Middle East Crisis Live: Trump Gives Iran 48-hour Ultimatum to Open Strait of Hormuz; about 100 Injured in Israel

President Donald Trump has threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if Tehran does not fully reopen the strait of Hormuz within 48 hours – threatening a new escalation, just a day after the president spoke of “winding down” the war.

Trump’s warning on Saturday triggered a response from Iran’s military that it will target all US “energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure” if its own facilities are attacked.

If you are just tuning in, here is a quick recap of the latest:

• Iranian ballistic missile barrages wounded about 100 people in southern Israel on Saturday, striking the cities of Arad and Dimona after air defence systems failed to intercept at least two projectiles. The Israeli Air Force is investigating its failure to prevent the attacks. Benjamin Netanyahu called it “a very difficult evening in the campaign for our future”.
• The International Atomic Energy Agency said it had received no indication of damage to the Negev nuclear research centre, which is near to Dimona.
• In the early hours on Sunday, Israeli military announced in a brief statement that it was conducting strikes in Tehran.
• Saudi Arabia’s ministry of defence said it had detected three missiles launched towards Riyadh early in the morning. One of the missiles was intercepted, while two fell in an uninhabited area, it said
• Iran on Saturday launched two ballistic missiles with a range of 4,000 km (2,500 miles) at the US-British military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, according to the Israeli military, which said it was the first time Iran had used long-range missiles since the conflict began on February 28.
• The British foreign secretary condemned the attacks on Diego Garcia, while stressing the UK has “taken a different position from the US and Israel” on the conflict. Yvette Cooper said ministers wanted to see a swift resolution to the war, adding the government was supporting defensive action against the “reckless Iranian threats”.
• A projectile struck close to a bulk carrier off the coast of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, causing an explosion, according to the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center.
• The death toll has risen to more than 1,500 people in Iran, more than 1,000 people in Lebanon, 15 in Israel and 13 US military members, and a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region, according to Associated Press. Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.

Blasts heard in central Israel following warnings of incoming Iranian missiles

Several blasts could be heard from Jerusalem on Sunday, AFP journalists said, after the Israeli military warned of incoming missile fire from Iran towards central Israel.

Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency medical service said there were no immediate reports of casualties.

Drone strikes target military base near Baghdad airport, reports Iranian state media

A drone attack targeted a military base near Baghdad International Airport on Sunday, according to Iran’s official IRNA news agency.

The “military base, located near Baghdad International Airport, has again been the target of drone strikes,” IRNA wrote, referring to a compound that was used in the past by the US military.

Six oil ships bound for Australia have been cancelled

Six oil ships bound for Australia have been cancelled in recent days but the federal government is not yet considering any drastic measures, the energy minister, Chris Bowen, says.

Bowen said on Sunday that six ships from Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea, that had been expected to arrive next month, were cancelled or deferred. The federal government was working to replace the ships, with some already substituted, the minister told ABC TV.

“We’re in an uncertain environment, so that’s why we’re doing … all the preparatory work.

“People think ‘Well, all the ships are coming now, and one day they’ll all stop in one go’. [But] that is highly unlikely to be the case. It’s much more likely that there’ll be bumps in supply, but that governments will work with the refiners and the importers to manage those and minimise impacts.”

Bowen said fuel supplies within Australia were slightly higher than before the crisis began, with 38 days of petrol. There was 30 days supply of diesel and jet fuel.

The United Arab Emirates says it is responding to incoming aerial attacks from Iran

The United Arab Emirates defence ministry says it is responding to “incoming missile and drone threats from Iran”, adding that sounds heard are the result of air defence systems intercepting attacks.