JERUSALEM: Israel said on Wednesday (Apr 8) it supported US President Donald Trump's decision to suspend his bombing of Iran, but maintained the 11th-hour ceasefire did not include Lebanon.

Washington and Tehran agreed to a two-week ceasefire Tuesday, barely an hour before Trump's deadline to obliterate Iran was set to expire.

Tehran said it would guarantee safe passage for maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz for two weeks, announcing that the pause would be used for talks with the United States on ending the war. Negotiations were set to start Friday in Pakistan.

"Israel supports President Trump's decision to suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks subject to Iran immediately opening the straits and stopping all attacks on the US, Israel and countries in the region," the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

Israel added that it "supports the US effort to ensure that Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat".

But the statement said that the ceasefire "does not include Lebanon", contradicting an earlier announcement by Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who has acted as a mediator in the conflict.

Sharif said that the United States and its allies had agreed to a ceasefire "everywhere including Lebanon", suggesting Israel had agreed to halt its invasion of its northern neighbour.

Lebanon was drawn into the war after Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched rocket fire on Israel.

That attack sparked an Israeli invasion and air raids across Lebanon that have killed more than 1,500 people, according to authorities.

Israel had encouraged Trump to join the war against Iran, its arch-nemesis, and in the first strikes in February killed the long-serving supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump told AFP on Tuesday (Apr 7) that the United States had won a "total and complete victory" after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire deal with Iran.

In a telephone call, Trump said he believed China had persuaded Iran to negotiate, and said Tehran's enriched uranium would be "perfectly taken care of".

The US leader appeared bullish on the truce with Iran, despite Tehran also casting it as a win for its side, and amid questions over exactly what both sides had agreed on.

The two sides agreed on the ceasefire barely an hour before Trump's deadline to obliterate the Islamic republic was set to expire.

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"Total and complete victory. 100 per cent. No question about it," Trump told AFP in the brief call when asked if he was claiming victory with the ceasefire.

With uncertainty over arrangements for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic in particular, Trump insisted there was a strong framework for a longer-term deal.

"We have a 15-point transaction, of which most of those things have been agreed on. We'll see what happens. We'll see if it gets there," Trump said.

The Republican president had said in his earlier announcement on his Truth Social network that Iran had given a 10-point proposal, which was "workable".

Trump would not say whether he would go back to his original threats to lay waste to Iran's civilian power plants and bridges if the deal fell apart.

"You're going to have to see," Trump told AFP.

URANIUM "TAKEN CARE OF"

The fate of Iran's store of enriched uranium is another key question, after a war that the US president said was partially aimed at ensuring Iran could never get a nuclear weapon.

But Trump insisted that the nuclear material would be covered by any peace deal.

"That will be perfectly taken care of, or I wouldn't have settled," Trump said, without giving any specifics about what would happen to the uranium.

The ceasefire deal came after more than a month of destructive attacks by the US and Israel, and followed mediation by Pakistan.

Trump said that he believed China had played a role in getting Iran to the negotiating table.

"I hear yes," Trump said when asked if Beijing was involved in getting key ally Tehran to negotiate on a truce.

The US president is due to travel to Beijing in mid-May to meet Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, in a crucial summit between the two superpowers.

The trip was originally scheduled for early April but Trump postponed it, saying he had to stay in Washington to oversee the Iran war.

Beijing is a close partner of Tehran and the main buyer of Iranian oil, most of which passes through the strait.

But it also has strong economic ties to the Gulf countries and has repeatedly criticised attacks on them by Iran.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday (Apr 8) that the United States, Iran and their allies had agreed to a ceasefire "everywhere", including Lebanon, following mediation by his government to stop weeks of fighting.

"I am pleased to announce that the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, along with their allies, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere including Lebanon and elsewhere, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY," Sharif posted on X.

He added that Pakistan's capital Islamabad would welcome delegations from both countries on Friday to hold negotiations aimed at reaching a "conclusive agreement".

