Global Pulse

作者： admin

  • Iran used Chinese spy satellite to attack US bases in Gulf: Report

    Iran used Chinese spy satellite to attack US bases in Gulf: Report

    A Wednesday report from The Financial Times has unveiled new details of a military space cooperation deal that is roiling geopolitics across the Middle East, revealing that Iran acquired a high-resolution Chinese surveillance satellite late in 2024 specifically to aid in targeting US military installations across the region ahead of recent missile and drone strikes.

    According to the FT investigation, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force purchased the TEE-01B spy satellite system for approximately $36.6 million, with the transaction settled entirely in Chinese renminbi. Cross-referenced data including time-stamped geographic coordinates, captured satellite imagery, and independent orbital trajectory analysis confirms that Iranian military commanders leveraged the satellite to continuously monitor key US military facilities in the weeks surrounding the March strikes, both before and after the attacks were carried out.

    The surveillance targets documented in the report span five Middle Eastern countries: the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, areas adjacent to the US Fifth Fleet’s naval headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, and Erbil International Airport in Iraq. Official logs obtained by the FT show that Prince Sultan Air Base was placed under sustained surveillance on March 13, 14 and 15, and just days after the final day of monitoring, US President Donald Trump publicly confirmed that American warplanes stationed at the base had sustained damage in an Iranian strike.

    Following the strike, separate reporting from Middle East Eye outlined subsequent US moves to reposition its regional military footprint: Washington lobbied Riyadh to grant US forces access to King Fahd Air Base in the western Saudi province of Taif, as US officials privately signaled they were considering a partial drawdown of forces from the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia ultimately granted the US request, but the advanced Chinese satellite has extended Iran’s surveillance reach far beyond the new Taif location, allowing it to track activity at the sprawling Camp Lemonnier US base in Djibouti, Camp Buehring and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and Duqm International Airport in Oman.

    The FT’s findings upend long-held assumptions about military intelligence asymmetry in the Middle East. For decades, the US has held a decisive military advantage over rival powers rooted in cutting-edge intelligence gathering and space technology, a capability it has openly shared with Ukraine to enable precision strikes against Russian targets. Compared to Iran’s previous most advanced military satellite, the Noor-3, which only captured imagery at a 5-meter resolution, the TEE-01B can deliver half-meter resolution imagery – a capability on par with leading commercially available Western surveillance satellites.

    Further scrutiny of the satellite’s supply chain reveals clear links to Chinese military entities. The satellite was manufactured by Earth Eye, a private Chinese firm that publicly highlights its partnerships with leading Chinese universities that have long-standing research collaborations with the People’s Liberation Army. Emposat, the Chinese company that provided the ground control infrastructure and operational software for the system, is formally tied to the PLA Aerospace Force, according to a previous public report released by the US Congress.

    This disclosure is not an isolated development; it adds to a growing body of reporting outlining China’s quiet military support for Iran amid escalating tensions with the US and Israel. As early as July 2025, Middle East Eye reported that China had supplied Iran with advanced surface-to-air missile systems to help Tehran rebuild air defenses damaged by US and Israeli strikes during a 12-day regional conflict. Before the joint US-Israeli offensive launched in February, MEE also revealed that Iran had received suicide drones and other small offensive weapons from Chinese suppliers. Just this week, The New York Times added another layer to the picture, reporting that China may have also delivered man-portable air defense systems (Manpads) to Iran during the ongoing conflict.

    Beijing has repeatedly denied all allegations that it is providing lethal military assistance to Iran. For his part, Trump has responded to the new reports by threatening to impose a 50% tariff on all Iranian goods. In a Wednesday interview with Fox News, Trump noted that Chinese leader Xi Jinping has denied arming Iran. The US president’s planned March visit to Beijing for a bilateral meeting with Xi was delayed until May amid the regional conflict, and Trump sought to downplay rising bilateral tensions in a post to the social platform X, writing that Xi would give him “a big, fat hug” when he finally arrives in the Chinese capital.

