By Nelli Saarinen

By Tessa Flemming

Topic: Unrest, Conflict and War

US President Donald Trump has threatened Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said fuel shipments are now locked in until May.

Follow our live updates.

Key Events

Live updates

By Elissa Steedman

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in the Middle East.

Here is a quick rundown of what has happened today.

Stay with us for the latest updates.

By Nelli Saarinen

Iraq's state oil marketer SOMO has asked its customers to submit crude oil lifting schedules.

It follows media reports that Iran has exempted Iraq from restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

SOMO said it urges companies to submit lifting schedules within 24 hours.

Reporting by Reuters

By Nelli Saarinen

An Israeli airstrike on Kfarhata, a village in south Lebanon, has killed seven people.

Another Israeli attack on the Jnah neighbourhood in Beirut killed four people and injured 39 others.

The strike on Kfarhata followed an overnight evacuation order by the Israeli military.

Beirut echoed with the sounds of strikes and low-flying planes overhead.

The southern suburbs of the capital were hit by eight airstrikes.

Earlier, the Lebanese army said a soldier had been killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon.

Reporting by Reuters

By Nelli Saarinen

Kuwait's army says its air defences are working to intercept missiles and drones.

Kuwaiti Air Defenses are responding to hostile missile and drone threats.

The country previously responded to similar attacks overnight.

By Nelli Saarinen

Video footage shows the wreckage of an American plane and helicopter in Isfahan, Iran.

By Elissa Steedman

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said IDF forces helped with the rescue of a downed US pilot in Iran.

Netanyahu said he spoke with US President Donald Trump and congratulated him on a perfectly executed American mission.

The President expressed his appreciation for Israel's help.

Netanyahu said Israel could contribute to saving a brave American warrior.

The pilot of the downed F-15E fighter jet was rescued from an Iranian mountain.

By Elissa Steedman

Has Trump's previous 48-hour deadline expired?

- Matt321

Today is not the first time Trump has issued Iran an ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump gave a 48-hour deadline on March 22.

He extended the deadline for five days, citing productive talks with Iran.

Pakistan delivered a 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran on March 24, but it was rejected.

Trump said Iran was desperate to make a ceasefire deal and extended the deadline to April 6.

Trump pushed the deadline back to April 7 in an Easter Sunday post.

Our Middle East correspondent has a handy carousel with more details on this timeline.

By Maani Truu

Energy Minister Chris Bowen said fuel shipments are now locked in until May.

Across the country, 3.4 per cent of stations are out of diesel.

Hopefully, we are seeing some of the demand plateau.

Here is the latest state-by-state breakdown.

By Nelli Saarinen

Energy Minister Chris Bowen held a press conference to update on Australia's fuel supply.

He said fuel supply has been secured through April and into May.

Every day that goes past, there's more orders being made and more fuel being delivered.

We're now a bit into April and we have contracted a legally binding supplier well into May.

But as I've always said, we're not going to overpromise in terms of the months ahead.

By Nelli Saarinen

Retailers are reporting higher e-bike sales as commuters look for alternative travel options.

Perth-based commuter Sam Hoskisson said he decided to buy an e-bike due to high fuel costs.

Every day when I was driving to work, I saw diesel prices climb.

I was feeling anxious about it, not knowing where it would stop.

Glen Parker Cycles in Perth has seen an increase in e-bike sales.

Store owner Dennis Lightfoot says many buyers mentioned fuel prices as a factor.

By Nelli Saarinen

The United Arab Emirates says its air defences are responding to a missile and drone attack.

Air defence systems are actively engaging with missiles and UAV threats.

The sounds heard across the country are the result of ongoing engaging operations.

By Maani Truu

Energy Minister Chris Bowen refused to respond to Trump's expletive-laden threat to Iran.

Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Bowen says he hasn't commented on Trump's posts in the past and doesn't intend to start now.

The prime minister has made it clear that we are unclear about the US objectives.