"We earnestly hope, that the 'Islamabad Talks' succeed in achieving sustainable peace and wish to share more good news in coming days," he said.

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Both Tehran and Washington announced they had agreed to a two-week ceasefire barely an hour before US President Donald Trump's deadline to "obliterate" Iran was set to expire.

Pakistan, which has forged a close relationship with Trump and is sensitive to developments in neighbouring Iran, emerged as a channel for messaging between Tehran and Washington in recent weeks.

However, contradicting Sharif's statement, Israel said the US-Iran ceasefire deal "does not include Lebanon", which was drawn into the war after Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel.

"The two-weeks ceasefire does not include Lebanon," the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement.

The war began when Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran that killed its supreme leader on Feb 28, sparking retaliatory strikes from Tehran on Gulf nations and Israel.

Lebanon has also been drawn into the conflict after Iran-backed group Hezbollah launched attacks on Israel, which has since carried out strikes, including on the capital, and launched a ground operation in the south of the country.

WASHINGTON: Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday (Apr 7) defended investigations of individuals Donald Trump "has had issues with" and said only the president knows why his predecessor, Pam Bondi, was fired.

"We have thousands of ongoing investigations and prosecutions going on in this country right now," Blanche said at his first press appearance since being named interim head of the Justice Department last week.

"And it is true that some of them involve men, women and entities that the president, in the past, has had issues with and believes should be investigated," he said.

"That is his right, and indeed, it is his duty to do that."

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Bondi was fired last week after reportedly drawing Trump's ire by falling short in efforts to prosecute perceived Trump political opponents such as former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Blanche, Trump's former personal lawyer, said only the president knows why Bondi was dismissed.

"Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general and I'm the acting attorney general, except for President Trump," he said.

Blanche dismissed allegations that the Justice Department was being "weaponised" against Trump's enemies and alleged there was "weaponisation" of the department by the Biden administration, "the likes of which had never been seen in history".

"You had a president who was indicted four times by this department," he said in a reference to charges brought against Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

Trump was accused by Smith of seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden and mishandling classified documents. Both cases were dropped after Trump won the 2024 presidential election.

"What we've been doing for the past 14 months is changing this department," Blanche said. "People say the president wants to go after his political enemies. No, the president has said time and time again that he wants justice."

Blanche also defended the firing of scores of Justice Department prosecutors who had worked on the criminal cases against Trump.

"If you were a prosecutor and you were trying to prosecute your boss, you have ethical duties as a lawyer that I think prevent you from continuing to work in that environment," he said.

A number of career prosecutors fired since Trump took office have filed lawsuits claiming wrongful dismissal.

Gold extended gains on Wednesday (Apr 8) as markets reassessed near-term risks after US President Donald Trump said he had agreed to suspend bombing and attacks on Iran for two weeks, easing fears of energy-driven inflation.

Spot gold climbed 2.3 per cent to US$4,811.66 per ounce by 11.44pm GMT after rising 1.2 per cent on Tuesday, while US gold futures for June delivery gained 3.3 per cent to US$4,840.20.

Trump said Washington had agreed to a two-week pause in attacks and had received a 10-point proposal from Iran, which he described as a workable basis for negotiations.

His comments followed earlier warnings that Tehran must reopen the Strait of Hormuz or risk US retaliation.

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"This is a knee-jerk relief rally and it remains to be seen if Iran complies. For gold, the 200 day-moving-average at US$4,930 and then US$5,000 will be key hurdles. Similarly, US$80-US$81 is a important level for silver," independent metals trader Tai Wong said.

Pakistan, which has been mediating between Washington and Tehran, had requested the two-week extension to give diplomacy time to proceed.

Iran's Supreme Security Council said negotiations with the United States would begin on Friday in Islamabad, after it submitted its proposal via Pakistan, though it added that the talks did not signal an end to the war.

