US-Iran war updates: Tehran ready to reveal ‘new cards on the battlefield’, Trump ready to bomb again

Iran has condemned the United States’ seizure of one of its cargo vessels, calling for the immediate release of the ship, its crew and their families.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry described the incident as unlawful and warned Washington would bear responsibility for any further escalation.

The Iranian-flagged vessel, Touska, was intercepted by US forces on Sunday after it allegedly attempted to breach a naval blockade in the Gulf of Oman. US President Donald Trump said American forces fired on the ship before boarding it, with military footage showing Marines descending onto the deck from helicopters.

Tehran labelled the operation “extremely dangerous” and “criminal,” reiterating earlier threats of retaliation following the seizure.

“There is no doubt that the Islamic Republic of Iran will use all its capacities to defend Iran’s national interests and security and to safeguard the rights and dignity of its citizens,” the statement said.

“It is also clear that full responsibility for any further escalation in the region lies with the United States.”

The Iran ceasefire isn’t the only one making headlines right now.

Israel and Lebanon have also agreed to a truce while talks are held by the US between the two countries.

The two have been at loggerheads for decades, with the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah repeatedly launching rockets at Israel from within Lebanon.

The Lebanese government has little control over the activities of the terrorist group, and the two countries have no formal diplomatic relations.

Here’s everything you need to know about the ceasefire and the talks from The New York Times.

US Vice President J.D. Vance is preparing to depart the country for a second round of talks with Iran.

Axios reports that Donald Trump’s 2IC will depart for Islamabad by Tuesday morning local time - just over a day before the ceasefire is due to expire.

Vance will be keen to emerge with a more successful outcome than the first round of peace talks he attended, where he walked away without a deal.

Iran has reportedyl also agreed to send a delegation, despite earlier comments indicating they may not attend.

The rollercoaster that is the financial markets has taken its latest turn, with Aussie stocks dipping slightly amid uncertainty over the Iran ceasefire.

AAP reports that at midday AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 0.14 per cent to 8940.9, while the broader All Ordinaries slipped 0.11 per cent to 9164.3.

Markets were “a little nervous but far from panicked” after tensions flared again between the US and Iran over the weekend, Capital.com analyst Kyle Rodda said.

The Strait of Hormuz remained closed, meaning energy markets were still somewhat suffocated.

“But because the missiles are no longer flying and it’s judged that it’s in both sides’ interests to de-escalate, the markets are basically betting that the ceasefire will hold and a peace deal will materialise, however long it takes,” Mr Rodda said.

The two-week ceasefire is set to expire on Thursday morning.

Donald Trump’s war in Iran could come to a halt even before the US President’s ceasefire deadlines expire, and before he gets a “deal” with Tehran.

Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin has launched a quiet but strategic move that could bring Mr Trump’s plan in Iran to an end, forcing a vote in Congress on Tuesday.

“The ceasefire, which is being broken left and right, expires in less than two days, and Congress now must do its job to end this illegal war of choice before the President ramps it up again,” Senator Baldwin said in a statement.

“This war has simply been a disaster, and there is absolutely no reason we should go full steam ahead back into it. 13 servicemembers are dead and hundreds more are injured, gas and fertiliser prices are through the roof, and we have already spent an untold amount of taxpayer money – but it certainly is in the tens of billions of dollars.

“We have always known diplomacy is the only way out of this mess – and that is where every ounce of attention of this administration should be, not threatening to commit war crimes.”

“Tomorrow, I am forcing the Senate to vote on my resolution to end this war – the only question will be whether my Republican colleagues want to own the consequences of it raging on, or they will step up for the American people and put an end to this life-taking, cost-raising chaos.”

Senator Baldwin’s move comes after five other Democrats launched similar action, which could force a halt to Mr Trump’s war with Iran until congressional approval is granted.

If a few Republicans crossed, the vote could pass, with the current split at 217 (R) and 214 (D).

Millions of dollars will be spent on Australian-designed technology to counter the growing threat posed by drones, as the military rushes to deal with modern weapons being used with devastating effect in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has announced funding towards two initial contracts for locally developed counter drone platforms worth about $31 million, under plans to spend $7 billion over the next decade on unmanned warfare measures.

The funding, contained in the latest Integrated Investment Program (IIP), is more than double what was allocated for counter drones in the 2024 IIP, and is being drawn from the cancellation of other unspecified defence projects.

Read the full story.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has had a busy night on the phone (one of the perils of being in Australia’s time zone), speaking with counterparts from Pakistan, Lebanon, Fiji and the Netherlands about the Middle East conflict and America’s negotiations with Iran.

“I told Lebanon’s Foreign Minister that Australia welcomed the US-brokered ceasefire agreed by Israel and Lebanon and that we continue to call on all parties to adhere to it. We want a negotiated end to the conflict, Lebanon’s sovereignty respected, and Hezbollah disarmed,” Senator Wong said.

She thanked Pakistani minister Ishaq Dar for his country’s role in facilitating the negotiations between the US and Iran, including hosting the first round of direct talks in Islamabad last week.

A second round of talks appears to have stalled as Iran baulks at sending a negotiating team.

“We all want the negotiations to be successful, for an end to the conflict and for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen so ships can pass safely and critical supplies can get where they’re needed,” Senator Wong said.

With the ministers from Fiji and the Netherlands, she spoke about fuel supply disruptions; Fiji is an important hub for fuel supply in the Pacific region, while the Netherlands is a key global fuel hub.

Iran’s Parliament speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf says Iran is ready to reveal “new cards” on the battlefield as more doubt is cast over ongoing peace negotiations.

Mr Ghalibaf called out US President Donald Trump, saying that he had created a “table of surrender” to justify his warmongering.

He added that Iran has spent the last two weeks of the US-announced ceasefire preparing.

“Trump, by imposing a siege and violating the ceasefire, seeks to turn this negotiating table— in his own imagination— into a table of surrender or to justify renewed warmongering,” Mr Ghalibaf wrote on X.

“We do not accept negotiations under the shadow of threats, and in the past two weeks, we have prepared to reveal new cards on the battlefield.”

Mr Trump added more fuel to the fire, telling US media that more bombs will drop if Iran does not make a deal by the time the ceasefire runs out on Wednesday.

Israeli strikes have killed at least two Palestinians in separate incidents in the Gaza Strip, and fighters from Hamas clashed with gunmen from an Israeli-backed militia.

Medics said one man was killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike in the Bureij camp in the central area of the enclave, while another strike killed one person and wounded others in Gaza City.

The two deaths were the latest violence to overshadow the US-brokered ceasefire deal signed in October after two years of full-blown war between Israel and Hamas.

Progress on moving forward with parts the deal, which include the disarmament of Hamas and Israeli army pullouts, has stalled.

The Israeli military didn’t immediately comment on either incident.

US President Donald Trump has declared he is winning the war against Iran “by a lot”, claiming that his US media critics want Iran to win.

“I’m winning a War, BY A LOT, things are going very well, our Military has been amazing,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

The US President went on to criticise the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post for being “Anti-America”.

Mr Trump reiterated that Iran’s navy and air force had been wiped out, adding that his blockade was now starving Iran’s economy of “$US500 million a day”.

On his blockade, Mr Trump revealed he would leave it in place until a deal was reached.

“Most important of all, THE BLOCKADE, which we will not take off until there is a ‘DEAL’, is absolutely destroying Iran,” Mr Trump wrote.

“They are losing $500 Million Dollars a day, an unsustainable number, even in the short run.

“The Anti-America Fake News Media is rooting for Iran to win, but it’s not going to happen, because I’m in charge!”