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The president will address the nation tonight to deliver an “important update” on the war, the White House said.
Iranians gathered in Tehran’s Enghelab Square on Tuesday to mark Islamic Republic Day and show support for the government. Fatemeh Bahrami / Anadolu via Getty Images
President Donald Trump says the war with Iran will end in two to three weeks, even as the fighting continues to spread across the Middle East and as U.S. troops continue to head to the region.
Meanwhile, a chilling video is showing the moment U.S. journalist Shelly Kittleson is apparently grabbed by Iranian-backed militants in Iraq. One suspected kidnapper was arrested, but the others escaped with Kittleston. The U.S. says it’s working to ensure her release “as quickly as possible.”
In a rare address to the nation, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the “economic shocks” from the Iran war could last for months, encouraging Australians to consider using public transportation.
“You should go about your business and your life as normal,” Albanese said, while urging Australians to take only as much as fuel as they need.
“Enjoy your Easter, and if you’re hitting the road, don’t take more fuel than you need — just fill up like you normally would,” he said.
“And over coming weeks, if you can switch to catching the train, bus or tram to work — do so,” he added.
Though Albanese has said Australia’s short-term fuel supply is secure, the government halved fuel taxes starting today and at least two states have made public transportation free.
Albanese is the first Australian prime minister to deliver a national address since Scott Morrison during the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.
An Israeli strike in Beirut killed seven people and injured 26 others, Lebanese officials said today.
Earlier, the country’s Ministry of Public Health said the attack in the Jnah neighborhood of the capital had killed five people and injured 21.
Pope Leo XIV expressed hope for an end to the Iran war ahead of the Easter holiday this weekend, calling for a reduction in violence and a renewed focus on diplomacy.
“I’m told that President Trump recently stated that he would like to end the war,” Leo told reporters in Rome yesterday. “Hopefully he’s looking for an off-ramp.”
He added, “Hopefully he’s looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing, which would be a significant contribution to removing the hatred that’s being created — that’s increasing constantly — in the Middle East and elsewhere.”
Leo called on all world leaders to return to dialogue and look for ways to reduce violence so that “peace, especially at Easter, might reign in our hearts.”
A Bangladeshi national was killed in the United Arab Emirates by debris from a drone that was intercepted by air defenses, authorities said.
The incident took place on a farm in the Al-Rifa’a area in the emirate of Fujairah.
Separately, an Indian national was injured in a similar incident today in the emirate of Umm Al Quwain, officials said.
There are an estimated 24 million migrant workers in the Gulf region, many of them from South Asia. Yesterday, the Dubai Media Office said two Indian nationals, one Bangladeshi national and one Sri Lankan national were injured by debris from an interception that fell on houses in southern Dubai.
President Donald Trump told The Daily Telegraph, a British right-wing newspaper, that NATO was an ineffective “paper tiger” and that he was strongly considering leaving the alliance — a theme he’s warmed to in recent weeks after European allies declined to join or support the U.S.-Israeli military action in Iran.
But this is far from the first time he’s made such a threat. Back in 2018 during his first term in office, Trump said that he would consider leaving if other member states don’t “pay their bills.”
The president has long berated nations for failing to spend 2% of their GDP on defense, a NATO membership requirement. All members now spend this much, but the requirement is rising to 5% from 2035.
NBC News reported earlier this month that the Pentagon was considering giving up the role of being the supreme allied commander in Europe, overseeing forces and activities across the continent. Such a move would be seen as a major signal of the U.S walking away from the alliance.
Iran’s recently installed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has praised Lebanese militant and political group Hezbollah and expressed support for its leadership, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
In the statement, Khamenei said Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, is guiding the movement through a “sensitive and historic moment.”
“I hope that you will be able to thwart the plans of the Zionist enemy, defeat them and once again bring the taste of peace and honor to the dear people of Lebanon,” the report said.
Khamenei’s current whereabouts are unknown, and he has not made any recent public appearances. Iran-linked Hezbollah has been greatly weakened in recent years after Israeli attacks wiped out much of its leadership and injured its rank and file.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the United Kingdom is “fully committed to NATO,” after President Donald Trump told a British newspaper he was considering pulling the United States out of the defense alliance.
“We are fully committed to NATO,” Starmer told reporters today. “NATO is the single most effective military alliance the world has ever seen.”
“It’s in our interests to have a strong relationship with the U.S. and with Europe,” he said, adding that the U.K. needs a “stronger relationship with Europe” in areas including defense, security, energy, emissions and the economy.
“I actually think that will help strengthen our relationship with the U.S.,” he added.
In a Truth Social post yesterday, Trump had criticized the UK for not getting involved in its war with Iran, adding that the U.S. “won’t be there to help.”
“Go get your own oil,” he wrote.
Fourteen people were injured in Israel after a missile attack, including an 11-year-old girl, Israeli officials said.
The girl remains in “serious condition” after sustaining shrapnel injuries to her limbs. A 13-year-old boy and a 36-year-old also suffered shrapnel injuries but are in “moderate condition,” according to a spokesperson for Magen David Adom, Israel’s national emergency service.
Eleven others sustained minor injuries and are in “mild condition,” the spokesperson added.
Oil fell below $100 per barrel and Asian shares were sharply higher today after U.S. stocks soared to their best day in almost a year on renewed hopes that the Iran war could soon end.
