US-Iran war: Yemen’s Houthis enter war with missile attacks on Israel

A meeting of Anthony Albanese and state and territory leaders on Monday could bring calls for people to work from home in order to save fuel as prices skyrocket because of the war in Iran.

Unions are already calling for higher fuel reimbursements for workers, while business groups say “we don’t want to go backwards” on working from home and the CBD business ecosystem needs to be protected.

Over the past week, the number of service stations around the country running dry continued to climb despite the government saying the amount of fuel in the country had not decreased.

Whether it’s people hoarding fuel, major sellers squeezing the independents, people panic buying or the global oil prices, Aussies are paying more at the bowser.

Swinburne University organisational psychology expert Timothy Bednall says Australia cannot afford to waste fuel on avoidable commuting.

“We’re in a slightly unusual situation at the moment, where the costs of commuting are largely borne by employees rather than employers,” he told NewsWire.

“From that perspective, there isn’t a strong direct financial incentive for employers to actively support remote work.”

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Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has warned that American universities in the Middle East could be targeted, following what it described as US-Israeli attacks that destroyed two Iranian universities.

“If the US government wants its universities in the region to be free from retaliation… it must condemn the bombing of the universities in an official statement by 12 noon on Monday, March 30, Tehran time,” the Guard said in a statement carried by Iranian media.

The statement further cautioned: “We advise all employees, professors, and students of American universities in the region and residents of their surrounding areas” to remain at least a kilometre away from campuses.

Several US institutions maintain a presence across the Gulf, including Texas A&M University in Qatar and New York University in the United Arab Emirates.

The warning follows overnight strikes on Tehran from Friday into Saturday, which hit the University of Science and Technology in the city’s northeast. According to reports, buildings were damaged, but no injuries were reported.

The Israeli military has killed three Palestinian men in the Gaza Strip in two separate air strikes, local health officials and medics say, in the latest round of deadly violence despite a US-brokered ceasefire that is more than five months old.

Palestinian health officials said one man was killed in an air strike on a car in the Khan Younis area in the south of the enclave while medics said two adult brothers were killed in Shujiaya, a neighbourhood east of Gaza City.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the two air strikes.

The military has killed more than 680 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since a ceasefire with Hamas came into effect in November, local health officials say.

More than 72,000 have been killed since the war started in October 2023.

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At least four loud blasts were heard across the city on Saturday night, shaking buildings and sending people rushing into the streets in panic, according to the New York Times.

Journalist Abdi Latif Dahir, reporting from Beirut, said the explosions came after a few “relatively quiet nights in the city.”

The developments follow an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon that killed three journalists covering the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict, their employers said.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that 47 people were killed and 112 wounded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths since March 2 to 1,189.

Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine also said nine paramedics were killed in strikes on Saturday, pushing the number of healthcare workers killed to 51.

Iran launched six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia on Friday, injuring at least 15 troops, including five seriously, according to officials briefed on the matter.

Initial reports from US officials said at least 10 troops were wounded, including two seriously.

As the situation intensifies, additional US forces are being deployed to the region. The USS Tripoli — an amphibious assault ship carrying around 2,500 Marines — has now arrived in the Middle East.

The vessel, along with elements of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, had been conducting exercises near Taiwan before being ordered to deploy nearly two weeks ago.

Australians in two states will be able to travel on public transport for free to take pressure off household budgets as fuel costs surge.

Tasmanians and Victorians will be given a temporary fare reprieve in response to ongoing price pain at the petrol pump.

Uncertainty and crimped oil supplies due to the Iran war have driven up costs and led to fuel shortages at some service stations.

In Victoria, the state government will make public transport free for a month to help people feeling the pinch when filling up their cars.

Passengers won’t have to touch on their Myki travel cards and all public transport gates will be open from Tuesday.

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Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree made the claim in a prerecorded statement aired on the group’s Al-Masirah television channel.

He said the Iranian-backed group targeted multiple sites in southern Israel in coordination with attacks by Iran and Hezbollah, though he did not specify the locations.

The latest strike came just hours after an earlier missile launch. Israel said it intercepted the first projectile but has not confirmed whether any missiles from the second attack were also stopped.

Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar said 20 additional ships would be permitted to use the key waterway, with two vessels expected to pass through each day under the arrangement.

He described the decision as a “constructive gesture” by Iran.

“It is a harbinger of peace and will help usher stability in the region. This positive announcement marks a meaningful step toward peace and will strengthen our collective efforts in that direction,” Dar said.

Since the conflict began, Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes.

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Israeli forces have killed three Lebanese journalists in southern Lebanon in an air strike that Israel’s military says had targeted one of them.

Lebanese television news channel al-Manar said its reporter Ali Shaib and reporter Fatima Ftouni, from Lebanese pan-Arab broadcaster al-Mayadeen, were killed when their vehicle was hit.

Lebanon’s information minister later said Ftouni’s brother, cameraman Mohammed Ftouni, had also been killed in the strike.

Israel’s military said in a statement it had killed Shaib, whom it called a “terrorist,” in a targeted strike, accusing him of being part of a Hezbollah intelligence unit, and said he had reported on locations of Israeli soldiers in Lebanon.

The statement, which also accused Shaib of “incitement” against Israeli soldiers and civilians, did not mention the other journalists or provide evidence to support its assertion that Shaib was a member of a Hezbollah intelligence unit.

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Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis have launched their first attacks on Israel since the start of the conflict, as additional US forces reach the Middle East.

Speaking before the strike, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States expected to conclude military operations within weeks, although a new deployment of Marines started arriving in the region.

The Houthis said they would continue their operations until the “aggression” on all fronts ended.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian spoke to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose government will host a meeting with the Turkish and Saudi foreign ministers on Sunday, seeking to ease regional tensions.

But there’s no sign of an immediate diplomatic breakthrough and the war, launched with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, that’s spreading across the Middle East, killing thousands and hitting the world economy with the biggest-ever disruption to global energy supplies.

Israel said it had carried out a wave of attacks on Tehran, targeting what the military said were infrastructure sites belonging to Iran’s government.

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