Live‘An amazing two days ahead’: Trump says ceasefire extension not necessary
12:40
Ship ‘spoofing’ in Strait of Hormuz may compound confusion
Maritime intelligence experts are starting to see a new pattern of “shadow” activity in waters in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the US naval blockade on vessels coming in and out of Iranian ports went into effect Monday, the New York Times reported.
It suggested that more ships seem to be adopting tactics to avoid detection than during the previous weeks of war.
Under international maritime law, most large commercial vessels must travel with a transponder that automatically transmits information such as the ship’s name, location and route.
Vessels in Middle Eastern waters that are now trying to hide their location or are otherwise falsifying information are employing methods that have been perfected by Russian “shadow fleet” vessels evading sanctions related to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, some experts say.
By manipulating the global system meant to illuminate ship movements, so-called ghost or shadow vessels may compound confusion about the state of the Strait of Hormuz, even if in the end they cannot breach the American blockade.
PHOTO: REUTERS
12:20
Not thinking about extending ceasefire with Iran: Trump tells ABC News
US President Donald Trump told ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl on Tuesday he was not thinking about extending the ceasefire with Iran because he does not think it will be “necessary”.
“I think you’re going to be watching an amazing two days ahead,” Mr Trump said.
Talks to end the Iran war could resume in Pakistan over the next two days, the US President said on Tuesday, after the collapse of negotiations between the US and Iran last weekend prompted Washington to impose a blockade on Iranian ports.
The lack of an agreement also raised doubts over the survival of the two-week ceasefire that still has a week to run.
Mr Trump was then asked if the war would end with a deal, or “do you say, look, we knocked out their capability and that’s it?”
Mr Trump replied: “It could end either way, but I think a deal is preferable because then they can rebuild.
“They really do have a different regime now. No matter what, we took out the radicals. They’re gone, no longer with us.”
12:00
Trump continues criticism of Pope Leo in social media post
US President Donald Trump continued his criticism of Pope Leo in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, pointing out that Iran has killed many of its own citizens in recent times.
In the post, he said: “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable.”
It is the latest salvo by Mr Trump, after the pontiff emerged in recent weeks as a growing critic of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
On Tuesday, Pope Leo warned of the risk of democracies sliding into “majoritarian tyranny”, in a letter issued by the Vatican.
The text, released as the pope was undertaking an ambitious, 10-day tour of four African countries, did not directly address the US or name any specific democracies.
Mr Trump sharply criticised Pope Leo as “terrible” on Sunday night, but the pontiff told Reuters on Monday that he planned to keep criticising the war, despite Mr Trump’s comments.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM REALDONALDTRUMP/TRUTH SOCIAL
11:40
News analysis: US-Indonesia defence ties upgrade: What Jakarta hopes to gain
Indonesia and the United States have inked a new defence partnership, described by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth as “major”. For watchers in the American capital, this looks like yet another move in the big-power contestation for influence in Asia.
Yet, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto likely sees it as something else: an affirmation of his view that major powers must reckon with the country’s strategic position, and a chance to raise the country’s standing, Indonesia Bureau Chief Arlina Arshad writes.
The new Major Defence Cooperation Partnership, announced on Monday, comes just over two years after both countries inked a historic Defence Cooperation Agreement. The MDCP goes beyond the 2023 agreement in broadening ties in military modernisation, training and exercises, while opening the way for future cooperation in maritime, undersea and autonomous systems.
For Indonesia, access to American expertise could help close gaps that procurement alone cannot fix.
Yet Jakarta has long avoided reliance on any one power. It has ordered Rafale fighter jets from France, signed for Turkish KAAN jets, bought American Black Hawk helicopters, and considered American F-15EX fighters.
PHOTO: REUTERS
11:20
Length of Iran uranium enrichment ban is a political decision, says IAEA chief Grossi
The International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday a decision on how long a moratorium on uranium enrichment that Iran must be bound by under any agreement with the US was a political decision.
US and Iranian officials ended talks at the weekend on ending the Iran war, without agreement over differences that included how long Tehran would suspend uranium enrichment, which the US and the West say would be used to build weapons.
The US wanted a 20-year moratorium on all nuclear activity by Iran, but Iran counter-proposed a suspension of up to five years.
Under a previous nuclear accord in 2015, Iran was allowed gradually more enrichment activity till 2030, when all restrictions would be lifted.
US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018, calling it a “horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made”.
PHOTO: AFP
11:05
Thai embassy in Tehran urges Thais to prepare for evacuation
The Thai Embassy in Tehran has issued an urgent, highest-level security alert, warning Thai nationals in Iran to prepare for immediate evacuation after its latest assessment found the situation had become extremely fragile and at high risk of a new wave of attacks in the near future.