South Korea’s Kospi recovered its losses from earlier this week, surging 8.4% to 5,478.70, while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 5.2% to 53,739.68. A survey by Japan’s central bank released today showed business sentiment for major Japanese manufacturers improved despite Iran war worries.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 2.3% to 25,346.42, while the Shanghai Composite index was trading 1.5% higher at 3,948.55. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was up 2.2% to 8,671.80.
Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 4.6%, and India’s Sensex rose 2.4%. U.S. futures were 0.7% higher.
Trump says he is strongly considering pulling the U.S. out of NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance that has been a cornerstone of the international order since the end of World War II, citing NATO allies’ failure to join the Iran war.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Trump said a U.S. withdrawal from NATO was “beyond reconsideration.”
“I was never swayed by NATO,” he said. “I always knew they were a paper tiger, and Putin knows that too, by the way.”
President Trump at the NATO summit in Brussels in 2018. Sean Gallup / Getty Images file
Trump has been frustrated by a perceived lack of support from the 31 other NATO member countries, who were not consulted about the Iran war before the U.S. and Israel began strikes on Feb. 28. Spain, for example, has refused to let the U.S. use its airspace or jointly operate military bases for the conflict, while the German defense minister has said it is “not our war.”
“I just think it should be automatic,” Trump said. “We’ve been there automatically, including Ukraine. Ukraine wasn’t our problem. It was a test, and we were there for them, and we would always have been there for them. They weren’t there for us.”
Oil and gas prices in Europe are unlikely to return to normal anytime soon, even if the Iran war were to end immediately, the E.U. energy commissioner said.
Motorists filling their cars at a gas station in Derby, England, on Friday. Loannis Alexopoulos / Anadolu via Getty Images
While there are no immediate shortages of oil or gas in the 27-member bloc, there is growing pressure on diesel and jet fuel supplies, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen told reporters yesterday. He also warned of “increasing constraints” on global gas markets and the spillover effect on electricity prices.
“What I find extremely important is to state as clearly as I can, that even if that peace is here tomorrow, still we will not go back to normal in a foreseeable future,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the “finish line” of the Iran war was within sight, and that the U.S. will have to re-examine its relations with NATO once the conflict is over.
“We can see the finish line. It’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, but it is coming,” he said in an interview on Fox News.
Rubio also complained about the perceived lack of support from NATO allies that have resisted becoming directly involved in the Iran war. Spain, for example, has refused to let the U.S. use its airspace or jointly operate military bases for the conflict.
Rubio said that once the Iran war ends, the U.S. will have to assess whether the U.S.-led military alliance formed after World War II is still serving the country’s interests, “or has it now become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe, but when we need the help of our allies, they’re going to deny us basing rights, and they’re going to deny us overflight?”
Indonesia has called on the United Nations to investigate attacks that killed three of its peacekeepers and injured five others in Lebanon, where Israel has been carrying out strikes against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group.
Two Indonesian peacekeepers from the U.N. mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, were killed Monday when an “explosion of unknown origin” destroyed their vehicle near Bani Hayyan, the U.N. said. It was the second such incident in less than 24 hours after another Indonesian peacekeeper was killed Sunday.
“We demand investigation by the United Nations, not excuses from Israel,” said Umar Hadi, Indonesia’s representative to the U.N., adding that the attacks “may constitute war crimes under international law.”
The Israel Defense Forces said earlier that an internal review found it was not responsible for the explosive device that killed the two peacekeepers on Monday, and that no IDF troops were present in the area.
“The IDF is operating against the Hezbollah terrorist organization, and not against UNIFIL, the Lebanese Armed Forces, or Lebanese civilians,” it said in a statement.
A building in Beirut’s southern suburbs, adjacent to the highway that leads to Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, was hit by an Israeli strike yesterday, leading to a dramatic explosion.
Lebanese health officials said Israeli attacks had killed seven people in Beirut, though it was not clear whether any of the casualties were at the building, where Israel had issued an evacuation order.
Fadel Itani / AFP via Getty Images
Fadel Itani / AFP via Getty Images
Israel’s military said it carried out “wide-scale waves” of strikes in Tehran overnight.
In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said it targeted what it described as “infrastructure sites of the Iranian terror regime” in the capital.
The military did not immediately provide further details on the extent of the damage or casualties.
An American journalist was kidnapped in Iraq yesterday by suspected Iranian-backed militants, according to the State Department and the country’s Interior Ministry.
The journalist was identified in the hours after her kidnapping came to light as freelancer Shelly Kittleson, with Al-Monitor, one of the publications she works for, calling for her “safe and immediate release.”
Dylan Johnson, the assistant secretary of state for global affairs, said in a post on X that the State Department was “aware of the reported kidnapping of an American journalist in Baghdad, Iraq.”
He said the State Department had “previously fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of threats against them” and would “continue to coordinate with the FBI to ensure their release as quickly as possible.”
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Trump will address the nation tonight to deliver an “important update” on the war in Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced on social media.
Leavitt did not provide more details about what Trump is expected to say. His remarks are scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.
Trump discussed the war in a phone interview with NBC News yesterday morning, saying that “we’re doing great” and that the conflict is “coming to an end.” He later told reporters that he expects the U.S. to “leave” Iran within two or three weeks, adding that Iran does not have to make a deal with the U.S. for the war to end.
Still, that came a day after Trump said that the U.S. was negotiating with Iran and that there had been progress, while he also threatened Iranian infrastructure if a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz was not reached. Iran has said there are no negotiations with the U.S.
Read the full story here.
NBC News