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

How can we make heads or tails of where the Iran war is headed, and when it might end, when Donald Trump changes his strategy with whiplash speed?

One minute, the US President says he’ll drop more bombs on Iran, “just for fun”. The next he decides to lift sanctions on Iranian oil and says that he’s having “productive” negotiations with his enemy.

Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher on whether this war will lead us all into a recession, and what Trump said that reveals how much political trouble he’s now in.

In a development that reflects the times, Tasmanian Police say they are investigating the theft of a significant quantity of fuel overnight.

Officers say that between 5pm yesterday and 6.30 this morning, offenders broke into a property in a rural part of Oatlands, about an hour’s drive north of Hobart.

They left with “several hundred litres of fuel ... from a storage trailer” parked on the property.

Police said property and vehicle owners needed to take steps to secure their vehicles and tanks, such as using CCTV.

Last week, Victoria’s Farmers Federation president, Brent Hosking, told Nine News his members had reported several fuel thefts.

“We have heard one or two disturbing stories, one case of a fuel tank on a tractor having a hole drilled through it and the fuel drained out,” he said. “We heard another incident of a road grader parked overnight doing maintenance on a work – public work – they came back the next morning to see fuel siphoned out of the fuel tank, which is really ordinary.”

The United Arab Emirates has told Washington and other Western allies that it would take part in a multinational maritime taskforce intended to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, The Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Earlier, France said its military chief held talks with about 35 countries on Thursday, as it sought partners and proposals for a mission to reopen the Strait of Hormuz once the US-Israeli war on Iran ends.

The United States’ Western allies have said they will not take part in the conflict. But the behind-the-scenes activity underscores concern that, after the fighting, Iran could continue to threaten the waterway, which carries about a fifth of global oil supplies.

Shipping there has already slowed to a ‌near-halt after Iran struck vessels amid its conflict with the United States and Israel.

A French defence ministry statement did not name the foreign powers that held talks with Armed Forces Chief Fabien Mandon in a video conference, but said they came from all continents.

Reuters

A Thai-flagged cargo ship that came under attack from Iran in the Strait of Hormuz and was abandoned by its crew has run aground, Iranian media reported on Friday.

The Mayuree Naree came under attack on March 11. Three of its mariners went missing and have not been found.

The semi-official Tasnim and Fars news agencies, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reported that the cargo ship ran aground near the village of Ramchah on Qeshm Island.

AP

Fuel price rises are making in-home aged care services impossible for workers to perform, the union representing aged care workers has warned.

While some aged care staff work at premises, there are others who travel between homes to deliver meals, medication and companionship.

The United Workers Union says some workers travel more than 1000 kilometres a week as part of their work, and these workers’ on-the-job costs have risen since the war began, as “their minimal award conditions and employer-paid fuel and car expenses have never met their full fuel costs”.

“More than 540 home care workers said they travelled an average of 260 kilometres a week as fuel prices surge above $2.50 a litre,” the union said in a statement. “The same survey showed home care workers reporting they are out of pocket by an average of $160 as the crisis continues.”

The union is calling for the federal government to reimburse home aged care workers who use their own cars, and fuel vouchers that reflect rising costs.

The chief executive of one of Australia’s major energy companies has called for calm

At a press conference held next to a shipment of crude oil in Geelong, Scott Wyatt of Viva Energy said he understood the concerns that prompted the panic buying Australia had seen in recent weeks, but that supply was coming in.

“People need to be calm... purchase as needed, and trust government and companies like us with doing our job,” he said.

At the press conference, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan announced the company had increased by two its scheduled shipments into the Corio refinery in coming weeks.

With Alexander Darling