Iran war updates: ‘World Peace’ Trump says as Israel confirms Lebanon not included in US-Iran ceasefire deal

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Retail jobs are most at risk with the number of business failures soaring in the wake of higher fuel prices, new data shows, with consumer sentiment still near record low levels despite a temporary halving of petrol tax.

The number of shopfront businesses going into administration for the first time has climbed by 20 per cent in just a year.

In the nine months to March 31, 728 retail businesses were trading while insolvent compared with 607 during the first nine months of 2024-25, new Australian Securities and Investments Commission figures showed.

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to the Gulf to hold talks with partners to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open permanently after a US-Iran ceasefire, his office says.

“I welcome the ceasefire agreement reached overnight, which will bring a moment of relief to the region and the world,” Starmer said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Together with our partners we must do all we can to support and sustain this ceasefire, turn it into a lasting agreement and re-open the Strait of Hormuz.”

The British statement said Starmer would discuss diplomatic efforts to “support and uphold the ceasefire in order to bring about a lasting resolution to the conflict and protect the UK and global economy from further threats”.

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The office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that while Israel has agreed to “suspend strikes against Iran for two weeks”, the ceasefire deal does “not include Lebanon”.

It comes after the Pakistani prime minister said the US and Iran, and their allies, had agreed to a ceasefire which included Lebanon.

But in the hours since the ceasefire deal was announced, Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon.

The office added that Israel “supports the US effort to ensure that Iran no longer poses a nuclear, missile and terror threat.”

US President Donald Trump has declared it’s “A big day for World Peace!” in his latest post to Truth Social.

“Iran wants it to happen, they’ve had enough! Likewise, so has everyone else!”

Mr Trump added that the US will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz.

It comes after the President confirmed that the US will suspend bombing attacks on Iran for two weeks if the Strait is immediately reopened.

“The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz. There will be lots of positive action!” Mr Trump said.

“Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process. We’ll be loading up with supplies of all kinds, and just “hangin’ around” in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will.”

“Just like we are experiencing in the U.S., this could be the Golden Age of the Middle East!!!”

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Anthony Albanese has labelled US President Donald Trump’s Iran war warning a ‘whole civilisation will die” as inappropriate and “extraordinary” statements by a world leader.

The Australian Prime Minister expressed his criticism when welcoming a ceasefire between the US, Israel, and Iran, which is subject to the Islamic Republic reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate to use language such as that from the President of the United States, and I think it will cause some concern,” Mr Albanese told Sky on Wednesday.

“The potential of damage to civilian infrastructure in Iran was an extraordinary statement to make.

“We’ve said very clearly that the conduct of any conflict must be within international law, and that provides for making sure that civilians who aren’t parties to the conflict are given every protection possible.”

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Energy Minister Chris Bowen says while the number of stations without fuel is decreasing Australia was “continuing to deal with very high demand for diesel” with the issue acute in NSW.

Mr Bowen said there were a total of 221 service stations without diesel out of the 7,940 total sites in Australia. It equates to about three per cent currently without diesel supply.

New South Wales: In NSW, there are 124 stations with no diesel, which is down one from yesterday, and 27 stations with no fuel at all.

Victoria: Victoria has 40 service stations with no diesel and 28 with no unleaded petrol, representing around two per cent of the state’s stations.

Queensland: Queensland reports 30 stations with no diesel and 25 stations with no regular unleaded petrol.

Western Australia: WA has eight stations with no diesel, a decrease of 12 from yesterday’s update, and 21 stations with no unleaded.

Tasmania: Tasmania currently has seven stations without diesel and five without unleaded petrol.

South Australia: SA has four stations with no diesel and two without unleaded, with both of those figures trending down.

Northern Territory: The NT has four stations without diesel and four without unleaded petrol.

Australian Capital Territory: The ACT has four stations with no diesel and zero stations with no unleaded.

“The supply chain in regional New South Wales in particular, has been stretched as its sowing and seeding season,” Mr Bowen said.

“We have, with the industry, been prioritising getting diesel to farmers so they can get their crops into the ground.

“But nevertheless, good progress, more work to do to ensure that that fuel continues to flow to where it’s needed.”

Iran and the United States have agreed on a two-week ceasefire, sparking an enormous sigh of relief worldwide.

But no one should exhale too long.

The US President Donald Trump took his bombastic negotiating style to a new and worrying extreme in the process.

“A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” he said in a Truth Social, hours before his deadline to blow up power plants and bridges was due.

But the same post, which legal experts interpreted as an intention of genocide and others wondered if it could even be the invocation of a nuclear threat, also hinted at a breakthrough.

“Maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

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Opposition leader Angus Taylor says he will “work with the government” on efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as Iran’s de facto closure continues to hurt the global energy market.

“We absolutely welcome the ceasefire. We want to see it hold, and we want to see ships moving again,” he said, during a press conference in Melbourne on Wednesday.

“We want to see oil coming to Australia. Crude oil and refined products coming to Australia as soon as possible, again from the Strait of Hormuz.

“We will continue to do whatever we need to do to work with the government to support that outcome.”

Energy Minister Chris Bowen says he has spoken with his Malaysian counterpart overnight to increase cooperation on energy.

He marks the latest of several leaders, including Penny Wong, Anthony Albanese, Richard Marles and Julie Collins, to speak with Asian counterparts to shore up refined fuel imports.

“I spoke to my Malaysian counterpart yesterday. We continue to engage very strongly with our international counterparts, particularly in Southeast Asia,” he said.

“We’ve been very pleased that our counterparts have recognised their role in being a reliable energy supplier to Australia when it comes to liquid fuels, just as they recognise our role and our history as reliable suppliers of other types of energy.”

Australia is reliant on Asian markets for petrol, diesel and jet fuels, while many other nations rely on Aussie LNG.