  • Australia to boost defence spending citing growing threats

    Australia to boost defence spending citing growing threats

    Against a backdrop of intensifying global armed conflict and mounting diplomatic pressure from the United States, the Australian government announced Thursday a sharp upward revision of its long-term defence spending target, pledging to lift military expenditure to 3.0 percent of gross domestic product by 2033.

    The new policy marks a significant jump from the previous projection, which forecast defence outlays would reach only 2.3 percent of GDP by the same year. Department of Defence officials confirmed the adjusted target will inject an extra AU$53 billion (equivalent to US$38 billion) into national defence over the coming decade, compared to the 2024 defence strategy framework. In the immediate four-year period, an additional AU$14 billion will be allocated to military programs.

    To align with the new target and meet international accounting standards, Australia has revised its defence budget calculation methodology to adopt the NATO definition, which includes items such as military pensions in official spending tallies. The announcement comes after years of consistent pressure from successive U.S. administrations urging Canberra to increase the share of GDP dedicated to defence. Notably, the new 3.0 percent target still falls short of the 3.5 percent of GDP demand issued by U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth last year.

    In justifying the substantial spending increase, Defence Minister Richard Marles emphasized the shifting global security landscape in a pre-prepared speech obtained by Agence France-Presse. “International norms that once constrained the use of force and military coercion continue to erode,” Marles said. “More countries are engaged in conflict today than at any time since the end of World War II, and this is occurring across every region of the world.”

    As a U.S. ally positioned in the Indo-Pacific, Australia has increasingly centered its defence planning on countering perceived military risks tied to China’s naval expansion in recent years, reshaping its force structure to prioritize long-range missile strike capabilities and deterrence along its northern strategic approaches. The elevated defence budget will accelerate ongoing high-priority projects, most notably the expansion of a major shipbuilding facility in Western Australia built to accommodate nuclear-powered submarines under the landmark AUKUS trilateral security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom. Under the 2021 agreement, Washington and London have committed to delivering nuclear-powered submarine technology to the Royal Australian Navy within 15 years, though the deal has drawn sharp criticism from opponents who argue it provides no guarantee Australia will ever take delivery of the vessels and leaves a critical capability gap in Australian defence for the next decade.

    Australia’s unique geographic characteristics — a vast coastline paired with a relatively small population — have also driven the development of indigenous autonomous military systems, including the large autonomous Ghost Shark submarine and Ghost Bat fighter drone. In a related announcement earlier this week, Canberra confirmed it would allocate up to AU$5 billion to expand drone development and procurement, a move framed as a response to evolving warfare tactics observed in ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. In an additional indication of Australia’s expanding global military posture, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed March 10, 2026 that Canberra will deploy a long-range military reconnaissance aircraft to the Gulf region to support civilian protection efforts.

    The revised defence spending plan comes as the Australian Defence Force hosts Exercise Pitch Black 2024, a large-scale multinational air exercise over northern Australia that has brought together military aircraft from Australia, Japan, the Philippines, Spain and other partner nations to practice integrated air operations.

  • Trump’s triumphal arch gets official name

    Trump’s triumphal arch gets official name

    A planned monumental arch initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump, long informally nicknamed the “Arc de Trump” by national media, has been assigned its formal, official name: the United States Triumphal Arch. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt made the formal announcement to reporters on Wednesday, confirming that the towering structure is being developed to commemorate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

    “In honor of this historic occasion, President Trump and the Department of Interior will submit plans for the United States Triumphal Arch,” Leavitt told the press corps. Alongside the announcement, she shared an artist’s rendering of the proposed monument — an introduction that made headlines after she initially held the image upside down.

    According to Leavitt, the “monumental” arch will reach 250 feet (76.2 meters) in total height, a measurement intentionally selected to mirror the 250 years of U.S. nationhood. Topping the colossal structure will be a large golden statue of Lady Liberty, a design that will make it far taller than the world’s most famous existing triumphal arch: Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, which stands just 164 feet tall. In fact, the U.S. monument will claim the title of the largest arch of its kind globally, outstripping Mexico City’s Monument to the Revolution to take the top spot and pushing Pyongyang’s Arch of Triumph down to third place. It will also tower over Washington D.C.’s iconic Lincoln Memorial, which reaches only 99 feet in height.