Rising energy prices could fuel inflation and complicate central bank decision on rate cuts. While gold is often seen as an inflation hedge and a safe-haven asset during uncertain times, its appeal tends to weaken in a high-interest-rate environment as it offers no yield.

According to research by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, a prolonged disruption to global oil trade could push US inflation above 4 per cent by year-end, with steeper increases possible in the short term.

Gold, which started the year on a strong note, has fallen more than 8 per cent since the Iran war began on Feb 28.

Markets are now awaiting the minutes from the Fed's March meeting, due on Wednesday.

Among other metals, spot silver rose 4.3 per cent to US$76.08 per ounce, platinum gained 2.4 per cent to US$2,004.95 and palladium added 2.1 per cent at US$1,500.

Iran, the United States and Israel reached a tentative, two-week ceasefire on Wednesday (Apr 8) in the war that tore across the Middle East and disrupted the global energy market, with US President Donald Trump pulling back from his threats to destroy Iranian “civilisation.”

But questions have since emerged, with Iran insisting that it would continue to control and charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz as well as enrich uranium.

The strait, one of the world's most vital shipping lanes for oil and gas, has effectively been blocked since the war started on Feb 28.

Iran's Supreme Security Council said that negotiations with the US to finalise details of the proposal to end the fighting would begin on Friday in Pakistan's capital Islamabad.

Here's the full recap:

HONG KONG: Oil prices plunged on Wednesday (Apr 8) while stocks rallied after the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire that will see Tehran temporarily reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz.

With Donald Trump's deadline approaching for the Islamic Republic to reopen the waterway or face obliteration, he announced a halt to attacks for two weeks and said he had received a "workable" 10-point proposal.

Iran later said it had agreed to safe passage in the Strait, through which a fifth of global oil and gas passes.

The news pushed down crude prices, with West Texas Intermediate losing almost 20 per cent and Brent as much as 16 per cent as investors heaved a huge sigh of relief after more than five weeks of war that has hammered supplies.

The euphoria sent equities rocketing on hopes that the crisis that has shocked the global economy for more than a month will come to an end.

Seoul jumped more than 6 per cent and Tokyo more than 5 per cent, while Taipei added 4.2 per cent, and Sydney and Hong Kong advanced more than 2 per cent. Shanghai, Mumbai, Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Singapore and Wellington were also sharply higher.

Trump had threatened on Tuesday that if Hormuz was not reopened, "a whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again". That came after he vowed to bomb bridges, power plants and other civilian infrastructure in Iran.

Iran warned it would deprive the US and its allies of oil and gas "for years" if Washington crossed Tehran's "red lines".

However, as the world counted down to the cutoff, the US president took to social media to say: "Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks."

He added that it "will be a double-sided CEASEFIRE!" and that "we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East".

RELIEF FOR ASIA

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan, who has played a key mediator role, said the ceasefire would start immediately.

He said the US "along with their allies" had agreed to a ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon, implying that Israel had agreed to halt its invasion of its northern neighbour.

However, Tel Aviv said it supported the suspension of the bombing of Iran, but maintained the ceasefire did not include Lebanon.

Iran claimed victory, with the Iranian Supreme National Security Council saying: "The enemy has suffered an undeniable, historic and crushing defeat in its cowardly, illegal and criminal war against the Iranian nation."

The ceasefire also led to a sharp drop in the dollar, which had become the safe haven while the war raged, with the yen, euro and pound all strengthening.

Gold rallied, having been hit by concerns of a sharp rise in inflation that will keep interest rates elevated, while bitcoin rose.

"Unsurprisingly, the initial market reaction has been a positive one, albeit perhaps not as sizeable as one might've expected, largely owing to the grind higher in risk assets seen since the tail end of Tuesday's cash session," said Michael Brown at Pepperstone.

"Participants have been desperate for anything resembling good news for some weeks now, and even more desperate to see concrete steps being taken towards de-escalation.

"Now that we seem able to put a tick in both of those boxes, participants are unsurprisingly willing to significantly take up risk levels once more."

Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management added that the deal "matters enormously for Asia", where several governments have been forced to introduce measures to combat rising energy costs.

"Lower oil prices remove the chokehold that has weighed on regional risk sentiment, especially in markets that feel imported energy shocks first and hardest," he said.

"With crude backing off, the pressure on inflation expectations and front-end yields eases at the margin, and that is enough to let capital rotate back toward risk, at least for now."

SINGAPORE: Questions have been raised over the role – or lack thereof – that China has adopted in the Iran war.

Indeed, its initial response was conspicuously mild. In the aftermath of the joint US-Israeli strikes on Feb 28, China expressed “grave concern” without rebuking either country. This stands in contrast to the capture of the Venezuelan president by American forces after which Beijing said it was “deeply shocked and strongly condemns” the use of force against a sovereign country.

These are not just semantic differences but reveal a hard-nosed pragmatism and an increasing desire to stabilise ties with Washington.

To be sure, China was by no means absent. Its primary focus was consular assistance as it scrambled to evacuate thousands of Chinese citizens from Iran. At the same time, Beijing also dispatched its special envoy on the Middle East, Zhai Jun, to the region in mid-March to mediate and promote a peaceful resolution.

Nonetheless, the calculus in this crisis is different from its more assertive attempts to broker peace in the Thailand-Cambodia conflict, its endeavours in the Myanmar civil war or its earlier role in the landmark Iran-Saudi Arabia rapprochement.

REASONS FOR CHINA’S MUTED RESPONSE

There are at least two reasons for Beijing’s relative reticence.

First, China’s national interests, while strained, are not severely threatened or damaged. China’s foreign ministry has confirmed that Chinese vessels have safely sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, which remains a critical flashpoint for global energy transit. As Iran’s primary economic patron, China can likely contain direct damage to its oil supplies.

What is more, China spent 2025 stockpiling significant oil reserves. According to energy intelligence firm Vortexa, “China’s onshore crude inventories… [reached] a record 1.13 billion barrels” by late 2025. Estimates suggest these reserves could last the domestic market for six to 12 months.

Additionally, electrification already accounts for 30 per cent of its energy consumption. More significantly, this grid is almost completely decoupled from oil – with coal and renewable energy effectively powering the grid entirely. In short, China’s energy security is not critically threatened in the short to intermediate range even as it is keeping a watchful eye on the ripple effects of rising oil prices.

In fact, Beijing’s anxiety has shifted from the strikes on Iran to Iran’s retaliatory attacks on the Gulf states. In a rare rebuke on Mar 11, China said it “does not agree” with Iran’s attacks on Gulf nations and condemned all strikes on non-military targets. This is unsurprising given Beijing’s lopsided economic stakes, including infrastructure, energy and trade investments in the Middle East region outside Iran that are threatened by ongoing insecurity.

The disparity is stark: According to the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, in 2025, China’s total trading volume with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates was around US$108 billion each, while the total trading volume was only around US$10 billion with Iran. In short, China is acting pragmatically, privileging longer-term, higher-stakes interests in the region.

Second, China is prioritising stable Sino-American relations in the short to medium term and this dynamic figures prominently in Beijing’s calculations in the Middle East. In fact, during the annual Foreign Minister’s Press Conference at the tail end of the Two Sessions, Wang Yi did not directly call out President Donald Trump or the US when he commented on the Iranian conflict and stuck to general criticisms against military interventionism and unilateralism.

Instead, he struck a hopeful and measured tone, characterising 2026 as a “big year” for US-China relations, stressing “head-of-state-diplomacy” and noting that it was “heartening to see that the presidents of the two countries have led by example”.

It is also important to point out that China has not reacted negatively to Mr Trump’s postponement of the Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing to May, accepting Washington’s rationale for the deferral. 

As Beijing gears up for the 21st Party Congress – one of its most consequential ever – in 2027, external stability is seen as the key to internal stability.

