SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East. If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know today.
- Two additional members of the Iranian women’s football team delegation – one player and one support staffer – have stayed behind in Australia on top of the five who were granted humanitarian visas on Monday night.
- While waiting to board, several players interviewed by this masthead – flanked by chaperones – said they wanted to return home to be with their families.
- US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT) would be “yet again [the US’s] most intense day of strikes inside Iran”.
- Iranian security official Ali Larijani warned US President Donald Trump “not to get eliminated” after he threatened to attack Iran “20 times harder” if they stopped the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit route. Larijani added that the strait would either be one of peace and prosperity for all or a strait of defeat and suffering for “warmongers”.
- Democratic US senators have written to Trump, demanding State Secretary Marco Rubio and Hegseth testify under oath on the war in the Middle East as they raise the alarm about the high risk to the US of Russia supporting Iran’s military if Trump deploys ground forces.
- The US military has published a video that it says depicts mine-laying boats being destroyed near the Strait of Hormuz. US Central Command said 16 minelayers had been eliminated, among other Iranian vessels. It follows reports – rejected by Trump – that US intelligence had detected early signs of Iran deploying naval mines in the critical passageway.
- The Pentagon has confirmed 140 US service members have been injured since the beginning of its war on Iran. The Department of Defence said eight of those injured were still in a critical condition.
A container vessel has been attacked in the Strait of Hormuz, the British Royal Navy-affiliated Maritime Trade Operations centre said.
“The Master of a container vessel has reported that the vessel has sustained damage from a
suspected but unknown projectile,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre said on X.
“Extent of the damage is currently unknown but under investigation by the crew. The Master additionally reports that all crew members are safe and accounted for.”
The Strait of Hormuz is a major shipping choke point which has been effectively shut by Iran since the US and Israel started attacking the country 12 days ago.
The Australian dollar has emerged as an unlikely haven, buoyed by elevated oil and gas prices and growing bets that the central bank may raise interest rates as early as next week.
The Aussie climbed to its highest level since June 2022 – US71.68¢ – and reached more than a 35-year-high against the yen, making it the top-performing major currency this year. Financial services institution Citigroup says the rally may extend to US75¢ within three months despite the Aussie’s usual sensitivity to the greenback and broader risk sentiment.
The currency could remain relatively insulated from broader market volatility as traders and economists ramp up expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will hike interest rates to contain inflation. The Aussie dollar may also continue to draw support from Australia’s position as a major energy exporter if elevated oil and gas prices persist.
“The Aussie is a better option than other currencies in the current environment,” said Nick Twidale, chief analyst at ATFX Australia in Sydney. However, it “plays against the traditional direction that we normally see in times of heightened geopolitical concerns where the Aussie weakens on most fronts and usually most dramatically against the yen.”
Hawkish comments from the RBA that it won’t hesitate to raise the rate if the Iran conflict further stokes inflationary pressures have also supported the currency.
Swaps are pricing more than a 70 per cent chance of policymakers raising interest rates next week, helping keep Australia’s bonds among the highest-yielding in the developed world. Rate bets have pushed the Australia-US benchmark yield spread to its widest since October 2022, further supporting the currency.
Bloomberg
World cricket authorities have denied giving travel priority to players from England over those of the West Indies and South Africa after their elimination from the Twenty20 World Cup in India.
The West Indian team was stranded in India for more than a week after they were knocked out of the tournament amid the complications caused by the conflict in Iran, and South Africa’s players have had a similarly long stay after they failed to reach the final.
However, England’s players and staff were able to travel home soon after they lost a semi-final to India, leaving the likes of West Indies coach Daren Sammy and South African players Quinton de Kock and David Miller to question the order of preference.
“Funny [International Cricket Council], we have heard nothing! Meanwhile, England are leaving before us somehow? [The West Indies’] and [South Africa’s men’s teams] are just in the dark! Strange how different teams have more pull than others,” De Kock wrote in an Instagram story.
Miller added this in a comment on an Instagram post by ESPNcricinfo: “Funny that England gets eliminated after WI & SA and gets on a charter back home tonight. While WI & SA still wait for answers in Kolkata.”
On Wednesday, the International Cricket Council released a statement pushing back at the claims.
“The ICC rejects any suggestion that these decisions have been driven by anything other than safety, feasibility and welfare. Suggestions otherwise across a variety of media platforms from people uninformed of the situation are as unhelpful as they are incorrect.
“There is no link between arrangements made in the cases of South Africa and the West Indies and those made previously for England or any other nation, which arose from separate circumstances, routing options and different travel conditions.
“On current arrangements, the South Africa contingent will begin departing for South Africa tonight, with all members expected to have departed within the next 36 hours. Of the West Indies contingent, nine members are already travelling to the Caribbean, while the remaining 16 are booked on flights departing India within the next 24 hours.”
One member of the Iranian women’s soccer team who accepted a humanitarian visa to stay in Australia has changed her mind and sought to return to Iran, said Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
He also said members of the delegation were moved by the government after Iranian officials became aware of their location.
Burke travelled to Brisbane and Sydney to see if anyone from the team was interested in taking up the government’s offer to remain in Australia. Two members of the delegation – one player and one support person – requested to remain in Australia and were issued with humanitarian visas, as already reported.
“I would advise that one of the two who had made the decision to stay last night, had spoken to some of the teammates who had left and had changed her mind. In Australia, people are able to change their mind. People are able to travel. And so we respect the context in which she has made that decision,” Burke told the House of Representatives.
