Israel launches new strikes on Iran with no sign of diplomatic breakthrough

Strikes have continued on Tehran (AP)

Israel has launched a new wave of strikes on Iran after US president Donald Trump claimed talks on ending the war were going well, and gave Tehran more time to open the Strait of Hormuz – though there is no sign of Iran backing down.

With stock markets reeling and economic fallout from the war extending far beyond the Middle East, Mr Trump is under growing pressure to end Iran’s chokehold on the strait, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is usually shipped.