We want to see those objectives clarified and a plan as to how they'll be met.

We also want to see Iran open the Strait of Hormuz and stop bombing ships.

By Maani Truu

Energy Minister Chris Bowen is doing the media rounds to reassure Australians about fuel stocks.

He says fuel shipments are now locked in until May.

At the beginning of this international crisis, we were OK until mid-April.

Now it's the case that we're OK all through April and now into May.

We do have 3.7 billion litres of different types of fuel on their way to Australia for April.

That's not to say there is no risk in international circumstances.

Every step that can be taken is being taken.

Bowen gave an update on diesel shortages in New South Wales.

The number of service stations without diesel in the state has dropped to 145 of 2,400.

By Elissa Steedman

Hundreds of thousands of southern Lebanese residents have been ordered to leave their homes.

But thousands are refusing to leave, despite the risks.

Residents of Débel say the Israeli military is blocking the only usable road in and out of their village.

We cannot leave, we cannot move, we are trapped.

We no longer have access to drinking water.

We had an artesian well, but the area where it is located is now occupied by Israel.

The situation is critical.

The Israel Defense Forces did not respond to the ABC's questions about the attack in Débel.

The IDF has previously said it does not target civilians.

By Elissa Steedman

The naval arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says the Strait of Hormuz will never return to the way it was.

The IRGC Navy is completing operational preparations for the plans of Iran's officials for the new order in the Persian Gulf.

By Elissa Steedman

Bashir Nadaff lies in a hospital bed, his skin pierced by shrapnel from an Israeli attack.

The father was outside his home in the Christian town of Débel with his wife and daughter.

Bullets started raining down on us.

We hid in a small room downstairs as the gunfire continued.

We stayed like that for about 45 minutes.

Mr Nadaff used his body to protect his wife and daughter as his house was hit with tank and gunfire.

When the shell hit, it struck the wall I was leaning against.

I stayed conscious, but I couldn't see or hear.

I was bleeding heavily.

At that moment, I told my wife and daughter I was going to die.

By Elissa Steedman

An Israeli strike on an apartment building in a town east of Beirut has killed three people.

Israeli enemy airstrike on the hills of Ain Saadeh kills three civilians, including two women, and injures three others.

Reporting by AFP

By Nelli Saarinen

Donald Trump's latest threats on Iran's infrastructure mark another escalation in his rhetoric.

Trump threatened to target Iran's power plants and bridges in an expletive-laden social media post.

What was missing in his latest threats is any reference to bombing Iran's desalination plants.

He has made those comments before, and there were pre-emptive accusations that it would be a war crime.

It's really a rhetorical spiral that we are seeing there.

By Nelli Saarinen

The US weapons specialist rescued from Iran is the second of two crew members on an F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jet.

The plane was flying over Isfahan province when it was brought down and the two airmen ejected separately.

The pilot was rescued while the second airman remained in Iran.

A source familiar with the operational details said the American officer sprained his ankle and hid in a crevice on a hilltop.

The official said the airman later established contact with the US military and authenticated himself.

The CIA had run a deception campaign earlier, hoping to confuse Tehran by planting information inside Iran.

The US military jammed electronics and bombed key roads around the location to prevent people from getting close.

The source told Reuters that the aircraft eventually sent to extract the airman and rescue forces were much smaller turboprop aircraft.

By Nelli Saarinen

Reuters has reported new details on how a US mission to rescue a stranded American weapons specialist from Iran nearly went off course.

Under the cover of darkness, US commandos slipped deep into Iran undetected.

They scaled a 7,000-foot ridge and pulled a stranded American weapons specialist to safety.

But then two MC-130 aircraft suffered a mechanical failure and could not take off.

Their commanders made a high-risk decision, ordering additional aircraft to fly into Iran to extract the group in waves.

If there was a 'holy shit' moment, that was it.

The rescue force was pulled out in stages, and US troops destroyed the disabled MC-130s and four additional helicopters inside Iran.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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