“Unfortunately, in making that decision, she’d been advised by her teammates and coach to contact the Iranian embassy and to get collected. My officials made sure that this was her decision, and every question you would want asked, was asked,” he said.
“As a result of that, it meant that the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was. I immediately gave the instruction for people to be moved, and that’s been dealt with immediately,” Burke said.
He added “we can all be very proud of the Australian Federal Police” and members of the Department of Home Affairs for providing humanitarian visas to those that sought them.
“Australia is a country where they can see there is freedom of choice for women as well, and a country where those who have made the decision to stay will be very welcome and very much the rest of the Australian people will be wrapping them in our arms.”
Airlines around the Indo-Pacific are increasing fares and hiking fuel surcharges as the war on Iran sends oil prices swinging wildly and stokes fears of jet fuel shortages if the conflict worsens.
Demand for alternative routes to Europe that bypass the Middle East is also surging, pushing up ticket prices. More than 43,000 flights scheduled in and out of the Middle East were cancelled between February 28 and March 10, according to data from analytics firm Cirium.
Here is a list of airlines that have announced increases to fares and fuel surcharges:
Qantas
Australia’s largest carrier is raising fares on international routes by about 5 per cent on average. Jet fuel prices have risen by as much as 150 per cent in the past two weeks, driving up costs across the business, Qantas said. Flights on European routes, including Perth-London, Perth-Paris and services via Singapore, are more than 90 per cent full this month, up from a typical load factor of 75 per cent at this time of year.
AirAsia
South-East Asia’s biggest budget carrier has raised fares and adjusted fuel surcharges, but without specifying by how much. The airline said it would “dynamically monitor market conditions and react proactively as and when needed”.
Air New Zealand
The airline said on March 10 it would raise fares by an unspecified amount, and may need to take further pricing action and adjust its network and schedule if fuel costs remained elevated. The company also suspended its earnings guidance, saying assumptions on fuel costs announced late last month were no longer valid.
Air India
Air India and Air India Express will phase in fuel surcharges across domestic and international routes.
From March 12 a surcharge of 399 rupees ($4.35) will be added to domestic flights and services to South Asia, West Asia and the Middle East. Surcharges to South-East Asia will rise to $US60 ($84) from $US40, and for Africa to $US90 from $US60. From March 18, the surcharge for Europe will rise $US25 to $US125, and to North America and Australia by $US50 to $US200. Surcharges to Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea will be announced later.
Hong Kong Airlines
Hong Kong Airlines increased fuel surcharges, starting on March 12, on a range of routes, including a 35 per cent increase – or HK$100 ($US12.80) – to the Maldives, Nepal and Bangladesh. The levy on long-haul destinations including Australia and North America will rise HK$150 to HK$739.
Japan Airlines
JAL, which already applies a fuel surcharge on international routes, said it had no plans to bring forward changes to levies before April 1.
Bloomberg
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon are causing a widening humanitarian crisis. As we reported early this morning, almost 700,000 people have been displaced since the latest incursion across Lebanon’s southern border.
Our Europe correspondent, David Crowe, and chief photojournalist, Kate Geraghty, are on the ground in Beirut.
Read their latest report and see the photos here.
Iran has launched waves of missile strikes at Israel throughout the night (Tel Aviv time).
The Times of Israel reported the barrages of missiles were either destroyed or allowed to land in unpopulated areas, and there were no reported injuries.
Iranian state media said Iran had used cluster warheads to attack the Emek Ha’Ela satellite communication centre in southern Tel Aviv, and military centres in Be’er Ya’akov, West Jerusalem, and Haifa.
“Iran, in addition to missile response to Israel, is attacking US military bases in FIVE countries… Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Erbil in Iraq; in response to the US military aggression on February 28,” the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported on social media.
The Islamic Republic News Agency said it was Iran’s 37th wave of attacks.
The United Arab Emirates says its air defences are intercepting ongoing missile and drone attacks from Iran.
“The Ministry of Defence confirms that the sounds heard in various parts of the country are the result of air defence systems intercepting ballistic missiles and fighter jets intercepting drones and other aerial vehicles,” the ministry said on social media.
Australia deployed a surveillance aircraft, missiles, and 85 troops to help defend UAE airspace yesterday, with the plane expected to be operational by the end of the week.
A drone assault has hit a major US diplomatic facility in Iraq, The Washington Post reports.
The attack was a suspected retaliation to the US-Israeli war by pro-Iran militias, the paper said, citing a security official and an internal report.
Five drones were shot down, but a sixth stuck the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Centre, a logistical hub for American diplomats. The security official said they were not aware of any casualties.
Iraq’s Defence Ministry condemned the attacks, which struck near Iraqi bases, according to The Post.
“The Ministry of Defence stresses that it will not stand by as a spectator. Rather, it will firmly confront and pursue … all parties involved,” it said in a statement.
Australia has closed its embassy in Israel as the conflict in the Middle East continues.
“Due to heightened security concerns, the Australian embassy in Tel Aviv is closed. Do not go the embassy and surrounding area,” the embassy said on its website.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had ordered the families of embassy staff to depart in the days before the US and Israel launched its attack late last month, but the embassy had remained operational.
“Australian officials remain in country and continue to provide consular services. You can still contact our consular teams via email or telephone,” the government’s latest Smartraveller advice said.
