LIVE UPDATES: Conflict in the Middle East (April 7, 2026)

Iran said critical infrastructure, including two bridges, was struck Tuesday by the United States and Israel, with US President Donald Trump warning "a whole civilization will die" if a midnight deadline for a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz was not met.

The strikes came as Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned they would deprive the United States and its allies of oil and gas if Washington crossed Tehran's "red lines".

Trump had warned that unless Tehran allowed free passage through the strategic oil chokepoint by midnight GMT, the United States would unleash what he called the "complete demolition" of Iran's critical infrastructure, including bridges and power plants.

US President Donald Trump once again exhorted Iran to make a deal by his Tuesday deadline, saying a "whole civilization will die tonight" if an agreement is not reached to end the conflict.

"A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World."

Over five weeks into the conflict between US-Israeli forces and Iran, thousands of overseas Filipinos have been repatriated back to the Philippines—farther away from the drums of war in the Middle East.

Now, what lies ahead for the displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who are reunited with their families, but are no longer able to provide them much-needed dollars?

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Tuesday presided over the UPLIFT committee meeting to review recommendations on the possible suspension of excise tax on petroleum products. 

Marcos met with key Cabinet officials including Executive Secretary Ralph Recto, Energy Secretary Sharon Garin, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian, and Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, among others.

Farmers and fisherfolk will receive cash assistance in April amid the massive fuel price hikes triggered by the Middle East conflict, an official of the Department of Agriculture told a Senate committee on Tuesday.

At the hearing of the Senate Committee on Social Justice, Welfare, and Rural Development, Director Lorna Belinda Calda of the DA’s field operations service, farmers who have machinery like a tractor will receive P5,000. Fishers who have motorized fishing bancas are entitled to P3,000.

The committee held hearings on the proposed amendments to the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program Act and the proposed law on the Sustainable Livelihood Program.

The country’s fuel inventory remains good for 50.42 days, or enough until late May, amid the global oil supply disruption caused by ongoing tensions in the Middle East, the Department of Energy (DOE) said Tuesday. 

The DOE said that the country has 75.052 million liters of fuel supply as of April 3. 

“That means the supply we have as of today is good up to 50 days, which means latter half of May. So ang ibig sabihin nun, it’s not like we won’t have any more supply after May or at the end of May. It basically means we have 50 days to replenish what we consume,” said Energy Secretary Sharon Garin at a press briefing. 

(That means the supply we have as of today is good up to 50 days, which means latter half of May. So what that means is, it’s not like we won’t have any more supply after May or at the end of May. It basically means we have 50 days to replenish what we consume.) 

The current oil and gas crisis triggered by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is "more serious than the ones in 1973, 1979 and 2022 together," Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), told Le Figaro newspaper.

"The world has never experienced a disruption to energy supply of such magnitude," he said in an interview with the French newspaper released in its Tuesday edition.

He said the European countries, as well Japan, Australia and others will suffer, but the countries most at risk were developing nations which will suffer from higher oil and gas prices, higher food prices and a general acceleration of inflation.

Farmers like Romeo Wagayan have been left with little choice but to let their vegetables rot in the field rather than sell them a loss, as rising oil prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East drive up the cost of harvesting, labor and transport.

"There's nothing we can do," said Wagayan, a 57-year old vegetable farmer in Benguet.

"If we harvest it, our losses only increase because of labor, transportation and packing costs. We don't earn anything from it. That's why we decided not to harvest at all."

Soaring costs caused by the Middle East war are piling pressure on Filipino farmers, with the Philippines particularly vulnerable to oil shocks because of its heavy reliance on imported fuel.

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. expressed condolences to the family of the Filipina who was killed in a missile attack in Haifa, Israel, vowing that full assistance will be given to them.

In his message on Tuesday, Marcos also guaranteed the immediate repatriation of the victim's remains. 

''Nakikiramay tayo sa pamilya ng ating kababayang nasawi sa naganap na missile attack sa Haifa, Israel. Kasama nating nagluluksa ang kanyang pamilya sa gitna ng isang trahedyang hindi dapat maranasan ninuman,'' Marcos said. 

(We sympathized with the family of the Filipina killed during the missile attack in Haifa, Israel. We are mourning with the family in the midst of this tragedy.) 

''I have directed our agencies to extend full assistance to the family and to ensure the immediate repatriation of her remains,'' he added. 

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DUBAI/WASHINGTON - Iran and Israel traded attacks on Tuesday as Tehran defiantly refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and accept a ceasefire deal on the eve of a deadline set by US President Donald Trump to agree to his demands or get "taken out."

Iran has rejected a US proposal brokered by Pakistan for an immediate ceasefire and the lifting of its effective blockade of the strait, followed by talks on a broader peace settlement within 15 to 20 days, according to a source aware of the plan.

The Iranian response consisted of 10 clauses, including an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting of sanctions, and reconstruction, official IRNA news agency reported.

On Monday, Trump said "the entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night." He vowed to destroy Iranian power plants and infrastructure if Tehran refused to agree before the deadline.

Without a deal, Trump said "every bridge in Iran will be decimated" by midnight EDT (0400 GMT) on Wednesday and "every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, and never to be used again."

Fighting unabated

Early on Tuesday, the Israeli military said it had completed a wave of airstrikes targeting Iranian government infrastructure in Tehran and other areas. It was operating air defense systems to intercept missiles launched from Iran.

Saudi Arabia intercepted ballistic missiles towards its eastern region with debris falling near energy facilities, its defense ministry said without specifying who launched the projectiles.

Saudi Arabia has come under attack from hundreds of Iranian missiles and drones since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran on February 28, most of which were intercepted, authorities have said.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain issued simultaneous public safety alerts on Tuesday.

Trump has brushed off questions that his vow to wipe out Iranian power plants would constitute war crimes, saying he was "not at all" concerned about the prospect.

"I hope I don't have to do it," he said.

Iran's envoy to the United Nations said on Monday Trump's threat to strike was "direct incitement to terrorism and provide clear evidence of intent to commit war crimes under international law."

Iran's deputy sports minister, Alireza Rahimi, called on artists and athletes to form human chains at power plants across the country on Tuesday, and its top military command said Trump was "delusional."

A synagogue in the center of Iran's capital was heavily damaged by a US-Israeli projectile on Tuesday, according to the semi-official news agency Mehr.

Chokehold

Oil prices hovered around $110 per barrel on Tuesday as Trump's deadline loomed and little visible prospect of the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit chokepoint that has spurred inflation worries around the world.

Iran effectively closed Hormuz, a conduit for about a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas supply that has proved a powerful bargaining chip for Tehran which it is reluctant to relinquish.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 0.4% to $110.19 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 futures climbed 0.8% to $113.31.

Trump was on the verge of a political crisis as Iran proved a tougher adversary than he predicted at the start of the conflict, which he said was aimed at stopping the country from building nuclear weapons and developing missiles to deliver them.

With 13 US service members killed since the conflict began, he found himself on an even more perilous ground when a US F-15E fighter jet was downed on Friday and one of the two airmen was left stranded deep inside Iranian territory.

A rescue mission by US commandos to extract the stranded weapons specialist officer to safety helped avert a disastrous escalation of a political crisis for Trump.

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East in the war, including 3,546 in Iran, US-based rights group HRANA said, and nearly 1,500 in Lebanon where Israel has targeted the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. —Reuters