by Órla Ryan in The Irish Times
- Oil prices have fallen back under $90 a barrel in early trade following US president Donald Trump’s assertion last night that the Iran war would end “very soon”
- US and Israeli war planes launched fresh waves of strikes at targets across Iran on Monday as Tehran continued strikes on US targets in neighbouring countries
- More than 1,300 people have been killed in Iran since the war began
- Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has said Tehran will not allow “one litre of oil” to be exported from the region if US-Israeli attacks continue
- Only two vessels made it through Strait of Hormuz in recent days
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth has said Tuesday would be the most intense day of strikes against Iran in the campaign so far.
Speaking with reporters, Hegseth said Tuesday would bring the most fighter jets and bombers against Iran.
Hegseth said that the US is “winning” its war with Iran, which is “stands alone and is badly losing”.
He said the Iranians are “racing towards a nuclear bomb” and says US president Donald Trump “will never allow it”. The US is executing its objectives to destroy its missiles, its navy and “permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons forever”.
“We will not relent until the enemy is totally and entirely defeated,” he added.
He added that Tuesday will be “the most intense day of strikes”, while Iran has fired its lowest number of weapons in the past 24 hours.
Shots fired at US consulate in Toronto
Shots were reportedly fired at the US consulate in Toronto, Canadian police said on Tuesday, adding that evidence was found of a discharged firearm and that no injuries were reported.
Toronto police, in a post on X, said they responded to the reported shots at 5:29 a.m. (0929 GMT).
Representatives for the US embassy in Toronto and the US Department of State did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Separately, on Sunday, an improvised device exploded in Norway at the US embassy in Oslo, and police were still searching for a suspect, with a possible link to the Iran war among the lines of inquiry.
A woman sits with children wrapped in blankets in a makeshift encampment along the waterfront in Beirut on Tuesday.
Australia’s Qantas Airways and Air New Zealand said on Tuesday they are hiking fares due to the Middle East conflict, underscoring how global airlines are struggling to cope with the sudden and soaring costs of fuel.Jet fuel prices, which were about $85 to $90 (€73-77) per barrel before the conflict, have increased sharply to between $150 and $200 (€128-171) per barrel in recent days.
Trump ‘not happy’ with new Iranian leader
US president Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview on Monday it’s possible he would be willing to talk with Iran, the cable news network said on Tuesday.
Trump also said he is “not happy” with Iran’s choice of a new supreme leader but that early results from Operation Epic Fury have been “way beyond expectation”.
“I don’t believe he can live in peace,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.
Only two vessels made it through Strait of Hormuz in recent days
Only two vessels not linked to Iran or Russia have made the “chicken run” through the Strait of Hormuz since Donald Trump said he would “ensure the free flow of energy to the world”, according to maritime records.
The Hormuz sea passage, one of the world’s most strategically important choke points, would normally have about 100 vessels a day either exiting or entering the Gulf. In response to the US and Israeli attacks, Iran has effectively shut the strait, attacking at least 10 ships which were seeking to traverse it in the early days of the crisis.
On Friday, Trump announced a $20bn (around €17 billion) reinsurance scheme to revive shipping through the strait, which he said would come into effect immediately. He followed up by saying that shipowners should “show some guts” by sailing through the war zone.
A small number of tankers and bulk carriers of dry goods have braved the crossing since Friday using a variety of methods to mitigate the risk, records show.
The Shenlong, a Chinese-made vessel operated by Greece’s Dynacom Tankers Management but sailing under a Liberian flag, crossed the narrow strait to exit the Gulf on Friday, according to the data agency Kpler. The vessel switched off its transponder as it approached the strait and then began signalling again near India’s coastline on Monday as it made its way to Mumbai.
A second, Sino Ocean, a bulk carrier that also sails under a Liberian flag, signalled it was Chinese-owned and crewed as it traversed the strait after picking up its cargo from the United Arab Emirates’ Mina Saqr port on Thursday.
Top of page: Young boy sheltering from the bombing in Beirut.