AS IT HAPPENED: Trump announces 'Project Freedom'; Bulk carrier attacked by multiple small craft off Iran; Iran presses for end to war within 30 days; Trump says it has 'not yet paid a big enough price'

Thanks for joining us for our continuing live coverage of the Iran war.

Here are the main developments from today.

• US President Donald Trump announced a mission called "Project Freedom", which will see the USA safely escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to unclog one of the world's most important waterways.
• Iran warned this would be in violation of the already fragile ceasefire.
• Some details of Iran's peace proposal were revealed by local media; it includes a 30-day resolution period focused on ending the war, as well as lifting the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, and removal of sanctions, among many other requests.
• A ship was reportedly struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz, with maritime organisations in the region warning the situation remains critical despite Trump's proposal.
• Closer to home, Australia and Japan have signed a Joint Statement on Enhanced Defence and Security Cooperation in Canberra, another effort in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's attempts to shore up ties – and fuel supplies – with Asian neighbours as the United States' reliability becomes less certain.

Maritime organisations have warned the threat level to security in the region remains critical, despite US President Donald Trump announcing he would start an operation to secure passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

"The maritime security threat level in the Strait of Hormuz remains CRITICAL due to ongoing regional military operations," a statement from the UK Maritime Traffic Operations Centre said.

"Mariners should expect increased naval presence, enhanced force protection postures... and congestion near anchorage areas."

Shipping executives are expressing caution over Project Freedom, the US operation starting today to guide trapped neutral ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

"It takes both sides to unblock – not just one," said Bjørn Hojgaard, CEO of ship manager Anglo-Eastern.

"Either party can signal that they are willing to let certain ships through, but unless the other side accepts that in practice, it doesn't materially change the reality on the water.

"Announcements are one thing – safe and predictable passage is another.

"The chairman of Iran's parliamentary National Security Commission has said such moves 'will be considered a violation of the ceasefire.'"

"Under these circumstances we should be cautious," Richard Hext, chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, added.

A statement has been released expanding on the Joint Statement on Enhanced Defence and Security Cooperation signed by Australia and Japan today in Canberra.

Key priorities stemming from the agreement include: "co-sustainment of defence capabilities; advanced weapons testing; enhanced training and exercises," as well as ensuring supply chains and shipping routes remain free and clear.

"In these uncertain times, middle powers must keep working together for a free and open Indo-Pacific, and a world where no country dominates and no country is dominated," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

Australia signed similar statements with Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia last month, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese looks to shore up Australia's ties with its Asian neighbours.

Oil prices held steady after Trump said the the United States would help ships leave the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has rejected the plan, but Trump also said talks with Iran could lead to positive outcomes.

The price of a barrel of US benchmark crude fell 21 cents to $US101.74 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, edged 5 cents higher to $US108.19 a barrel.

Much hinges on progress toward ending the war with Iran and unlocking the bottleneck through the Strait of Hormuz.

The oil market "remains the fulcrum, with hundreds of tankers, bulk carriers, and cargo ships still stranded across the Gulf, idling as storage constraints force producers to shut ... production simply because there is nowhere left to store it," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary note.

Earlier today, US President Donald Trump posted a AI-generated photo to Truth Social, where he was holding six UNO wild cards, captioned with "I HAVE ALL THE CARDS".

Iran has now hit back through one of its official embassy accounts on X.

The image, probably also artificially generated, shows someone in Iranian military uniform holding three UNO Wild cards and a skip card, with the caption: "Yes, we have less cards "In UNO, the aim of the game is to get rid of all of the cards in your hand, so having fewer cards is better.

Not only is this war becoming a war of words as much as military action or strikes, but it is becoming a war of social media, memes and AI.

Welcome to 2026, folks.

Neither the USA nor Iran has control over the Strait of Hormuz at the moment, according to an Australian international relations professor.

"What we're seeing in the Strait of Hormuz is two actors that have different types of ability to control, but neither one has complete control of the Strait of Hormuz at the moment and they're essentially competing for that control," Jessica Genauer from the University of New South Wales told ABC News.

"So it's not a great situation for civilian ships that are wanting to go in and out because there's a lot of military presence in the strait. There's a lot of threat of military violence and attacks on both sides."

However, she added the USA has a small advantage militarily because of where their battleships are positioned outside the strait.

"They do have a lot of ability to attack and control but, on the other hand, the Iranian regime has the upper hand when it comes to more asymmetric tactics, so they have the upper hand in terms of use of light attack boats, drones, these type of tactics which mean they can actually create a lot of damage, uncertainty and can stop ships coming through," she added.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, alongside his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi, has announced a new agreement to elevate the partnership between Australia and Japan that will bring economic, energy and defence security.

"For Australians, it means we are less vulnerable to global shocks, like we are seeing right now in the Middle East. It will mean more security for farmers when they are planting their crop, and commuters when they are filling up their car," Albanese said in Canberra today.

"Our friendship has never been closer, and in these uncertain times, friendships matter more than ever."

The Viva Geelong Refinery, which was gutted by fire last month, will reopen in June, according to a statement from the company.

In a letter to shareholders, it said it had been focused on safely securing the site where the fire occurred and isolating it from the rest of the refinery, so that safety tests and a restarting of the Residual Catalytic Cracking Unit (RCCU) can commence.

"Subject to further inspection, Viva Energy currently anticipates that repairs to impacted units necessary to restart to RCCU will take approximately six weeks," it said in a statement, expecting the RCCU to be back online in June.

Viva said diesel and jet fuel production would remain at 80 per cent, and production of petrol would be at 60 per cent while the RCCU is offline.

A ship has been hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports from British military.

"A tanker has reported being hit by unknown projectiles. All crew reported safe. No environmental impact reported," a statement from the UK Marine Traffic Operations Centre (UKMTO) on X said.

The shots were fired north of Fujairah in the UAE.

The incident is being investigated, with UKMTO urging all vessels in the area to proceed with caution.