    Plans for the arch first came to public attention in October, when AFP reporters spotted a scale model of the structure on Trump’s Oval Office desk. The unofficial nickname “Arc de Trump” quickly spread across U.S. media outlets following the discovery, and Trump publicly released the first full architectural renderings of the project last Friday.

    The arch is just one of several high-profile architectural initiatives Trump is advancing during his second presidential term, all designed to leave a lasting physical legacy in the nation’s capital. Other projects include the construction of an expansive new ballroom for the White House and major renovations to the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

    The proposal has drawn sharp criticism from opponents, who argue that the gold-accented monument is nothing more than a vanity project for the 79-year-old president. Funding details have also sparked debate: ABC News reports that the project will draw partial support from U.S. taxpayer dollars, including $2 million in special allocations from the National Endowment for the Humanities, alongside a $13 million matching fund program for private donations.

    Leavitt pushed back against criticism on Wednesday, framing the arch as a celebration of American national pride. “Long after everyone in this room is gone, our children and grandchildren will remain inspired by this national monument,” she told reporters.

  • Arsenal survive tense Sporting stalemate to reach Champions League semis

    Arsenal survive tense Sporting stalemate to reach Champions League semis

    Arsenal has secured its place in the 2024–25 UEFA Champions League semi-finals, holding out for a nervy goalless draw against Sporting CP at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday to seal a 1–0 aggregate victory over the two legs. The result comes at a time of growing unease around Mikel Arteta’s side, who have struggled for consistency in recent weeks across all competitions, but survived a string of late scares to progress.

    The north London club carried a narrow one-goal advantage into the second leg of the quarter-final tie following their first-leg win in Lisbon, but Arteta’s men were far from their fluent best on home soil. Missing key attacking starters Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard through injury, Arsenal failed to replicate the cutting edge that has seen them lead the Premier League for much of the campaign, and spent much of the 90 minutes clinging to their aggregate lead.

    Arteta had delivered an unusually impassioned pre-match press conference on Tuesday, urging his players to take the field with “pure fire” and “zero fear” to silence growing criticism. While Arsenal launched a high-intensity press in the opening 10 minutes, the early attacking urgency fizzled out quickly, leaving the side exposed at the back. A sloppy misplaced pass from center-back William Saliba put Sporting winger Francisco Trincao in on goal, though the Portuguese attacker curled his effort just wide of the target.

    Summer signing Viktor Gyokeres, who has endured an inconsistent first season in north London since moving from Sporting, again failed to make a telling impact in attack. The striker’s only clear opening came after a burst into the six-yard box, but he was unable to get his shot away in time before defender Goncalo Inacio cleared the danger.

    Arsenal grew increasingly edgy as the first half wore on, drawing anxious groans from the frustrated home crowd. Gunners goalkeeper David Raya nearly gifted Sporting an equalizer when a dangerous mispass was intercepted by Trincao, but the winger’s misplaced cross toward Luis Suarez let Arsenal off the hook. Just before halftime, Geny Catamo came inches within giving Sporting the aggregate lead, volleying against the far post from a tight angle, leaving the hosts still clinging to their advantage.

    After the break, Arsenal carved out several half-chances to put the tie to bed: Eberechi Eze’s long-range drive whistled just past the post, Gabriel Martinelli blasted a half-volley narrowly over the crossbar, and Noni Madueke curled an effort into the side-netting. Arteta responded to his side’s lack of attacking punch by bringing on Kai Havertz for the underperforming Gyokeres, with Max Dowman replacing the injured Madueke later in the half.

    Sporting thought they had a late penalty when Maxi Araujo went down under a slight challenge from Cristhian Mosquera, but referee waved away appeals to the frustration of the visiting side. Though Arsenal creaked under sustained late pressure from Sporting, the defense held firm to see out the clean sheet and the aggregate win.

    The result marks a historic milestone for Arsenal: it is the first time the club has reached the Champions League semi-finals in consecutive seasons in its history. Up next, Arteta’s side will face Atletico Madrid for a place in the final, after the Spanish club progressed with a 3–2 aggregate win over Barcelona on Tuesday. Arsenal crushed Atletico 4–0 at the Emirates in the group stage back in October, but Arteta will know his side must drastically improve to reach their first Champions League final since 2006.

