US-Iran war updates: Albanese locks in new fuel deal with Singapore as Trump unleashes on Iran

Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, has been locked down ahead of high-stakes talks between the United States and Iran aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire after weeks of war.

Roads were largely empty, checkpoints were set up on major routes, and a two-day public holiday kept residents indoors.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance is set to leave for Pakistan Friday, while an Iranian delegation was also expected there.

Talks are set to begin Saturday, placing Islamabad at the center of efforts to bring an end to the war.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has travelled to the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabia over the past few days, BBC reports.

Downing Street says talks with all leaders were focused on condemning Iranian attacks on Gulf states, upholding the ceasefire, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

After meeting with leaders in the region, Starmer spoke to US President Trump on the phone.

Starmer outlined the “UK’s effort to convene partners” to agree a plan to open the strait and discussed with Trump the need for “a practical plan to get shipping moving again as quickly as possible”, No 10 says.

The Prime Minister and his Singaporean counterpart, Lawrence Wong, pledged their countries would keep shipping each other LNG and refined liquid fuels, respectively, and will soon make that commitment legally binding.

But the promise of secure fuel shipments to Australia came with a caveat: Singapore has to be able to get the crude oil supplies first.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen revealed that with movement through the Strait of Hormuz still highly restricted, Australian suppliers are having to turn to the spot market.

“Those spot cargoes come up at very short notice … a ship becomes available for sale, maybe in Korea or Malaysia, and companies have two or three hours to decide whether to buy it,” Mr Bowen told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

Read the full story here.

Hezbollah says its forces launched an attack against a gathering of Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon on Friday morning.

The group says it launched a “rocket barrage” toward the Israeli forces near the town of Al-Khiyam, in Nabatieh, at about 03:50 BST.

Israel has not commented.

The Australian and Singaporean leaders signed a joint statement to protect their countries’ mutual energy security and to support the flow of fuels and LNG between the two.

That statement says they have asked their ministers to conclude a legally binding addition to the existing Singapore-Australia free trade agreements that will lock in cooperation on essential supplies, such as fuels.

“The conflict in the Middle East is a long way from our region, but every nation in our region is being affected by it,” Anthony Albanese said.

“By building regional cooperation on energy security and economic resilience, we strengthen our own fuel security and our own economy.”

Australia and Singapore have pledged to keep shipping each other LNG and refined liquid fuels, respectively, and will soon make that commitment legally binding.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is speaking after meeting his counterpart from the city-state, Lawrence Wong, with both leaders saying it’s vitally important that their countries cooperate to emerge from the current crisis stronger and more resilient.

“In a more fractured and volatile world, we choose to stay open, to stay connected and to stand together,” Mr Wong said.

Singapore is Australia’s largest supplier of oil products, including almost half of all automotive fuel and more than a quarter of the diesel and aviation fuel bought into the country.

“We will keep these flows going as long as upstream supplies continue,” Mr Wong pledged.

Japan said it will release an additional 20 days’ worth of oil reserves in May, in a second round address supply uncertainty over the war in the Middle East, AP reports.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the planned release of the government reserves will start in early May, after an earlier release last month.

On April 6, Japan had 230 days’ worth oil reserves, including 143 days’ worth in government stockpiles, according to the Natural Resources and Energy Agency.

Anthony Albanese has put on his protective clothing and hard hat, as his government desperately attempts to lock in fuel from Australia’s neighbours.

On Friday, the PM met Singapore Liquid Natural Gas (SLNG) chief executive Leong Wei Hung for a tour of the SLNG Terminal on Jurong Island in Singapore.

Australia supplies about one-third of Singapore’s liquefied natural gas imports, while getting about 26 per cent of our refined fuel from the city-state.

“Australia and Singapore are strategically aligned. We share values and we share a relationship of trust between each other. And that is why it’s so important that at difficult times in the world we can rely upon each other,” Mr Albanese said.

Throughout the war in Iran most investors have bet that an economic catastrophe would not take place.

Oil and gas prices would need to rise to the stratosphere to destroy demand for the fuel that flows through the Strait of Hormuz. That would cause recession and high inflation.

So commodities prices rose to painful, rather than disastrous, levels. The planned reopening of the strait seems to have justified the optimism. As we published this, stocks and bonds alike had rallied.

The S&P 500 index of stocks sat only about 3 per cent beneath its all-time high, reached in late January.

If the ceasefire fails the rally would be reversed and then some, because investors would have to price in a war that is resistant to peacemaking.

If it holds, recession will be avoided, but commodities markets will still feel the effects of the war for months to come.

Read the full story from The Economist.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has given his now-regular update on the number of petrol stations with shortages across the country today.

Nationally, there are 192 service stations out of a total of 7940 that don’t have any diesel, he said.

• NSW 97 no diesel, 19 without any fuel
• Vic 41 no diesel, 27 no ULP
• Qld 28 no diesel, 19 no ULP
• SA 9 no diesel, 8 no ULP
• WA 7 no diesel, 17 no ULP
• Tas 6 no diesel, 5 no ULP
• NT 4 no diesel, 2 no ULP
• ACT no shortages