As we've been reporting, Keir Starmer will gather business leaders in Downing Street today to discuss the economic impact of the Iran war.

Ahead of this, we've had a reminder that it's not just oil prices that have risen since Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, with a shipping analyst saying we should also be watching fertiliser costs.

Lars Jenssen, the founder and chief executive of shipping consultancy Vespucci Maritime, says 20 to 30% of the world's seaborne fertiliser originates in the Gulf.

"This will mean rapidly escalating food prices, especially in poorer countries," he tells BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Image source, EPA

The Kuwait National Guard says it intercepted five drones, the country's state news agency reports this morning.

It follows the death of a worker from India in an Iranian attack on a power and desalination plant in Kuwait, Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water said in a statement overnight.

Yesterday, Kuwait's armed forces said 10 of its members were injured in Iranian attacks on military camps, and a warehouse belonging to a private logistics company was also targeted, in missile and drone attacks during the previous 24 hours.

Image source, Getty Images

Nick Marsh
Business reporter, Singapore

Markets in Asia have fallen sharply after the price of oil jumped in morning trade - reaching $116 dollars for a barrel of Brent crude.

At the same time, Donald Trump says he wants to "take the oil in Iran" - as the United States did when it removed Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro in January.

Trump told the Financial Times the US could do this by seizing Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf, the hub on which 90 per cent of Iran's oil exports are loaded.

Taking Kharg Island may be possible, but it would not be the relatively straightforward operation the US enjoyed in Venezuela. It would involve considerable manpower - and would not change who controls the Strait of Hormuz.

Any tankers leaving a US-controlled Kharg Island would still be at the mercy of Iranian attacks, as they are now.

Image source, Get

Image source, Getty Images

In a short post on his social platform, President Trump says the US has already destroyed "many targets" in Iran.

He posts on Truth Social: "Big day in Iran. Many long sought after targets have been taken out and destroyed by our GREAT MILITARY, the finest and most lethal in the World."

Last week, US Central Command said the military had struck more than 9,000 targets across the country.

The Iranian government says the country's electricity network is stable after attacks on the country's energy infrastructure caused power cuts in parts of Tehran and Albroz provinces.

In a message carried by state news outlets on Telegram, an official said the issues had been resolved.

Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, deputy minister of energy, said last night on state TV that "shrapnel struck one of the electricity pylons at the entrance to the city of Karaj [a city near Tehran]".

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Keir Starmer will meet senior bosses from energy, shipping and financial services later in Downing Street about the impact of the Iran war on the UK economy.

Talks are expected to centre around Iran's effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's busiest channels for oil and other products, including fertiliser.

The PM's office said the aim of the meeting was to hear directly from businesses and discuss how the government and private sector can work together.

The leaders will also hear an update on the situation in the region from UK maritime operations commander Major General Richard Cantrill.

Trump talks up deal – while troops prepare for possible ground operationspublished at 06:00 BST

06:00 BST

Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent

Image source, EPA

President Trump’s claim that Iran was close to conceding to his demands came alongside a series of anonymous briefings from US officials about the apparent readiness of troops to carry out ground operations.

Thousands of US marines are now in the region, with special forces and paratroopers on the way. The administration is making it known the president is considering anything from a raid on Iran’s oil export terminal Kharg Island to an audacious, but likely implausible, operation to seize its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which Trump calls Iran’s "nuclear dust".

Speaking on Air Force One last night, he said Iran was ready to hand it over - and if not, it wouldn’t have a country anymore.

Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohamed Bagher Ghalibaf suggested Trump was using talk of negotiations as cover for planning a ground attack, saying Iran would not accept surrender and its men were waiting for the American soldiers – and would set them on fire.

Image source, Reuters

We reported earlier that a member of the UN force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) had been killed after a projectile hit one of their positions late on Sunday.

Indonesia has now confirmed that one of its peacekeepers was killed and three others injured while serving with the UN force.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the group was hit by "indirect artillery fire in the vicinity" of their position.

"We are profoundly saddened by this loss. We pay our highest respect to the fallen peacekeeper for his dedication and service to international peace and security," it writes on social media.

"Indonesia strongly condemns the incident and calls for a thorough and transparent investigation."

The US president is considering a military operation with the goal of extracting 1,000 pounds of uranium from Iran, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The operation "would likely put American forces inside the country for days or longer", according to the Journal, which cites unnamed security officials.

Trump has yet to make a decision, but "remains generally open to the idea, according to the officials, because it could help accomplish his central goal of preventing Iran from ever making a nuclear weapon."

The BBC has reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for comment.

The New York Times reports that troops deployed to the region "could be used in a mission aimed at Iran’s highly enriched uranium at the Isfahan nuclear site" but that they could also be used to seize Kharg Island or protect the Strait of Hormuz.

The New York Times reported earlier this month that Trump was "clearly considering" an operation to "seize and destroy near-bomb-grade nuclear material believed to be largely stored deep under a mountain in Isfahan".

Both outlets point out that the operation would be complicated and high-risk.

Shortly after announcing fresh strikes on Tehran, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it has identified missiles launched from Iran and defensive systems are working to intercept the threat.

It has also issued a precautionary directive to the public, urging them to "act responsibly" and "enter a protected space" until further notice, according to the IDF's Telegram channel.

We're just hearing that Israel is carrying out fresh strikes inside Iran.

"The IDF is currently striking Iranian terror regime military infrastructure across Tehran," the Israel Defense Forces says on Telegram.

We'll bring more details as they come in.

Australia will halve its fuel excise until the end of June to help ease costs for households.

