Iran-US war latest: Ceasefire under strain as Iranian forces fire on container ships hours after Trump’s extension

The Strait of Hormuz remained closed and it was unclear whether Iran or Israel had agreed to the new arrangement.

Brent crude slipped 0.17 per cent to $98.27 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate fell 0.42 per cent to $89.29, swinging between gains and losses as markets weighed a ceasefire extension that seemed to be unilateral against the continued closure of the waterway through which a fifth of the world’s energy supply flowed before the US and Israel launched the war on Iran.

Stuti Mishra brings the latest on oil prices:

At least three container ships were hit by gunfire in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, maritime security sources and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

We earlier reported that one boat had been struck, but this number has since increased.

Iran has imposed restrictions on ships using the strait, first in retaliation for the US-Israeli bombardment of the country, and then in response to a US blockade of Iranian ports.

A Liberia-flagged container ship sustained damage to its bridge after being hit by gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades northeast of Oman.

The UKMTO said the master of the vessel reported being approached by an IRGC gunboat. The vessel, it said, was subsequently fired upon. All crew members were safe and there was no fire or environmental impact due to the incident.

Maritime security sources said that three people were onboard that gunboat.

The Iran war has caused a shortage of Diet Coke in India, where it is sold only in aluminium cans that have run short because of delayed shipments from the Gulf caused by the Iran war.

The Gulf accounts for around 9 per cent of global aluminium production, which has been trapped since the end of February by Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

While most soft drinks are sold in India both in plastic bottles and cans, Diet Coke is only sold in cans. Two Coca-Cola distributors told the Reuters news agency that the company had notified them it was rationing supplies or not fulfilling some orders due to a can shortage caused by the war.

“We’ve been placing orders but have been told there is a shortage due to war,” said Sanjay, one of the distributors, who declined to give his last name.

Coca-Cola declined to comment.

In a furious tirade on Truth Social, Donald Trump has scolded the Wall Street Journal after it published an opinion peace referring to him as a “sucker”.

“An IDIOT on The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board, named Elliot Kaufman, just wrote an Op Ed entitled, ‘The Iranians Take Trump for a Sucker’,” he wrote.

“Really? For 47 years, they have killed our people, and many others, and taken advantage of every President, except me—And what did I give to them, a Country in tatters!”

Lebanon’s National News Agency has reported an Israeli drone had killed one person and wounded two others in the Bekaa Valley area on Wednesday.

The Israeli military has said it is unaware of the strike.

The agency reported that the incident had taken place on the outskirts of al-Jbour in Lebanon’s western Bekaa Valley.

We’ll bring you more as we get it.

The UK’s chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reeves, has reacted to the increase in prices as a result of war in the Middle East.

“This is not our war, but it is pushing up bills for families and businesses. That’s why it’s my number one priority to keep costs down,” she says.

“Our economic plan is the right one and has put us in a stronger position to support families in the face of this new crisis.”

Pointing to measures announced before the conflict she said: “We’ve taken £117 off energy bills, frozen rail fares and protected motorists with the fuel duty freeze.

“We’re acting to protect people from unfair price rises if they occur to bring down food prices at the till, and are boosting long-term energy security — building a stronger, more secure economy.”

Four years after Israeli authorities demolished the home of Wael al-Tahan in Jerusalem, he was forced to tear down his second home. This time, however, he had to do it with his own hands. Tahan’s home has become part of a growing phenomenon in Jerusalem.

Around 150 Palestinian homes have been destroyed since the start of this year on the orders of Israeli courts – 23 of these were “self-demolitions”.

Palestinians compare having to demolish their own homes to “gouging their own eyes out”, but those who made the choice to self-demolish say they did so to avoid paying exorbitant sums to Israeli authorities to carry out the demolition.

Speaking to Independent Arabia, Tahan says he demolished his home in Ras al-Amud, a Palestinian neighbourhood in East Jerusalem, himself after reaching a “dead end” with the Jerusalem municipality.

He wanted to avoid paying the fee of more than $30,000 (£22,200) that the Israeli authorities would have charged to carry out the demolition, having already paid them over $40,000 in fines in recent years for “building without a permit”.

Inflation in the UK has rose to an annual rate of 3.3% in March, up from 3% in February, as the Iran war begins to take an impact on prices.

Economists had mostly expected inflation to accelerate to 3.3%, driven by a rise in petrol and other fuel costs during March, they told Reuters news agency.

Before the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, the Bank of England said Britain’s inflation rate – the highest among the G7 economies for much of the last four years – was likely to be close to its 2% target in April.

But the BoE last month sharply increased its inflation forecast due to the energy price shock, predicting it would rise towards 3.5% by the middle of 2026.

The International Monetary Fund last week predicted British inflation would peak at 4% in the coming months.

Israel’s military has removed two soldiers from combat duty and placed them in military detention for 30 days after they destroyed a Jesus statue in southern Lebanon.

An investigation was launched after a picture showed an Israeli soldier taking the blunt side of an axe to a fallen sculpture of Jesus on the cross. The image drew widespread condemnation Monday ​from Israeli politicians, the United States and church leaders.

It was posted by Younis Tirawi, a Palestinian reporter who has also posted images of Israeli soldiers’ apparent misconduct in Gaza.