US-Israel-Iran War Live News Updates: Six Nations Offer To Help With Strait Of Hormuz Only After Ceasefire

Kuwaiti air defenses are currently confronting hostile missile and drone attacks. The General Staff of the Army said that if explosion sounds are heard, they result from the air defense systems intercepting the hostile attacks. 
 

Saudi Arabia is warning that oil prices could skyrocket to $180 per barrel if the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted until late April. This comes as oil prices have been volatile since the war began on Feb 28, with Brent crude briefly hitting $119 per barrel before dropping. The disruptions are largely due to Iran's attacks on energy infrastructure in the Gulf, which have halted shipping through the strait, a critical route for 20% of global oil supply, reports Al Jazeera.

Across the US, gas prices are now near their highest levels since 2022. Drivers were paying an average of $3.88 for a gallon of regular gasoline on Thursday, compared with $2.98 before the war started. Prices have increased about 30% since the US and Israel attacked Iran.

The spike in oil prices is likely to further push up gasoline prices, and could be felt more significantly in Asia and Europe, which are more dependent on Middle Eastern oil and gas than the United States.

Members of Iran's national women's soccer team were greeted with a welcome ceremony upon their return to the Islamic Republic after several of the players sought asylum in Australia. People in the crowd waved flags while some of the players held bouquets of flowers and signed what appeared to be mini-soccer balls.

Two Iranian female players, Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanisadeh, chose to remain in Australia and have been training with the Brisbane Roar club.
 

Netanyahu said, "Iran's air defenses have been rendered useless, their navy is lying at the bottom of the sea. ... Their air force is nearly destroyed." He said he hopes the Iranian people will rise up against the Islamic Republic that has ruled for nearly a half-century. There's been no sign of any organized opposition since the war began, after Iranian authorities crushed mass protests in January.

The prime minister's comments to foreign journalists came amid difficult days for Trump and Netanyahu, with a top US intelligence official resigning and claiming Israel pushed Trump into the war, and Israel's attacks on South Pars, which led to Iran's retaliatory strikes on the region's oil and gas fields.

"I misled no one," Netanyahu said. "And I didn't have to convince President Trump about the need to prevent Iran from developing its nuclear programme."

More than 1,300 people in Iran have been killed during the war. Israeli strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon have displaced more than 1 million people, according to the Lebanese government, which says more than 1,000 people have been killed. Israel says it has killed more than 500 Hezbollah militants. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian missile fire. Four people were also killed in the occupied West Bank by an Iranian missile strike overnight.

At least 13 US military members have been killed.

Six major international powers said they were prepared to help ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, though three emphasised that any effort would come only after a ceasefire.

Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Netherlands said they were ready "to contribute to appropriate efforts" to safeguard navigation in the strategic waterway.

Italy, Germany and France later clarified that this did not imply any immediate military involvement, but rather a possible multilateral initiative once hostilities have ceased.

(Source: AFP)

The competent authorities in Dubai confirm that the sounds heard in various areas of the Dubai Emirate are the result of successful interceptions by air defenses. Authorities in Dubai confirm the success of all air interception operations, with no injuries reported. 

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has sought to reaffirm her alliance with President Donald Trump after the president this week seemed to complain that Japan was among the nations that did not quickly join his call to help protect the Strait of Hormuz.

Takaichi, who met with Trump at the White House, told the Republican president that Japan has opposed Iran's development of its nuclear programme and appealed to his desire to be seen as a peacemaker, despite his launching a war of choice with Iran.
 

The US and its allies are taking aggressive action to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with low-flying attack jets targeting Iranian naval vessels and Apache helicopters shooting down Iran's drones, according to American military officials, as reported by Wall Street Journal.

The United Nations Security Council held an urgent closed meeting on Thursday during which Gulf countries stressed the need for Iran to halt attacks on them, said Bahrain's UN Ambassador Jamal Alrowaiei, the Arab representative on the UN's most powerful body.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines to avoid the airspaces of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to an advisory.

Indian airlines can operate flights over Oman and Saudi Arabia airspaces subject to certain conditions, the regulator said.

It told the airlines not to operate below FL 320 or 32,000 feet within the airspace of Saudi Arabia and Oman located south of the segments defined by following compulsory reporting points.

About the nine airspaces, the DGCA asked airlines to "refrain from operating within the affected airspace...at all flight levels and altitudes".

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has slammed Israel's government, calling their actions "state terrorism" that undermine international law. He's also criticised the US for escalating tensions, citing aggression against Iran and the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Pezeshkian warns that Washington's actions threaten global stability, cautioning, "If the world fails to stand firm, its flames will burn many."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to leaders from Qatar, France, Jordan, Oman and Malaysia on Thursday, and expressed concern over the evolving situation in the Middle East. Seeking de-escalation in the conflict in West Asia, Modi strongly condemned the attacks on the region's energy infrastructure.

In separate telephonic conversations with five leaders, the prime minister highlighted the need for dialogue and diplomacy for an early restoration of peace, security and stability in the region, and laid stress on safe and free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. He reiterated that India stands in solidarity with Qatar and strongly condemns the attacks on the region's energy infrastructure.

The prime minister has also spoken to several other world leaders, including those from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Israel and Iran, since the conflict began.

Israel pledged to refrain from more strikes on a key Iranian gas field after Iran intensified attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf, raising the stakes in a war that has sent shock waves through energy markets and the global economy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on late Thursday that, at the request of President Donald Trump, Israel will hold off on any further attacks on the offshore gas field.

The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in additional funds for the Iran war, a sizable amount that is certain to be met with questions from Congress, which would need to approve any new money. The department sent the request to the White House, according to a senior administration official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private information.

Asked about the figure at a press conference, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth did not directly confirm the amount, saying it could change. "It takes money to kill bad guys," Hegseth said. But he said "we're going back to Congress and our folks there to ensure that we're properly funded."

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth implied more Iranian leaders could be targeted, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij, a powerful internal security force whose leader was killed by Israel this week.

Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that US forces were attacking deeper into Iranian territory, with warplanes hunting Iranian boats in the strait and helicopters striking Iranian drones. Caine said the US. military has also dropped 5,000-pound bombs on underground weapons-storage facilities.