    The progression comes amid a worrying run of form that has raised questions about Arsenal’s ability to end their long trophy drought. The Gunners have lost three of their last five matches across all competitions, claiming just one win in that stretch. Recent setbacks include a defeat to Manchester City in the League Cup final, an FA Cup quarter-final exit to second-tier Southampton, and a shock 2–1 home Premier League loss to Bournemouth at the weekend that has intensified scrutiny of the side’s mental strength.

    Arsenal currently sit six points clear of second-placed Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, though Pep Guardiola’s side has a game in hand, and the two sides face a decisive title showdown at City’s Etihad Stadium this Sunday. Arsenal have finished as runners-up for the past three consecutive seasons, having blown sizeable title leads to City in both 2023 and 2024, and nerves around the club’s title bid are already growing. The club has not won a Premier League title since 2004 and has never lifted the Champions League trophy, leaving Arteta’s side chasing two historic milestones amid an untimely late-season slump.

  • YouTube suspends pro-Iran channel posting Lego-style clips mocking Trump

    YouTube suspends pro-Iran channel posting Lego-style clips mocking Trump

    In a move that has reignited conversations about content moderation and the evolving nature of modern information warfare, Google-owned YouTube announced Wednesday that it has permanently terminated the channel of Explosive Media, a pro-Tehran creative collective behind viral Lego-inspired animated videos that mocked former U.S. President Donald Trump amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions.

    While the group describes itself as an independent satirical project, widespread industry and media speculation has long linked Explosive Media to the Iranian government, a connection the organization has repeatedly denied. The channel gained global internet fame over recent weeks, racking up millions of views for its cartoonish, toy-based takes on the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, which targeted top American political figures for ridicule.

    A YouTube spokesperson confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the channel was removed on March 27 for violating the platform’s policies prohibiting spam, deceptive practices, and coordinated scams, but declined to provide additional specific details about the violation. The crackdown on Explosive Media does not end at YouTube: U.S. media reports confirm that Meta-owned Instagram has also taken down the group’s official account, though a secondary account operating under the same name remained accessible to users as of Wednesday. Meta has not yet responded to AFP’s request for comment on the decision.

    Despite the removal from two major platforms, Explosive Media has continued publishing its satirical clips mocking U.S. foreign policy and military actions in the Middle East on other major social platforms, including Elon Musk-owned X and encrypted messaging app Telegram. In a public post responding to YouTube’s ban, the group pushed back against the platform’s decision, writing: “Seriously! Are our LEGO-style animations actually violent?”

    So far, the YouTube suspension has done little to curb the spread of Explosive Media’s content. Clips from the removed channel continue to circulate widely on YouTube itself, reposted by independent content creators and sympathetic accounts across the platform.

    The group’s satirical format leans heavily into accessible American pop culture tropes to reach global audiences: its videos caricature Trump with a signature oversized yellow Lego-style head, depicting him as an elderly, isolated leader prone to childish outbursts and detached from real-world events. In one of the group’s most recent viral posts, shared on X shortly after a two-week ceasefire was announced between Israel and Hamas (a move framed by the group through an anti-Trump lens), the video carried the caption “TACO will always remain TACO” — an acronym for “Trump always chickens out.”

    Set to dramatic cinematic background music, the clip shows a Lego-style Trump figurine huddling with Arab leaders, throwing a chair at U.S. military officials, while animated Iranian generals press a red button marked “Back to the Stone Age,” triggering a wave of cartoon destruction across the Middle East. Other popular clips from the group reimagine the strategic Strait of Hormuz as a cartoon toll booth controlled by Iran, depict fictional Iranian military victories over U.S. forces, and show global leaders in subservient positions, dependent on Iran for oil exports.

    Security analysts have identified this new format of Lego-inspired, cartoonish political satire and propaganda as an increasingly effective tool for information warfare amid rising geopolitical tension between the U.S. and Iran, coining the term “Legofication” to describe this new style of conflict messaging. The clips are rapidly amplified across social media by Iranian diplomatic missions and other pro-Tehran accounts, helping them reach millions of viewers outside of Iran quickly.

