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Iran has formulated its response to ceasefire proposals, foreign ministry spokesperson says
Iran ⁠has formulated ​its positions and demands in response ​to recent ceasefire proposals conveyed via intermediaries, a foreign ministry spokesperson said, adding ​that ‌negotiations were “incompatible with ultimatums and ⁠threats to commit war crimes”. Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei ‌said Tehran had a set of requirements ⁠based on its national interests that had already been conveyed via ​intermediary channels, adding that earlier US ‌demands such as the 15-point plan were rejected for being “excessive”. “Iran does not ‌hesitate to clearly express what it considers its ​legitimate demands and doing so should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, ​but rather as a reflection ​of its confidence in defending ​its positions,” Baghaei said in a press conference. “We have ​formulated our own responses” and will announce details in due time, he added in response to an Iranian journalist’s ⁠question regarding ongoing efforts to bring about ⁠a ceasefire between ​Iran and the US. France 24, April 6

Trump vows to destroy Iran’s power plants and bridges unless it reopens Strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, after US forces pulled off a daring rescue of an injured airman whose fighter jet was shot down over the country on Friday. The US president gave Iran until 8pm eastern time on Tuesday to reopen the crucial shipping lane after earlier threatening to unleash “hell” in an expletive-laden social media post. “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.” Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 2 per cent to $111.18 in early Asian trade before retreating to $110, as the war entered its sixth week with no resolution in sight. Shares in Korea and Tokyo rose. Financial Times, April 6

Ukraine’s drones dent Russia’s war-fuelled oil windfall
Ukrainian drone attacks in the Baltic are hampering Russia’s ability to benefit from a crude rally driven by the Middle East war and exposing the weaknesses of the country’s anti-drone defences. The Kremlin has admitted that Russia has limited capacity to protect its crucial energy export facilities from the blowback of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, now dragging into its fifth year. Moscow’s windfall profits from the Iran war remain high as Brent crude trades above $100 a barrel, but attacks on Russia’s two main export locations in the Baltic Sea may cut into the Kremlin’s windfall. Five attacks on Primorsk and Ust-Luga since early last week have cost Russian energy exporters about $970mn in revenues in the week to March 29, according to Kyiv School of Economics head of energy and climate studies Borys Dodonov. Primorsk and Ust-Luga account for more than 40 per cent of Russia’s seaborne crude export capacity. At Primorsk alone, the attacks have burnt $200mn worth of oil, according to a western security official. Financial Times, April 6

Artemis II crew enters moon’s ‘sphere of influence’ ahead of historic flyby
The four astronauts on Nasa’s Artemis II mission have entered the moon’s “sphere of influence”, where its gravity has a stronger pull on the spacecraft than Earth’s. The crew made the transition, four days, six hours and two minutes into the mission, when about 39,000 miles (62,800km) from the moon, and 232,000 miles (373,400km) away from the Earth. The next key milestone will be the trip later on Monday to the far side of the moon, venturing deeper into space than any humans before. “We’re all extremely excited for tomorrow,” Lori Glaze, the deputy associate administrator for Nasa’s Exploration Systems Development Mission, said on Sunday. “Our flight operations team and our science team are ready for the first lunar flyby in more than 50 years.” The Guardian, April 6

Hungary alleges plot to blow up gas pipeline ahead of election
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has convened an emergency meeting of the National Defence Council after explosives were found near a pipeline that transports Russian gas to Hungary. The discovery in a border area of neighbouring Serbia comes as Orban's party is badly trailing in opinion polls ahead of crucial elections next Sunday. Opposition leader Peter Magyar accused him of "panic-mongering" orchestrated by "Russian advisers", days after security experts warned of a possible "false flag" operation that could be blamed on Ukraine. Orban, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has resisted EU calls to abandon Russian energy imports since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In recent weeks Hungarian security experts have raised the possibility of a staged operation, either on Hungarian or Serbian territory, intended to arouse enough sympathy for Orban to help his Fidesz party win the election - or to give Orban an excuse to declare an emergency and postpone or cancel the vote. Serbian President Alexander Vucic, a close ally of Orban, informed the Hungarian leader of the discovery on Sunday morning. BBC news, April 5

