US-Iran war as it happened: US reportedly sends 15-point-plan to end war as Trump claims Iran gave him present related to Strait of Hormuz; Pakistan’s PM offers to host talks to end war

In the last post we mentioned a tweet from the Iranian embassy in Thailand. Well, there’s another post from them that warrants explanation.

The post at 1.22pm AEST is a Lego-style animated video, showing Iran retaliating to a US missile strike on a girl’s school – an apparent reference to the US hitting the Shajereh Tayyebeh elementary school in southern Iran on the first day of the war, killing at least 165.

The 84-second video ends with bombs raining down on supposedly American cities, and Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump crying in a situation room next to a US serviceman and a horned demon named Baal.

This is not a new phenomenon: Iranian state media shared another Lego-esque video earlier this month with caricatures of Trump, Netanyahu and Satan looking at the Epstein files, and an enraged Trump responding by hitting a big red button to launch missiles, also at a school.

A Thai oil tanker has safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz following diplomatic co-ordination between Thailand and Iran, and was not required to pay to escape the blockade, a Thai official and the oil major that owns the vessel said on Wednesday.

This news comes on the same day the Financial Times reported Tehran has told the United Nations and the International Maritime Organisation that it will permit certain ships to move through the blocked strait.

The Bangchak Corporation-owned tanker crossed the strategic waterway on Monday after successful talks between Thai foreign minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow and Iran’s ambassador to Thailand.

“I requested that if Thai ships need to pass through the strait, could they assist in ensuring safe passage?” Sihasak told reporters late on Tuesday.

The local share market has had its best day in almost a year, after reports the US is seeking a ceasefire with Iran buoyed investor sentiment.

The S&P/ASX200 surged 154.9 points on Wednesday, up 1.85 per cent, to 8534.3, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 174 points, or 2.03 per cent, to 8745.3.

It was the bourse’s best day since April 10, 2025, helping it claw back more than $56 billion of an estimated $300 billion wiped from its combined value since the conflict began.

Beaten down mining stocks were the biggest benefactors after three weeks of heavy losses, the basic materials sector up more than 4 per cent and clambering out of bear market territory.

Preliminary data suggests the conflict in the Middle East and rising fuel prices have done little to encourage people in Australia’s two largest cities to leave the car at home.

Figures from Victoria’s Department of Transport – on the number of trips where the state’s myki ticketing system was used – suggest there have been 200,000 fewer trips on Melbourne’s public transport network in each of the last four weeks compared to the same weeks in 2025.

North of the Murray, NSW recorded just under 2.4 million trips on public transport last week, down 0.7 per cent on a year earlier.

While the number of train users was up 2 per cent last week in NSW compared to a year earlier, it was also higher than last year in February, before the war and fuel spikes began. Patronage on buses and Sydney’s ferries is down compared to March 2025.