    Unlike much of the group’s target audience, which is based outside the country, Iranians inside Iran have been subjected to what internet monitor NetBlocks describes as a widespread “internet blackout” in recent weeks. Explosive Media’s ability to consistently produce polished, high-quality content and upload it to global platforms amid this blackout has only fueled further suspicion of official Iranian government backing. The group has pushed back against these claims, dismissing them as deliberate media misrepresentation.

    The removal of the channel has sparked mixed reactions online, with some critics arguing that YouTube’s decision constitutes unfair censorship of political satire, while others defend the move as a necessary step to curb coordinated state-backed disinformation operations on the platform.

  • Blockade v blockade fallout may be not just a world energy crisis

    Blockade v blockade fallout may be not just a world energy crisis

    April 13 delivered a packed day of geopolitical developments that sent ripples across global politics: a stunning electoral defeat for Hungary’s long-serving authoritarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, the widely predicted collapse of US-Iran diplomatic negotiations in Islamabad (with conflicting reports of the meeting’s duration), a surprise announcement from former president and current US leader Donald Trump ordering a US Navy blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, and a closing controversy in the form of a late-night verbal tirade from Trump against Pope Leo XIV over the pontiff’s public call for peace over conflict.

    While Orbán’s defeat has been broadly interpreted as a reassuring sign that democratic institutions remain robust in this Euroskeptic EU member state, and Trump’s angry rebuke of the pope is seen by many as confirmation that the Catholic Church is standing on the right side of global tensions, the evolving standoff between the US, Iran and key regional ally Israel leaves far more room for uncertainty. Across military, political, and economic lines, cautious optimism about a peaceful de-escalation remains possible but difficult to sustain.

    By deploying a naval blockade to counter Iran’s repeated claims of authority over shipping through the strait — a chokepoint that normally carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s global oil supply via commercial tanker traffic — Trump’s move is framed as a high-stakes gambit to call Iran’s bluff and force the country’s leadership to back away from the hardline position its negotiators took during the Islamabad talks. Strategically, the logic holds: if Iran’s primary leverage over the West is its ability to disrupt global energy flows through the strait, directly challenging that control would seemingly undermine Tehran’s bargaining position. Compared to more aggressive military options floated in recent weeks, including potential ground invasions of Iranian-held islands or coastal territory, the blockade also carries a lower immediate risk of catastrophic casualties, on paper at least.

    Even so, the move opens three dangerous new pathways to escalation. First, Iran could respond with a direct strike on a US Navy warship to assert its control over the waterway. Second, by intercepting all tankers departing Iranian ports, the US risks a direct military confrontation with Chinese commercial vessels, since most Iranian oil exports currently flow to China. Third, the already volatile global energy market could see a prolonged and deepening crisis that drives prices sharply higher for importing nations across the globe.

    A fully enforced blockade would indeed cut off a major stream of export revenue for Iran, worsening the country’s already fragile economy and putting additional pressure on its regime to negotiate. But Iran does not stand alone: both China and Russia have long provided Tehran with financial and military support, and both are capable of ramping up that assistance to counter US pressure.

    Unless the behind-the-scenes signals from the Islamabad talks — held between US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian negotiators — point to more room for compromise than official public statements have suggested, analysts widely expect the Iranian regime to retaliate to demonstrate its strength before any return to negotiations. The most likely immediate step is renewed missile and drone attacks on US-aligned Gulf states including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a threat Tehran has already issued. But a direct strike on US naval vessels cannot be ruled out, as Iran would seek to prove that it alone controls security in the strait.

    There is also the possibility that this escalation is exactly what Trump wants: by goading Iran into launching an attack, he would gain a public pretext for the massive bombing campaign he threatened before the current two-week ceasefire took effect. It was Trump’s incendiary threat to “destroy a whole civilization” that prompted Pope Leo XIV’s criticism, which in turn sparked Trump’s late-night angry outburst against the pontiff.