A "FICKLE FRIEND"?

Nicholas Burns, former US Ambassador to China, argued that China has hurt its global ambitions by failing to offer effective support to Venezuela and Iran, rendering it a “fickle friend”. There may be a degree of truth in this claim, but it overstates the reputational damage and imposes an unrealistic set of expectations that Beijing has never actually sought to meet.

It must be stressed that non-interventionism has been an enduring feature of China’s statecraft. Beijing’s preference for non-military tools – including economic coercion and cooperation, soft power, ideological alignment, grey zone tactics and so forth – have long been a mainstay in Chinese foreign policy. 

China’s reactions also demonstrate to its partners and friends the limits and possibilities of their relationship: Chinese support offers an ideological, diplomatic and economic shield but not a military one. In that connection, this crisis gives us a glimpse into the global role Beijing envisions for itself – one that prioritises economic continuity, multilateralism and non-interference over the high-risk duty of a security guarantor.

Beijing has arguably seized a unique window to advance the moral appeal of this vision, which purports to support institutional multilateralism over American unilateralism. However, a contradiction remains: As long as China maintains its “hard security” restraint, there seems to be a cap on how far China will go to protect its interests abroad and the extent to which its partners can rely on it as a credible security provider.

Already, there is renewed debate within Chinese policy and academic circles if this restraint is serving China’s interests well. Whether or not this will precipitate a harder security turn, however, remains to be seen.

Dylan MH Loh is an Associate Professor at the Public Policy and Global Affairs programme at Nanyang Technological University. He is the author of ‘China’s Rising Foreign Ministry’ (Stanford University Press, 2024).

"TEARS IN MY EYES"

BAGHDAD: Iraq's powerful Kataeb Hezbollah armed group announced on Tuesday (Apr 7) that it would release US journalist Shelly Kittleson, a week after she was kidnapped in Baghdad.

"In recognition of the national stances of the outgoing prime minister, we have decided to release the American defendant Shelly Kittleson, on the condition that she leaves the country immediately," Abu Mujahid al-Assaf, a security official in the Iran-backed group, said in a brief statement.

He added that this was an exceptional gesture that would "not be repeated again in the coming days, as we are in a state of war launched by the Zionist-American enemy against Islam, and in such cases many considerations are discarded".

A senior Iraqi security official had told AFP on Wednesday that authorities arrested a member of a pro-Iran group believed to be connected to the abduction of an American journalist.

Washington said the suspect was thought to be linked to Kataeb Hezbollah, which is blacklisted by the United States.

The State Department had not named Kittleson, but she was identified by media advocacy groups and one of the news outlets she worked for.

Baghdad was once notorious for kidnappings and attempted abductions, but they have decreased as the security situation in Iraq improved in recent years.

Israeli-Russian academic Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped in Baghdad in 2023 and was held for two years until her release last year.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's prime minister, who is playing a key mediating role in the Middle East conflict, on Wednesday (Apr 8) urged US President Donald Trump to extend his deadline for massive strikes on Iran by two weeks.

"Diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future," Shehbaz Sharif said in a post on X.

"To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks."

The appeal came hours ahead of a deadline set by Trump to carry out the "complete demolition" of Iran's critical infrastructure, particularly bridges and power plants, if a deal was not reached by 8pm ET (8am SGT).

A key US demand of Tehran has been the reopening of the strait, which has been virtually closed since the US-Israeli offensive began on Feb 28.

In response to Sharif's social post, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told AFP: "The President has been made aware of the proposal, and a response will come."

The US leader ramped up his rhetoric further earlier on Tuesday, warning "a whole civilisation will die" if the Islamic Republic did not heed the warning.

In his post, Prime Minister Sharif urged Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz - a vital conduit for the world's oil and gas supply - "for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture."

He further called on "all warring parties to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region."

Pakistan has emerged as a channel for messaging between Tehran and Washington, seeking to mediate to prevent further escalation of the Middle East conflict.

