Washington, Apr 1 (AP) US President Donald Trump said the military could end its Iran offensive in two to three weeks and will shift responsibility for the Strait of Hormuz to countries that rely on it for oil and shipping as the White House announced a prime-time presidential address Wednesday evening on the war.
Trump expressed frustration Tuesday with allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the US war effort, telling them to “go get your own oil”.
Trump recently has vacillated between insisting there is progress in diplomatic talks with Iran and threatening to widen the war.
In an interview with pan-Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.
He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the US could yield any results, saying “the trust level is at zero”.
Trump said the US “will not have anything to do with” what happens next in the vital waterway that has been closed by the Islamic Republic. Instead, he told reporters, the responsibility for keeping the strait open will rest with countries that rely on it.
Gulf states rely on the waterway for both exports and imports, including food, and 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply flows through it.
US gas prices jumped past an average of USD 4 a gallon for the first time since 2022 on Tuesday, as the Iran war continues to push fuel prices higher worldwide. Analysts say those high fuel costs will trickle into groceries as businesses’ transportation and packaging costs pile up.
Here is the latest: Red Crescent volunteer killed in airstrike in Iran A volunteer with the Iranian Red Crescent was killed by an airstrike Tuesday in the country’s northwest, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Alireza Sohbatlou was providing services at a clinic in Zanjan province when an airstrike hit the nearby religious site Azam Hussainiya of Zanjan, the humanitarian network said Wednesday.
He was the third Red Crescent volunteer killed in Iran since the start of the war, the IFRC said.
Iran’s supreme leader vows to support anti-Israeli forces Iran’s supreme leader vowed Wednesday his nation will continue to support anti-Israeli forces in the Mideast.
The message from Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, like others since he was named Iran’s new supreme leader, came in a statement read on air by a state television anchor.
“I firmly declare that the consistent policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in continuing the path of the late Imam and martyred leader, is based on continuing to support the resistance against the Zionist-American enemy,” Khamenei said in the comments from a letter to the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
Khamenei has not been seen since the war began February 28. US and Israeli officials believe he was wounded and remains in hiding.
Indian citizen wounded in UAE drone attack An Indian citizen was wounded during a drone attack Wednesday in the United Arab Emirates, according to the official WAM news agency in Umm Al Quwain, one of the UAE’ seven emirates.
Shrapnel fell near an industrial area of Umm Al Thoub while air defense systems were intercepting a drone, the agency reported.
Russian Embassy in Iran condemns airstrike damaging cathedral in Tehran The Russian Embassy in Iran on Wednesday condemned an airstrike on the compound of the former US Embassy there as it damaged a nearby cathedral.
The embassy said the blast broke doors and windows at St. Nicholas Orthodox Cathedral, just across from the compound.
An adjacent Russian nursing home sustained damage, including a collapsed roof, it added.
“We strongly condemn the ongoing US and Israeli aggression against Iran, which is increasingly affecting civilian infrastructure and religious and cultural heritage,” the embassy said.
South Korea implements limited car policy for public employees South Korea will require public employees to alternate car use every other day starting next week.
The measure comes as officials raised the alert level over crude oil supplies, citing concerns about a prolonged crisis in the Middle East.
The climate ministry said Wednesday the government will implement an odd-even driving scheme, based on license plate numbers, for public employees using fossil-fuel vehicles starting April 8.
The government already had required public employees to keep their cars off the road at least one weekday starting March 25 to reduce energy consumption during the war.
Electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles, as well as those used by people with disabilities and pregnant women, will be exempt from the restrictions.
Starmer says UK committed to NATO after Trump criticism Asked about US President Donald Trump’s comment to the Daily Telegraph newspaper that he is considering pulling out of NATO, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Britain is “fully committed to NATO”.
Starmer called it “the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen”.
Starmer told reporters that “whatever the pressure on me and others, whatever the noise, I am going to act in the British national interest in all the decisions I make.” Drone attack hits northern Iraq fuel warehouse Multiple drones attacked a northern Iraq fuel warehouse linked to British oil and natural gas giant BP, a firm operating the facility said.
No casualties were reported.
The attack on the motor oil warehouse occurred in Irbil, the capital city of Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, the Sardar Group, a major automotive group in Iraq, said in a statement. It said the facility is owned by Castrol, a subsidiary of BP.
The statement said the first drone hit the facility at 7:20 a.m., before it was attacked again with two more drones while firefighters were combating the fire.
The attack started a massive fire that sent a column of black smoke into the air, social media footage shows.
Lebanese military says it has withdrawn from border towns The Lebanese military said its forces have largely withdrawn from some border towns as Israeli troops continue to push a ground invasion into the country.
The Lebanese military said in a statement that troops had to reposition to prevent being dispersed and cut off from support lines.
The military has gradually withdrawn from a handful of border towns. Remaining residents in the Christian-majority communities Rmeich and Ain Ebel have appealed to the Lebanese military and leadership to stay.
The military said it would maintain soldiers in those towns.
Israel has declared southern Lebanon up until the Litani River will be a “security-zone” in its ongoing war with the militant group Hezbollah and residents will not be able to return until further notice.
Over 1 million people in Lebanon have been displaced over the past month.
Australia urges use of public transport to conserve fuel Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used a rare national address to urge Australians to use public transport due to fuel supply uncertainties created by the Iran war.
Albanese said in a statement broadcast Wednesday by major television and radio networks that “the months ahead may not be easy”.
“You should go about your business and your life as normal. Enjoy your Easter,” Albanese said.
“And over the coming weeks, if you can switch to catching the train or bus or tram to work, do so,” he added.
Australia slashed fuel taxes from Wednesday in a bid to curb price rises at the pump.
The government maintains that Australia has all the fuel it needs, but panic buying and distribution problems have created regional shortages.
Drone attack kills Bangladeshi national in UAE A drone attack has killed a citizen of Bangladesh in Fujairah, one of the UAE’s seven emirates, authorities said.
He was killed Wednesday when Emirati air defense systems intercepted a drone, and shrapnel landed in a farm, the Fujairah media office said.
The fatality has brought the death toll in the UAE to nine civilians and two soldiers. A Moroccan contractor with the UAE army was also killed in Bahrain.
Earlier Saudi Arabia said it had destroyed two Iranian drones.
2 children among at least 3 people injured in missile attack on Israel Emergency personnel said an 11-year-old girl was severely wounded in central Israel in the latest missile attack from Iran.
Two more people suffered moderate injuries including a 13-year-old boy and a 36-year-old woman, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue services.
At least 5 killed by Israeli strike in Beirut neighbourhood Lebanon’s Health Ministry said in a preliminary count early Wednesday 21 people were also wounded in the strike in Jnah.
The strike came without warning, and Israel did not declare the target. When it does, it often says it is targeting operatives from the Hezbollah militant group.
Emergency workers rushed to the scene to search for victims.
Israel warns of incoming Yemeni missile attack Israel’s military warned the public Wednesday a missile was incoming from Yemen, yet another attack from the country’s Houthi rebels who have just entered the war on Iran’s side.
Air raid sirens went off in southern Israel, from Beersheba to the Mediterranean coast.
The warning, just around dawn, broke a long lull, more than 19 hours since the last time Israel’s military warned of an incoming missile launch from Iran, and more than six hours from the last alarms in the northern part of Israel, which in past days received near-constant fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon. (AP) PY PY
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