In an announcement issued on Tuesday, the embassy said its latest assessment suggested talks between Iran and the United States were highly likely to fail.
The embassy warned that once the two-week ceasefire ends, or if negotiations collapse altogether, there is a very high possibility that a new round of attacks could break out soon and that the violence could be even more severe than before.
It said southern Iran remained in a critical and highly dangerous condition, particularly areas along the Persian Gulf coast and near the Strait of Hormuz, including Hormozgan, Bushehr, Khuzestan and the city of Bandar Abbas.
10:30
Up to 200,000 public servants to work from home as Malaysia rolls out policy amid energy crisis
Up to 200,000 public servants in Malaysia will be involved as the work-from-home directive starts on Wednesday, said its government’s Chief Secretary Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
The Chief Secretary to the government said approval to work from home will be at the discretion of individual department heads, based on operational needs and job suitability.
The Malaysian government has approved a three‑day‑a‑week WFH arrangement for ministries, agencies, statutory bodies and government-linked companies, aimed at cutting fuel use and reducing government operating costs as a proactive response to the global energy crisis.
However, the policy applies only to public servants in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and all state capitals who live more than 8km from their offices, and excludes those in the security, defence, health and education sectors.
10:14
Sanctioned tanker turns back to Strait of Hormuz, day after Gulf exit
The US-sanctioned tanker Rich Starry made its way back to the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday after exiting the Gulf the day before, shipping data showed, failing to break through a US blockade on vessels calling at Iranian ports.
US President Donald Trump announced the blockade on Sunday after weekend peace talks in Islamabad between the US and Iran failed to reach a deal.
“During the first 24 hours, no ships made it past the US blockade,” the US Central Command said on X, adding that six vessels complied with direction from US forces to turn around to re-enter an Iranian port.
The Chinese-owned tanker was among at least eight ships crossing the waterway on Tuesday, the first day of the US blockade.
A US destroyer stopped two oil tankers attempting to leave the Iranian port of Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, a US official said.
The Rich Starry and its owner, Shanghai Xuanrun Shipping, were placed under US sanctions for dealing with Iran.
09:45
Iran war wipes out global oil demand growth in 2026, IEA says
Global oil demand will decline this year for the first time since the 2020 pandemic as a price surge caused by the Middle East conflict wipes out growth, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said.
“The Iran war has thoroughly upended the global outlook for oil consumption,” the adviser to major economies said in its monthly report. “Demand destruction will spread as scarcity and higher prices persist.”
The conflict has choked off oil flows through the Persian Gulf’s vital Strait of Hormuz, triggering what the IEA has called the biggest supply disruption in history. Surging prices for physical crude and products such as jet fuel, diesel and petrol are squeezing consumers and taking a toll on demand.
Last month, the Paris-based IEA oversaw the release of a record 400 million barrels from emergency oil reserves by members including the US, Japan and Germany in an effort to tame spiralling costs.
Flows of crude oil and refined products through the Strait of Hormuz have been reduced to just 3.8 million barrels a day, compared with pre-crisis levels of about 20 million – or roughly 20% of world supplies, according to the agency.
But, for at least one country, soaring energy prices have been a boon. Russia’s oil and oil product export revenues nearly doubled, to US$19 billion (S$24 billion) in March from US$9.75 billion in February.
PHOTO: REUTERS
09:31
Israel’s spy chief addresses criticism about the war with Iran
Israel’s spy chief David Barnea said on Tuesday that the war in Iran had delivered a severe blow to the Iranian regime but that Israel’s mission would be complete only once the regime was replaced, the New York Times reported.
In rare public remarks, broadcast from a ceremony marking Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday, Mr Barnea, the head of the Mossad intelligence agency, appeared to address domestic criticism that Israel had not achieved its war goals. In particular, many Israelis have expressed disappointment that Iran’s power structure has survived.
Mr Barnea also appeared to push back against recent accusations that he may have oversold a plan to ignite a swift, internal uprising against Iran’s theocratic government early in the fighting – a revolt that might have brought the war to a quick end.
Speaking for the first time about the 45-day US-Israeli military campaign in Iran, Mr Barnea justified it as a war “of necessity”. With Mossad’s support, he said, Israel had carried out “an unprecedented assault that delivered a severe blow” to an Iranian leadership that had “pledged to destroy us”.
He added that Mossad had operated “in the heart of Tehran” but provided few details.
PHOTO: ARASH KHAMOOSHI/NYTIMES
