Saudi Arabia closed the only road linking it to Bahrain on Tuesday after Iran fired missiles at its oil-rich Eastern Province. Tehran’s latest strikes came as Iranian officials urged youths to form human chains around power plants to protect them, as the latest deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz drew closer.Trump has threatened to bomb all of Iran’s power plants and bridges if Iran does not meet his Tuesday 8 pm EDT deadline to allow shipping traffic to fully resume through the strategic waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits in peacetime.”The entire country can be taken out in one night,” Trump said. (Agencies)Russia supplies Iran with cyber support, spy imagery to hone attacksApril 7, 2026 11:45 amRussian satellites have made dozens of detailed imagery surveys of military facilities and critical sites across the Middle East to help Iran strike US forces and other targets, according to a Ukrainian intelligence assessment. The conclusions, reviewed by Reuters, also found that Russian and Iranian hackers were collaborating in the cyber domain. They represent the most detailed account yet of how Russia has provided secret support to Iran since Israel and the US launched their assault on February 28.Verdicts against ‘enemy agents’ should be expeditedApril 7, 2026 11:44 amJudicial cases against individuals assisting Iran’s adversaries should be processed quicker, Judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said on Tuesday according to Mizan news, urging execution or asset confiscation verdicts to be expedited. Since the start of US-Israeli strikes on Iran last month, Iran’s security apparatus has arrested hundreds of individuals accused of aiding adversaries, for instance, by sharing sensitive footage to foreign-based opposition channels or expressing support for attacks on Iran.Dollar kept aloft as another Trump deadline loomsApril 7, 2026 11:42 amThe dollar stood just shy of recent highs on Tuesday as traders counted down to a U.S.-imposed deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping or face attacks on its infrastructure.Japanese national believed to be NHK journalist detained in Iran released on bailApril 7, 2026 11:37 amJapan’s top government spokesperson said Tuesday a Japanese national who had been detained in Iran since January has been released on bail.Israeli military issues warning in Farsi to Iranians to avoid taking trainsApril 7, 2026 11:36 amThe Israeli military warned Iranians in Farsi on Tuesday to avoid taking trains until at least 9 pm local time, likely signalling a new target for its airstrikes.Pakistan efforts to stop Iran war are reaching ‘critical’ stageApril 7, 2026 11:36 amPakistan’s “positive and productive” efforts to stop the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran are approaching a “critical, sensitive” stage, Iran’s Ambassador to Pakistan Reza Amiri Moghadam said in a post on X on Tuesday.The death toll continues to rise across the regionApril 7, 2026 11:35 amMore than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran since the war began, but the government has not updated the toll for days. More than 1,400 people have been killed in Lebanon, and more than 1 million people have been displaced. Eleven Israeli soldiers have died there. In Gulf Arab states and the occupied West Bank, more than two dozen people have died, while 23 have been reported dead in Israel, and 13 US service members have been killed.Trump widens threat to all of Iran’s power plants, bridges as his deadline for deal approachesApril 7, 2026 11:33 amUS President Donald Trump expanded his threat against Iran to include all power plants and bridges on Monday as his ultimatum to make a deal ticked closer, after Tehran rejected a 45-day ceasefire proposal and said it wants a permanent end to the war.China stocks steady amid Iran war uncertaintyApril 7, 2026 10:23 amChina stocks traded steady on Tuesday as markets remain focused on the war in the Middle East and high oil prices, whose impact on China has so far been relatively limited.Bridge linking Saudi Arabia to Bahrain closed over Iranian threats as Trump’s deadline nearsApril 7, 2026 10:21 amThe King Fahd Causeway, a key bridge linking Saudi Arabia to the island kingdom of Bahrain, closed early on Tuesday over threats from Iranian attacks.ChokeholdApril 7, 2026 10:15 amOil prices hovered around $110 per barrel on Tuesday as Trump’s deadline loomed and little visible prospect of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit chokepoint that has spurred inflation worries around the world.UN chief ‘alarmed’ by Trump rhetoric on Iranian energy plantsApril 7, 2026 10:12 amUN chief Antonio Guterres is “alarmed” by the social media post from US President Donald Trump that threatened American attacks on power plants, bridges and other infrastructure should Iran not agree to open the Strait of Hormuz, his spokesperson has said.South Korea envoy to visit Kazakhstan, Oman and Saudi Arabia to secure oil suppliesApril 7, 2026 10:11 amSouth Korean presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik said on Tuesday he would travel to Kazakhstan, Oman and Saudi Arabia to secure supplies of crude oil and naphtha amid disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.Malaysian ship secures safe transit through HormuzApril 7, 2026 9:30 amA Malaysian vessel has secured safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz and is currently proceeding to its final destination, Malaysia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.Asian shares are mixed ahead of Trump’s deadline for Iran to reopen oil routeApril 7, 2026 9:28 amAsian shares were mixed in cautious trading on Tuesday, as oil prices continued to surge ahead of a deadline that US President Donald Trump set for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic or risk its power plants and bridges being bombed.Airstrikes kill at least 29 across IranApril 7, 2026 9:25 amSmoke rose near Tehran’s Azadi Square after an airstrike hit the grounds of the Sharif University of Technology. Multiple countries have sanctioned the university for its work with the military, particularly on Iran’s ballistic missile program. Authorities and Iranian state media reported at least 29 people killed across the country by strikes.Iran’s new supreme leader makes a rare statementApril 7, 2026 9:25 amIsrael struck a key petrochemical plant in the South Pars natural gas field, saying it was aimed at eliminating a major source of revenue for Iran. The field, the world’s largest, is shared with Qatar and is Iran’s biggest source of domestic energy for its 93 million people. The strike appeared to be separate from Trump’s threats. An earlier Israeli attack there in March prompted Iran to target energy infrastructure in other Middle East countries, a major escalation. Israel also killed the head of intelligence for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, Maj. Gen. Majid Khademi, according to Iranian state media. And Israel said it killed the leader of the Revolutionary Guard’s undercover unit in its expeditionary Qods Force, Asghar Bakeri. “We will continue to hunt them down one by one,” Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said of top Iranian officials. New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who still has not been seen or heard in public, issued a rare statement expressing condolences over Khademi. Israeli strikes have killed dozens of top Iranian leaders, including Khamenei’s father. Israel’s military also said it struck three Tehran airports overnight – Bahram, Mehrabad and Azmayesh – hitting dozens of helicopters and aircraft it said belonged to the Iranian Air Force.Trump says Iranians are willing to suffer’ for freedomApril 7, 2026 9:25 amTrump has issued ultimatums to Iran before, only to find ways to back off. But he was more explicit this time on plans to follow through. “Every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night,” he said, and all power plants will be “burning, exploding and never to be used again.”