    While few analysts believe Trump intends to follow through on the genocidal framing of his earlier threat, there is strong reason to suspect that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing hard for a resumption of full-scale hostilities, and that Trump is open to his arguments. The ceasefire has been fragile from its inception, and the US blockade — which qualifies as an act of war under international law — is itself a clear violation of the ceasefire terms, a fact Iranian leaders have already highlighted. It would take very little to trigger a new round of large-scale destruction that would likely only end with another fragile, temporary truce rather than a lasting resolution.

    For Trump, there is an additional long-term risk to consider if the blockade persists beyond a matter of days. Most of the tankers Iran authorizes to depart the Gulf are either Chinese-flagged or carry Iranian crude bound for Chinese markets. Trump’s apparent bet is that the resulting disruption will push Chinese President Xi Jinping to pressure Iran into making concessions ahead of the planned US-China summit in Beijing scheduled for May 14 and 15. But the gamble could backfire spectacularly, bringing the US Navy into direct confrontation with Chinese commercial or military vessels in the strait ahead of the critical meeting.

    For the rest of the world, the single greatest risk is a prolonged deepening of the energy and commodity market crisis sparked by disrupted Persian Gulf supplies. Russia stands to benefit from this outcome: elevated global crude and natural gas prices would offset the geopolitical loss of Putin’s close ally Viktor Orbán in the EU, as well as the ongoing damage Ukrainian drone and missile strikes have inflicted on Russia’s own oil export infrastructure. But every other major energy-importing region — including the whole of Europe — would face severe economic pain from prolonged high energy prices.

    The scale of that pain depends entirely on how long the US-Iran standoff drags on. Hopes that the existing ceasefire could hold even without a long-term formal agreement have already dimmed significantly. Since there is no way to predict whether Trump’s gambit will lead to full-scale escalation, a continued stalemate, or a return to constructive negotiations, governments around the world are already caught in contradictory policy positions: encouraging public energy conservation while simultaneously rolling out consumer subsidies to soften the blow of high oil and gas prices.

    In reality, the world is not facing a shortage of energy. Over the coming years, new pipeline routes and alternative supply chains will be developed to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. In the longer term, nations will almost certainly accelerate investments in renewable energy sources including wind, solar, and geothermal power, as well as slower, costlier options like nuclear energy, to build greater resilience against politically driven volatility in global energy markets. But these long-term solutions offer no relief from the immediate economic and security pain that a prolonged confrontation would inflict on communities across the globe.

  • BBC at the site of Trump’s planned ‘triumphal arch’

    BBC at the site of Trump’s planned ‘triumphal arch’

    A proposed 250-foot monument, dubbed a ‘triumphal arch’ and tied to former U.S. President Donald Trump, has sparked fierce public debate as planners move forward with site preparations, with BBC reporting on the ground from the proposed development location.

    BBC correspondent Ione Wells has conducted on-location reporting to break down key details of the project, outlining the exact plot of land where developers intend to construct the massive structure. The proposed arch, framed by supporters as a tribute to American achievement and a symbolic landmark honoring national service, has drawn fierce pushback from critics who question its purpose, cost, and connection to Trump’s political legacy.

    The project has emerged as a flashpoint for broader tensions over how the U.S. commemorates its political figures and national history. Opponents argue the 250-foot structure is an unnecessary vanity project designed to celebrate Trump’s political career, rather than serve any meaningful public or historical purpose. They also point to the projected multi-million dollar construction cost, arguing public funds could be better allocated to pressing domestic priorities including infrastructure repairs, social programs, and community services.

    Supporters of the plan, by contrast, frame the arch as a long-overdue tribute to American identity and national unity, arguing the monument will become a popular tourist destination that boosts local economic activity for the region where it is set to be built. As debate continues over the project’s future, on-the-ground reporting from the site has shed new light on the practical logistics of the proposal and the deep divides it has created across political and community lines.

  • War on Iran ‘can be over very soon’ Trump says, as backchannel diplomacy resumes

    War on Iran ‘can be over very soon’ Trump says, as backchannel diplomacy resumes

    In a wide-ranging interview taped at the White House on Tuesday, former US President Donald Trump offered a cautiously optimistic outlook on the ongoing joint military campaign between the United States and Israel against Iran, suggesting the conflict could wrap up in short order as Washington considers extending a temporary two-week ceasefire to keep diplomatic negotiations moving forward. The comments came just days after direct US-Iran talks mediated by Pakistan in Islamabad broke down on Saturday morning, a development that preceded a high-profile visit to Tehran by Pakistan’s army chief of staff and interior minister on Wednesday aimed at salvaging the diplomatic process.