The excise, a sales tax levied by the Australian government on fuel at the pump, will be lowered by 26.3 cents per litre for petrol.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a post on X on Monday: "We're halving the fuel tax for three months to save you money when you fill up."

"Conflict overseas is pushing up prices at home. And we know Australians are feeling the pressure."

Two Australian states - Victoria and Tasmania - are temporarily making public transport free to discourage people from driving due to high fuel costs.

Image source, Getty Images

As we just reported, Trump has told the Financial Times that the US could attempt to seize Kharg Island, a small island off the coast of Iran.

The US has its sights on the island because it is home to a major oil terminal - Iran's economic lifeline.

Seizing it would not only choke off Iran's oil exports but could also provide a platform from which to carry out attacks against the mainland.

Taking the island would effectively cut off a chief source of revenue for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), affecting its ability to conduct war, security analyst Mikey Kay, from the BBC's Security Brief, says.

Any US operation to seize the island would be relatively small in size, but challenging, Aaron Maclean, host of the School of War podcast and a CBS national security analyst told the BBC.

Read more about Kharg Island's significance here.

Osmond Chia
Business reporter

Asian stocks slid in early Monday trade as oil prices are headed for a record monthly surge.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index was down by more than 4.5% while the Kospi exchange in South Korea fell by 4.3%. Both stock exchanges have been hit hard by rising oil prices as their countries are highly reliant on energy from the Middle East.

Australia's ASX 200 index also fell by 1.4%.

Oil prices have risen since the Iran war intensified over the weekend, with the Iran-backed Houthis militant group from Yemen joining in the fighting and more US troops arriving in the Middle East.

The price of Brent crude has risen by 3%, passing $115 a barrel in early trade in Asia.

US-traded oil also jumped close to 3% at $102.50.

Read more here.

Image source, Reuters

Donald Trump has been speaking recently on Air Force One, where he says the US believes it has achieved regime change in Iran, echoing comments made last week on Fox news, where he said, "You could really say we have regime change because they have been killed."

Speaking to reporters on board the plane, he says: "But we've had regime change if you look already because the one regime was decimated, destroyed, they're all dead. The next regime is mostly dead, and the third regime we're dealing with different people than anybody's dealt with before, it's a whole different group of people, so I would consider that regime change, and frankly they've been very reasonable.

"So I think we've had regime change, I mean you can't do much better than that.

"The regime that was really bad, really evil ... the second was appointed, and they're all gone, they're all dead, other than one who may have a little life in him," Trump says, citing the number of Iranian leaders killed in the month-long war.

He also says he believes Iran is likely to make a deal with the US.

"I think we'll make a deal with them, pretty sure, but it's possible we won't," he says.

"You never know with Iran, because we negotiate with them and then we have to blow them up," he adds.

Saudi Arabia's ministry of defence says it detected and intercepted five ballistic missiles heading towards its eastern region.

No further details were provided on whether there was damage or casualties.

It comes after an Iranian attack on Prince Sultan air base on Friday. Pictures verified by the BBC show a US command and control aircraft were destroyed in that attack.

Image source, Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

As conflict in the Middle East continues, Pope Leo XIV has been addressing people at the Vatican who are celebrating Palm Sunday today.

The Pope says God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have "hands full of blood", in what has been interpreted as a criticism of those involved in the US-Israeli war with Iran.

"This is our God: Jesus, king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” says the Pope.

“He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

Quoting a passage from the Bible, he says: “‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood'."

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump has told the Financial Times he could "take the oil in Iran" and possibly seize the country's major fuel hub of Kharg Island.

"To be honest with you, my favourite thing is to take the oil in Iran but some stupid people back in the US say: ‘Why are you doing that?’ But they’re stupid people,” he said.

Trump suggested the move could mean taking Kharg Island. “Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” Trump told the FT. “It would also mean we had to be there [in Kharg Island] for a while.”

When asked about Iranian defence on the island he said: "I don’t think they have any defence. We could take it very easily."

The president's comments come as a further 3,500 US troops arrived in the Middle East as fears grow that further escalation could expose American forces to Iranian attacks.

Trump added that indirect talks between US and Iran via Pakistan "emissaries" were progressing well, but declined to comment on whether a ceasefire deal could be reached soon.

“A deal could be made fairly quickly,” he said.

Sebastian Usher
Middle East analyst

Image source, EPA

As we reported earlier, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he's ordered what he called the "existing security zone" in southern Lebanon to be expanded further.

During a visit to the headquarters of the Northern Command of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Netanyahu said the aim was to "definitively thwart the invasion threat" from Hezbollah and push anti-tank missile fire away from the border.

He did not give any detail as to whether this extension goes beyond the zone that last week the Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said would now stretch up to the Litani river, with no Lebanese residents allowed to stay in their homes until the threat from Hezbollah to northern Israel had been entirely removed.

Mr Katz' words were the strongest statement so far of the Israeli government's intentions in Lebanon with a move that puts a tenth of the country under Israeli control.

The extent of the zone and the description of it as a "buffer" are reminders of the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanese territory from 1985 to 2000.

Clashes are continuing in the area between Israeli forces and Hezbollah fighters, with the IDF saying several members of the group have been killed in recent operations, while another Israeli solder was earlier confirmed to have died - the fifth since Israel launched its latest incursion into Lebanon.

In Kuwait, a worker from India has been killed in an Iranian attack on a power and desalination plant, Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water says in a statement on X.

The attack caused "significant damage" to the facility, the statement says, and technical teams are working "to ensure the continuity of vital services".