessive”.
