Chief-Exec.com

Israel warns Iranians their lives will be at risk if they use trains as Trump deadline looms
Israel has warned Iranians their lives will be at risk if they use the country’s railways on Tuesday before the end of a negotiations deadline imposed by Donald Trump with a threat to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants. Israel’s military, writing in Farsi, said in a social media post that “from this moment” - 8.50am Iran time - until 9pm, Iranians should refrain from “travelling by train throughout Iran” for the sake of their own security. “Your presence on trains and near railway lines endangers your life,” the statement continued in a clear warning that stations and tracks normally used by civilians could be bombed on Tuesday. The threat came hours before an ultimatum set by the US president expires at 8pm ET on Tuesday - 4.30am on Wednesday in Iran (1am UK time) - in an attempt to force major concessions from Iran with the threat of escalation. At a White House press conference on Monday, Trump said Iran “can be taken out in one night and that night might be tomorrow”, reiterating threats to bomb its power plants and bridges in a concentrated attack. The Guardian, April 7

US counts cost of equipment destroyed in Iran war
Donald Trump’s war against Iran is costing the US hundreds of millions of dollars a day - and about a tenth of that is the price of military equipment destroyed in the fighting, according to recent analysis. US losses of soldiers and materiel are light by the standards of wars in which the two sides are more evenly matched, defence experts say, but Iran’s destruction of costly US radar systems has left Washington more vulnerable in the event of future conflicts in other theatres such as China. There have been 13 American deaths in strikes on US bases since February 28. More than 300 American soldiers have been wounded. Elaine McCusker, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former senior Pentagon budget official, estimates the cost of the campaign against Iran at $22.3bn to $31bn over the five weeks since Trump ordered US forces to attack in late February. Financial Times, April 7

Donald Trump says US could destroy Iran ‘in one night’ as he demands opening of Strait of Hormuz
Donald Trump warned Iran that it could be “taken out in one night”, escalating his threats against Tehran as he demanded it reopen the Strait of Hormuz as part of any last-minute deal to halt the war. The US president made the comments at the White House on Monday, ahead of his own deadline of 8pm Eastern time on Tuesday for Iran to agree a deal with Washington or face new attacks on civilian infrastructure including bridges and power plants. “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” Trump told reporters in the White House. The president warned that the US had a plan “where every bridge in Iran will be decimated” and “every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again” within hours of his deadline passing. He also said that passage through the Strait of Hormuz - which has been restricted since the US and Israel launched the war - was a “very big priority” and should be part of any ceasefire deal. Financial Times, April 7

JD Vance visits Viktor Orban ahead of Hungary's high-stakes parliamentary elections
US Vice President JD Vance flew to Hungary on Monday night to deliver Donald Trump's support to his ally, nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, ahead of tightly contested parliamentary elections. "We'll talk about any number of things related to the US-Hungary relationship," Vance told the press as he departed from Andrews Air Force Base outside of Washington. "Obviously, I'm sure Europe and Ukraine and all the other stuff will figure in pretty prominently." Vance is scheduled to meet with Orban and also deliver a speech on "the rich partnership between the United States and Hungary", according to a statement from his office … Orban, 62, has been in power for 16 years and is close to Moscow. According to analysts, he has benefited from covert Russian assistance to boost his chances of reelection. Polls by independent institutes predict a sweeping victory for the Tisza party led by pro-European conservative Peter Magyar. France 24, April 7

UK: interest on student loans to be capped at 6%
Interest on student loans will be capped at 6 per cent, ministers have announced, as they brace for the economic fallout from the Iran war. The Department for Education said “graduates will not pay the price for a war which the UK has no direct involvement in” amid rising bills and price spikes. Ministers said the cap would ensure no Plan 2 or Plan 3 borrower faced an interest rate above 6 per cent during the 2026-27 academic year. Graduates with Plan 2 loans currently pay interest of between Retail Price Index and RPI plus 3 per cent depending on their earnings. Current students on Plan 2 and Plan 3 attract a rate of RPI plus 3 per cent while studying. RPI currently stands at 3.2 per cent, putting the uncapped maximum at 6.2 per cent. Baroness Jacqui Smith, the skills minister, said: “We know that the conflict in the Middle East is causing anxiety at home, and while the risk of global shocks is beyond our control, protecting people here is not.” The Times, April 7

Artemis II crew head for home after travelling further from Earth than anyone before
Four astronauts on Nasa's Artemis II mission are on their way back home after a dramatic lunar fly-by that saw them travel further from Earth than any other humans. The crew lost contact with the Earth, as expected, for 40 minutes as they travelled behind the Moon. With communications re-established, astronaut Christina Koch said: "It's so great to hear the Earth again." Soon afterwards the spacecraft dipped to within a few thousand miles of the lunar surface and the crew witnessed a total eclipse of the Sun as the Moon blocked out its light. BBC news, April 7

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