US-Iran war live updates: Trump reveals oil ‘present’ from Iran; Israel claims it killed navy chief in strike; White House confirms it sent 15-point peace plan via Pakistan

The prime minister has defended his communication strategy during the oil shock as fears over fuel security swell and the war in Iran drags on.

Today’s snap press conference was the first time Anthony Albanese and Energy Minister Chris Bowen have appeared together to take journalists’ questions since the fuel crisis began.

Asked whether he planned to hold more press conferences to boost transparency, the prime minister said “we’ve been accountable”.

“I have stood up ... we speak a lot about different parts of the world,” he said.

Albanese pointed to the daily question time sessions where he is peppered with questions from the opposition. He compared Australia’s system to the United Kingdom, where the prime minister takes opposition questions weekly.

“I stand in question time for over an hour. We had 22 questions on Monday, 26 on Tuesday, 22 on Wednesday, and 20 on Thursday,” Albanese said. “I’m pretty accountable, and so is the government.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had “enjoyed a very constructive relationship” with Donald Trump after the US president took a swipe at Australia for a perceived lack of support in his war on Iran.

“I said very early on that I wasn’t going to comment on all of his commentary on a day-to-day basis, but I again reiterate that there is no request being made to Australia that has not been agreed to,” Albanese said in Canberra.

“[It] is up to him to explain his comments. But of course, I make the point as well that Australia wasn’t consulted before this action was undertaken, and I expect that that’s a matter for the United States. What Australia is responsible for, and what I as the prime minister of Australia [am] responsible for, is Australia’s response, and we’ve been constructive.”

Energy Minister Chris Bowen says the government is making “very big calls” to protect Australians from the impact of the oil shock.

“We made some very big calls, and the right calls, but they’re big calls, like taking the decision to release 20 per cent of the minimum stock obligation was not a straightforward decision,” Bowen told reporters in Canberra.

“[It’s the] first time it’s been done – it’s not a decision you rush to. You work it through carefully, you think about the implications. We’ve kept 80 per cent back, as we should, for any further eventualities.”

Bowen also pointed to lowering the fuel standards, which he said was a process that would normally take 18 months but which the government did in four days.

That 60-day measure allows dirtier fuel marked for export to be released into the local market, boosting local supply by about 100 million litres a month.

The prime minister has dismissed the Coalition’s call to slash electric vehicle and home battery subsidies to fund a cut to the fuel excise, saying they were important cost-of-living measures.

“They’ve called … for cuts to things that are making a difference to cost of living, such as batteries that are making a positive difference,” Anthony Albanese told reporters in Canberra.

“They’ve called for cuts to EV support. I don’t think there is anyone out there today who has bought an electric vehicle, who’s regretting the decision at this point in time.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia’s fuel supplies remain secure over the near term, at a snap press conference he called to address the fuel crisis.

“The government has been clear that the longer this war goes on the greater the impact will be,” he told reporters in Canberra.

“This morning, we have had the 16th meeting of the National Security Committee of cabinet since the conflict in the Middle East began,” he said.

“Our government is undertaking every practical measure required to shield our nation from the worst of the global uncertainty which is out there.”

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says criticisms from US President Donald Trump overnight – that Australia is “not great” in its level of support for his war effort in Iran – raises questions about the requests being made of Australia by its closest defence partner.

“Any decision about deploying military capability in the Middle East needs to be in our national interest and in line with our sovereignty,” Taylor said.

“But there is a big question about this, which is, what requests have the government received from the United States for support in the Middle East beyond what we already know?”

Government ministers said this morning that Australia had responded to the only request made, which was to offer support to the United Arab Emirates.

In a call with Fox News a short time ago, US President Donald Trump claimed Iran was “very thankful” after he extended his threat to bomb the country’s energy plants by 10 days.

“They said to me, very nicely, through my people: ‘Could we have more time?’ ” he said.

“They asked for seven [days]. And I said, ‘I’m going to give you 10,’ because they gave me ships. You know, we talked about the eight ships. You know, the ‘present’ that I talked about the other day.”

It’s the second time Trump has extended the deadline he gave to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz before the US bombs Iran’s energy infrastructure.

Amnesty International has said attacking power plants would constitute a war crime, given the impact of cutting energy to millions of civilians.

Trump said talks with Iran were going “fairly well” despite Tehran denying that talks to end the conflict were under way.