US-Iran War Live News Updates: Australia To Send Aircraft, Missiles To Gulf

Flights arriving at Dubai International Airport are being diverted to hold near Fujairah and Al-Ain due to a potential drone or missile attack.

Several flights from Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Dammam to Delhi cancelled, news agency PTI reported.

Australia is sending a specialist surveillance aircraft and air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates to protect Australians in the region from Iranian attacks. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced this move after talks with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and US President Donald Trump.

The deployment includes an E-7A Wedgetail spy plane with 85 personnel, providing long-range reconnaissance to secure Gulf airspace, and Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles to bolster UAE defenses.

France sent naval forces to the Middle East to protect the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global oil and gas shipments. President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will deploy eight frigates, two amphibious helicopter carriers, and the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle to the region. 

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said that countries like France, China, and Russia have reached out to discuss a possible ceasefire. However, he said that the final decision lies with Tehran, citing the "blatant aggression" against Iran. Gharibabadi also warned that Iran's enemies "must pay the price" for killing the country's supreme leader, Iran state media reported.
 

President Donald Trump said his vice president, JD Vance, was "philosophically a little bit different than me" at the outset of the war in Iran even as he dismissed the notion of a disagreement between the two.

Speaking to reporters on Monday at his golf club in Doral, Florida, the president said Vance was "maybe less enthusiastic about going" but insisted that his decision to launch airstrikes in Iran alongside Israel was necessary.

US President Donald Trump had a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the war in Iran and other issues, which according to the Kremlin was a "frank and businesslike" conversation that lasted about an hour.
 

Azerbaijan President, Ilham Aliyev, wrote to newly elected Mojtaba Khamenei congratulating him on getting elected as the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The letter read: 

His Eminence Ayatollah Khamenei.

I congratulate you on your election as Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

I would like to express my condolences to you once again on the tragic passing of your father, His Holiness Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Islamic Republic of Iran stem from the will of our peoples, who have historically lived in good neighborliness and friendship. I express my hope that we will make joint efforts to develop our interstate relations in a spirit of mutual respect and trust in accordance with the interests of our peoples.

I once again congratulate you on this high appointment and wish peace and tranquility to the friendly and brotherly people of Iran.

Sincerely,
Ilham Aliyev
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan

The US stock market careened through a manic Monday, going from a steep early loss to a solid gain as worries turned into hope that the war with Iran may not last that long. Oil prices whipped from nearly $120 per barrel, the highest since 2022, back toward $90.

Iran's attacks in the Strait of Hormuz have all but stopped tankers from using the shipping lane through which a fifth of the world's oil is carried, and Iranian drones and missiles have targeted oil and gas infrastructure in major producers. Attacks on merchant ships near the strait have killed at least seven mariners, according to the International Maritime Organisation.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharib Abadi on Tuesday told State TV that the country will only end the war if it's assured it won't be attacked again. He reiterated that any ceasefire proposal will only be effective when Iran is confident that such attacks won't be repeated, Iran's State TV reported.

"We will only end the war under conditions where we are certain it won’t happen again,” he says on Iran state TV," Abadi said adding that the ceasefire will only come into effect when Iran is 'confident such events won’t be repeated.'

Donald Trump reinforced his commitment to maintaining global oil supplies and protecting the Strait of Hormuz. He warned Iran against disrupting oil shipments, threatening severe consequences if they do. 

Addressing a press conference after completing his remarks to the Republican Members, Trump said, "I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe's oil supply. If Iran does anything to do that, they'll get hit at a much, much harder level..."

"The Strait of Hormuz is going to remain safe. We have a lot of Navy ships there. We have the best equipment in the world inspecting for mines. Most of their ships are down at the bottom of the sea. But we will hit them so hard that it will not be possible for them or anybody else helping them to ever recover that section of the world if they do anything," Trump added.
 

Trump claimed that the US-led military action against Iran was necessary to prevent an imminent attack on the US, Israel, and the Middle East. He stated that Iran was ready to launch a major attack, with missiles and launchers, and would have used nuclear weapons on Israel if they had them.

"If we didn't go in, they (Iran) would have come in after us...Within a week, they were going to attack us 100 per cent. They were ready. They had all these missiles far more than anyone thought and they were going to attack us. They were going to attack all of the Middle East and Israel. If they had a nuclear weapon, they would have used it on Israel. This was going to be a major attack. They had all of those missile sites and all those launchers that we got rid of about 80 per cent of them right now...They have very few launchers left. What our military has done is amazing..."

US President Donald Trump claimed victory in the US-Israeli war against Iran, stating that the enemy is being "crushed" and Iran's military capabilities are being "utterly demolished". 

"Together with our Israeli partners, we're crushing the enemy in an overwhelming display of technical skill and military force.  Iran's drone and missile capability is being utterly demolished. The Navy is gone. It's all lying at the bottom of the ocean...We knocked out 46 ships...Their terrorist leaders are gone. We're counting down the minutes until they will be gone...We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated...", he said at a press conference.

Trump added, "We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough. We go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long-running danger once and for all...The United States of America is the greatest and most exceptional nation in human history and will not be threatened by evil terrorists and lunatics any longer..."

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the war against Iran may be short-lived despite the country's selection of a new hard-line supreme leader to oversee the fight for the Islamic theocracy's survival.

But moments later, Trump hinted during a news conference that the worst fighting could still be ahead as he threatened intensified action if Iran made any "attempt to stop the globe's oil supply". The back-and-forth sent oil prices and stock markets seesawing.