Middle East crisis live: Trump pausing strikes on Iran energy sites; Houthis say ‘no reason’ to halt Red Sea shipping

US president says he is extending deadline for strait of Hormuz to reopen to 6 April; Houthis tell Lloyd’s List ‘no reason’ to prevent Saudi oil using Red Sea route Full report: Trump extends deadline Analysis: Trump pitches peace plan but military buildups rarely veer to off-ramp Hello and welcome to our continuing live coverage of the US-Israel war on…

Key takeaways

Quick scan — what you need to know:

• US president says he is extending deadline for strait of Hormuz to reopen to 6 April; Houthis tell Lloyd’s List ‘no reason’ to prevent Saudi oil using Red Sea route Full report: Trump extends…
• Here are the latest developments: Donald Trump said he will extend – once again – his pause on his threat to attack Iran’s energy infrastructure for 10 days until 6 April, claiming that the request…
• The US president threatened last Saturday to would strike Iranian energy infrastructure if Tehran did not reopen the strait of Hormuz.
• Then, on Monday he postponed his threat for five days (until Friday), citing “very good and productive conversations” with Iran on ending the war (which Tehran dismissed as “fake news” designed to…

Background

What led here, in plain terms:

• Now, he’s pushing that deadline back, again .
• The price of Brent crude also dropped following Trump’s latest announcement.
• Oil prices rose to their highest level this week, with Brent crude trading at roughly $108 a barrel after Trump’s cabinet meeting earlier on Thursday.
• Yemen’s Houthis have said there is no need to worry amid fears that if Donald Trump follows through on threats to seize Iran’s Kharg Island, Tehran may ask them to attack shipping in the Red Sea .

Why it matters

Why readers and decision-makers should care:

• The Pentagon is looking at sending up to 10,000 additional ground troops to the Middle East to give Trump more military options even as he weighs peace talks with Tehran, the Wall Street Journal is…
• The Israel Defence Forces’ chief of staff has warned that the military will “collapse in on itself” as it faces increasing demands and a growing manpower shortage while fighting on multiple fronts,…
• A Thai-flagged cargo ship that was hit by unknown projectiles in the strait of Hormuz earlier this month has run aground off Iran’s Qeshm Island, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said on Friday.