    When pressed by Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo on widespread public anxiety over potential spikes to global petrol prices tied to the Middle East conflict, Trump downplayed long-term risks, arguing the fighting could conclude rapidly. “I think it can be over very soon,” he told Bartiromo, repeating a series of unsubstantiated claims that Iran’s military capabilities have been nearly completely destroyed. “They have no navy, they have no air force. Everything’s been wiped out. They have no anti-aircraft equipment. They have no radar. They have no leaders,” Trump said, claiming Iran is now operating under a new ruling establishment that he described as comparatively reasonable. “It really is a new regime, and I think we’re doing very well, but it only matters what the end result is,” he insisted. Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected Trump’s claims that their military infrastructure has been annihilated.

    Earlier this week, Trump ordered a full US military blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil chokepoint, designed to cut off all revenue from Iranian oil exports. In the interview, the president argued the blockade is already delivering results, boasting of US military dominance and claiming he has faced no pushback from major global powers or regional allies over the move. When asked if China or Saudi Arabia had raised objections to the closure of the strait, Trump simply responded, “No, I had none.”

    Trump went on to defend the conflict, which has already triggered devastating ripple effects on the global economy, calling the crisis “worthwhile” and predicting energy prices will ultimately be far lower long-term after Iran’s nuclear program is neutralized. “No president had the guts to do it, and they should have done it,” he said of the war he launched on February 28. “I think all of them that are living are sitting back watching this and saying we should have done it. This should have been done long before me.”

    The core non-negotiable goal of the campaign, Trump reiterated, is to ensure Iran is permanently barred from developing a nuclear weapon. That pledge was first made last year, after Trump took the unprecedented step of ordering airstrikes on Iran’s three primary nuclear sites, and was reaffirmed last week by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt after the initial two-week ceasefire agreement was reached. As of Tuesday, however, Trump continued to accuse Iran of covertly pursuing a nuclear weapons program, a claim Iranian authorities uniformly reject. Tehran has repeatedly emphasized that its nuclear program is exclusively focused on civilian energy production and peaceful scientific research.

    “If they don’t agree to stop enriching uranium, we’re not making a deal,” Trump told Bartiromo, doubling down on the hardline negotiating position adopted by his team, led by Vice President JD Vance, during the collapsed talks last Friday. In response, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has made clear that Iran will not surrender its sovereign right to enrich uranium, noting that the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and world powers never required the country to abandon that capability.

    Trump closed his remarks with a stark warning to Tehran, saying that if Iran moves forward to acquire a nuclear weapon, the regime would not survive long under continued US pressure. “We could take out every one of their bridges in one hour. We could take out every one of their power plants, electric power plants, in one hour,” he said. “We don’t want to do that, because someday you’re gonna have to rebuild, and it takes you 10 years to rebuild the bridge, even if you’re Trump.”

  • Major fire at Australian oil refinery to impact nation’s petrol supplies

    Major fire at Australian oil refinery to impact nation’s petrol supplies

    A destructive fire sparked by equipment failure has broken out at Viva Energy’s Corio oil refinery, one of only two operating oil refineries in Australia, exacerbating existing strains on the country’s already tight petrol market against the backdrop of a global fuel crisis.

    Emergency response teams were dispatched to the Geelong-based facility, located roughly 75 kilometers southwest of Melbourne, shortly before midnight on Wednesday following multiple reports of explosions and visible large flames. Fortunately, all 50 to 100 workers on site at the time of the incident were evacuated without injury, though the intense blaze has continued to burn into the following day, forcing local authorities to issue urgent public warnings about degraded air quality for surrounding communities.