Europe must prepare for ‘long-lasting’ energy shock, EU warns
The EU is assessing “all possibilities” including fuel rationing and releasing more oil from emergency reserves as it braces for a “long-lasting” energy shock from the Middle East war, the bloc’s energy commissioner has said. “This will be a long crisis … energy prices will be higher for a very long time,” Dan Jørgensen told the FT, warning that for some more “critical” products “we expect it to be even worse in the weeks to come”. The near closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz waterway and strikes on infrastructure in the Gulf have created chaos in energy markets, sending prices soaring and prompting long-term supply fears. “The rhetoric that we’re using and the words we’re using are more serious now than they were earlier in the crisis,” Jørgensen said. “It certainly is our analysis that this will be a prolonged situation and countries need to be sure that they … have what they need.” He said that while the EU was “not in a security of supply crisis, yet”, Brussels was drawing up plans to tackle “structural, long-lasting effects” of the conflict. Financial Times, April 3

Macron criticises Trump’s mixed messages about Nato and Iran
Emmanuel Macron has sharply criticised Donald Trump’s inconsistent and often contradictory pronouncements on the Iran war and Nato, saying if “you want to be serious” it was better not to come out with something different every day. “There is too much talk … and it’s all over the place,” the French president said on Thursday during a state visit to South Korea. “We all need stability, calm, a return to peace - this isn’t a show!” Macron added: “You have to be serious. When you want to be serious, you don’t go around saying the opposite every day of what you just said the day before. And perhaps you shouldn’t talk every day.” Macron also mounted a strong defence of Nato, accusing Trump of undermining the transatlantic defence alliance through repeated remarks questioning the United States’s commitment to its continued membership. The Guardian, April 2

UK, Italy and Japan sign first contract with industry for fighter jet project
The UK, Japan and Italy have signed the first international contract with their industrial partners to develop a new fighter jet, but have only provided funding for three months. The three nations on Thursday said they had signed a £686mn contract for key engineering and design work on the Global Combat Air Programme, which is targeting the first delivery by 2035. The deal, which runs until the end of June, provides a critical bridge for work on the fighter jet to move forward and buys the UK government time to deliver its long-delayed 10-year defence investment plan. The UK had expected to publish the plan last year, but this has been repeatedly postponed because of a £28bn funding gap in its defence budget. Japanese officials have become increasingly alarmed about delays to the signing of a full contract for design and development work, which has been caused by the UK dragging its feet on committing funding through the DIP. Financial Times, April 2

Trump signs order threatening up to 100% tariffs on pharmaceuticals
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that could slap long-threatened pharmaceutical tariffs of up to 100 per cent on some patented drugs from companies that don't reach deals with his administration in the coming months. Companies that have signed a “most favoured nation” pricing deal and are actively building facilities in the US to onshore production of patented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients will have a 0 per cent tariff. For those that don’t have a pricing deal but are building such projects in the US, a 20 per cent tariff will apply but will increase to 100 per cent in four years. A senior administration official told reporters on a press call that companies still have months to negotiate before the 100 per cent tariffs kick in - 120 days for bigger companies, and 180 days for everyone else. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to preview the executive order before it was issued, did not identify any companies or drugs that were in jeopardy of getting hit with the increased tariffs but noted the administration had already reached 17 pricing deals with major drugmakers, 13 of which have signed. France 24, April 3

Ed Miliband to approve first major North Sea gasfield project in decade
Ed Miliband is expected to give the green light to the first major North Sea oil and gasfield project in almost 10 years as ministers face political pressure to increase drilling during the war in Iran. Whitehall officials say the energy secretary is minded to approve the Jackdaw gasfield, 150 miles off Aberdeen, which could begin supplying gas to more than a million homes this winter. The company says it could produce the equivalent of 6 per cent of the UK’s future gas supply. The project has been awaiting Miliband’s approval since 2024 after the High Court ruled that a previous licence was invalid because it had not taken into account the carbon emissions generated from burning the gas it produced. The Times, April 2

Marmalade to be rebranded in post-Brexit food deal
Marmalade has long been a quintessential British preserve, with some recipes handed down between multiple generations. But jars of the fruity spread could look a little different on shop shelves under the UK government's planned EU food deal, it has emerged. The breakfast favourite will have to be sold as "citrus marmalade" if the agreement goes ahead, when Britain will readopt new EU food regulations in a bid to boost trade and reduce red tape for British exporters. The name change is required because Brussels is relaxing its labelling rules, widening the legal definition of marmalade across Europe for the first time. BBC news, April 3