Islamabad has said it is ready to host "meaningful talks" between the United States and Iran.

SAN FRANCISCO: Google on Tuesday (Apr 7) announced updates to the mental health safeguards on its Gemini artificial intelligence chatbot, as the company faces a wrongful death lawsuit alleging the chatbot aided a user in his suicide.

The tech giant said Gemini would now show a redesigned "Help is available" feature when conversations signal potential mental health distress, to provide faster connections to crisis care.

When the chatbot detects signs of a potential crisis related to suicide or self-harm, a simplified interface will offer users the ability to call, text, or chat with a crisis hotline in a single click - a feature Google said would remain visible for the remainder of the conversation once activated.

Google's philanthropic arm Google.org also committed US$30 million over three years to help scale the capacity of global crisis hotlines, and US$4 million toward an expanded partnership with AI training platform ReflexAI.

"We realize that AI tools can pose new challenges," Google said in a blog post announcing the measures. "But as they improve and more people use them as part of their daily lives, we believe that responsible AI can play a positive role for people's mental well-being."

The announcements come months after a lawsuit filed in a California federal court accused Gemini of contributing to the October 2025 death of Jonathan Gavalas, a 36-year-old Florida man.

His father alleges the chatbot spent weeks manufacturing an elaborate delusional fantasy before framing his son's death as a spiritual journey.

Among the relief sought in the suit is a requirement that Google programme its AI to end conversations involving self-harm, a ban on AI systems presenting themselves as sentient, and mandatory referral to crisis services when users express suicidal ideation.

In the same blog post, Google said it had trained Gemini to avoid acting as a human-like companion and resist simulating emotional intimacy or encouraging bullying.

The case against Google is the latest in a widening wave of litigation targeting AI companies over chatbot-linked deaths.

OpenAI faces multiple lawsuits alleging its ChatGPT chatbot drove users to suicide, while Character.AI recently settled with the family of a 14-year-old boy who died after forming a romantic attachment to one of its chatbots.

NEW YORK: Global stock markets mostly retreated Tuesday (Apr 7) as investors braced for US President Donald Trump's looming deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face devastating attacks.

Oil prices jumped early in the day after US-Israeli strikes on the key Iranian oil export terminal of Kharg island. But the market later moderated, with West Texas Intermediate rising a bit and the Brent international benchmark slipping modestly. 

Major US indices spent most of the day in negative territory but gained momentum in the final moments of the day after the White House confirmed receipt of a Pakistani proposal to extend Trump's deadline.

Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare described the market as in a "purgatory" state, but still "of the belief that the worst case scenario will be avoided".

Trump had previously vowed to bomb bridges, power plants and other civilian infrastructure in Iran if the country does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil-tanker traffic.

Writing on Truth Social Tuesday, Trump elevated his ultimatum for Iran, stating that "a whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will."

It was not clear exactly what he meant by his latest threat, or by what means he intended to carry it out.

While the S&P 500 spent almost the entire day in the red, a late session rally pushed the broad-based index narrowly positive.

Markets increasingly take Trump's commentary with a grain of salt, noting prior instances where he watered down tariff threats and delayed deadlines on Iran.

The market will "believe the worst case scenario when it actually sees it," O'Hare said. "It's been down this path previous times with this president."

Earlier in Europe, Paris, London and Frankfurt all closed around one per cent lower. 

"The conflict in the Middle East is one long deadline after another and there is a constant stream of promises to end the war coming out of the White House," said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB.

"Ultimately no one knows what the president will do next, and this is causing tensions to remain high in financial markets," she said.

Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Feb 28, driving up global oil and gas prices, as around one‑fifth of the world's oil normally flows through the strait.

Tehran showed no sign of backing down, with its Revolutionary Guard warning that it will destroy energy installations across the Gulf if US attacks cross its "red lines".

The hit to fuel supplies from the Middle East has forced governments around the world to unveil economic support measures amid fears of another spike in inflation.