    As a critical fuel production hub, the Corio refinery accounts for 10 percent of Australia’s total fuel output and half of Victoria’s domestic fuel supply, processing 120,000 barrels of crude oil per day and supporting more than 1,100 local jobs. While the facility remains partially operational, with jet fuel and diesel production continuing at reduced capacity as a safety measure, Viva Energy officials confirmed the fire damaged two dedicated petrol production units. Scott Wyatt, chief executive of Viva Energy, emphasized that stabilizing the site and ensuring worker safety is the company’s top priority, rather than restoring full output immediately. “We’ll only start increasing production again once we’re confident we can do that safely,” Wyatt said, noting that some petrol-producing units remain undamaged but supply disruptions for the fuel are still likely.

    Geelong Mayor Stretch Kontelj described the incident as unprecedented for the facility, adding that the extreme intensity of the fire has left firefighters with little option but to allow it to burn out naturally, with the blaze expected to continue for multiple hours. “This has been a huge shock and has rocked [refinery management],” Kontelj told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

    Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen noted that the fire comes at an exceptionally challenging time for national fuel security, as global oil markets have been thrown into chaos following the outbreak of war in Iran. Australia has already faced skyrocketing fuel prices in recent weeks, with diesel costs doubling, widespread reports of panic buying that have left many retail fuel stations struggling to maintain stock, and domestic airlines cutting back routes to offset spiking jet fuel costs.

    “This is not a positive development, but obviously there’s a long way to go in terms of working out just what the impact is,” Bowen told Nine Network’s *Today* program on Thursday. The minister added that he is in constant close coordination with Viva Energy leadership, as officials work to assess the full scope of production disruptions and potential impacts on retail fuel supplies across the country. Fire Rescue Victoria has confirmed the fire was caused by equipment failure, with a full formal investigation into the incident planned for after the blaze is fully contained.

  • Australia joins UK statement calling for Iran ceasefire, ‘responsible’ domestic response

    Australia joins UK statement calling for Iran ceasefire, ‘responsible’ domestic response

    As geopolitical tensions in the Middle East threaten to unravel a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, 11 US-allied nations led by Australia have put out an extraordinary joint warning about the catastrophic economic fallout a wider conflict could trigger globally. Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who is currently in Washington D.C. attending high-level talks with leaders from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, was one of the first signatories to the statement, which also draws signatures from finance leaders of the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland, Spain, Norway, the Republic of Ireland, and Poland.

    The core message of the joint communique is clear: any collapse of the current ceasefire or escalation of hostilities in the region would inject severe new risks into already fragile global energy markets, cross-border supply chains, and broad-based economic stability. Even if the parties reach a lasting, durable resolution to the current standoff, the statement notes that lingering disruptions will continue to weigh on global fiscal growth, keep core inflation elevated, and generate volatility across international financial markets.

    Against this backdrop, the statement calls on all global governments to coordinate their post-crisis economic responses in a transparent, responsible, and responsive manner. With most national government balance sheets already stretched thin from recent global shocks, the signatories have committed to ensuring any domestic policy interventions to offset conflict impacts are fiscally prudent and targeted specifically at the most vulnerable populations and sectors.

    A key pillar of the statement is a reaffirmation of the signatories’ commitment to open, rules-based trade for global energy products. The group explicitly called on all nations to reject protectionist measures that could worsen supply chain disruptions, including unjustified export controls, excessive strategic stockpiling of energy resources, and new trade barriers that block the flow of hydrocarbons and other critical goods through crisis-affected supply chains.

    Long-term, the signatories also committed to accelerating global energy diversification efforts, including scaling up the clean energy transition and rolling out improvements to energy efficiency across all economies, to reduce long-term exposure to regional energy market shocks. The statement welcomed any steps individual nations take to advance these goals, and called for coordinated assessment work from the IMF, World Bank, and International Energy Agency to map the full scope of potential global economic impacts from the current conflict.

    The communique highlights that low-income and vulnerable nations face the worst consequences of market volatility, particularly small, remote island states that rely entirely on imported energy to meet basic domestic needs. In response, the group has called on the IMF and World Bank to roll out a coordinated emergency support package for at-risk countries, tailored to individual national circumstances and leveraging the full flexible toolkit of the global financial institutions. The signatories also urged the institutions to provide guidance on temporary, targeted, and effective domestic policy responses, while prioritizing actions that protect long-term sustainable global growth.