<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-march-17-donald-trump-pushes-allies-for-help-in-strait-of-hormuz/07b534e9-af93-4d00-91dc-58dba21ca969" rel="" target="" title="The conflict in the Middle East"><span>The conflict in the Middle East</span></a><span> is dragging on throughout March, as the persistant retaliatory strikes escalating in Iraq, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and campaign of US-led offensives in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/iran" rel="" target="_blank" title="Iran"><span>Iran</span></a><span> threaten to spill over into Easter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="_blank" title="US President Donald Trump"><span>US President Donald Trump</span></a><span> ramped up his pressure on key allies earlier today, particularly the United Kingdom, to send help to the Middle East to reopen the Strait of Hormuz for oil shipments.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Global oil prices are yet to stagnate, which is continuing to send petrol and diesel costs soaring in Australia – </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/fuel-shortage-regional-australia-farmer-urges-victorians-to-stop-driving-to-work/f247462b-544b-431b-96cc-4e2076173ef1" rel="" target="_blank" title="htiting regional communities and farmers the hardest."><span>htiting regional communities and farmers the hardest.</span></a></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/rba-interest-rates-live-updates-march-2026-decision-latest-news-headlines/350491ae-9cc3-47b0-84f2-71cef3b2a650" target="_blank"><strong><span>Australia bracing for pain as RBA meets behind closed doors</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia's economy has not been immune to the conflict either, with the Reserve Bank's decision to raise the cash rate to 4.10 per cent blamed partly on inflation biting due to the ongoing war.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Trump puts pressure on allies to help in Middle East</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump redoubled his push for allies to send ships to secure a critical oil transport route as the war in the Middle East sends petrol prices souring.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-uae-closes-airspace-as-precaution-israel-widens-ground-operations-in-lebanon/925aad39-fb70-4131-bb45-0a324d3466ed" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a press conference today he said he was "not happy" with the UK, labelled France "not perfect" and said he would be "disappointed" in some other allies.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Trump has said he's called on "about seven" countries to send ships to the Middle East to secure the Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has effectively shut down with threats since the US and Israel attacked Iran and killed former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We'll give you a list. Some are very enthusiastic, and some are less than enthusiastic, and I assume some will not do it," Trump said, implying he was keeping score of when and how allies would come to the party in the strait.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>WATCH:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.nine.com.au/sport/afl/news-2026-hawthorn-players-arrest-dylan-moore-connor-maddonald-20260317-p5ocjn.html" target="_blank"><strong><span>Police body cam shows arrest of AFL players in the US</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Attacks in Israel, UAE, Iraq and Lebanon</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Several pieces of missile shrapnel, some as large as three or four metres in diameter, fell near holy sites across the Old City of Jerusalem overnight, according to police.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Some shrapnel landed near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which contains the biblical site at which Jesus Christ was buried.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In Abu Dhabi, firefighters responded to a blaze that started when a drone struck the Shah oil field.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It was the second attack on an oil facility in the UAE, after a fire broke out in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone on Monday following a drone attack.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Israel also expanded its ground operations in Lebanon to deter Hezbollah attacks against northern Israel.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Israeli strikes in Lebanon against Hezbollah have displaced more than one million people, the Lebanese Disaster Risk Management Unit said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And a hotel in central Baghdad's Green Zone was damaged in a drone attack, Iraq's Ministry of Interior said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/petrol-prices-australia-richard-marles-doesnt-rule-out-fuel-rationing/c9de0481-bc04-47d2-a272-7606548029ef" target="_blank"><strong><span>Government won't rule out fuel rationing as war drags on</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Social media videos show smoke and flames rising from the Al-Rasheed Hotel, which is located in an area housing government offices and diplomatic buildings, including the US Embassy.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The ministry wishes to clarify that, after specialised forensic teams conducted an on-site and technical inspection, it was found that a drone had struck the upper fence of the hotel, without resulting in any loss of life or significant material damage," the interior ministry said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) later said it had launched a "wide scale wave" of attacks against Iran.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It said the strikes targeted infrastructure in Tehran.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>An additional wave of strikes was also launched in Beirut, the IDF said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>WORLD:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/donald-trump-cuba-taking-venezuela-usa-politics-news/ad77bf7e-441b-40fc-b041-37829374c809" target="_blank"><strong><span>Donald Trump says he'll be 'taking' island paradise in latest escalation</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>UAE briefly closes all airspace</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The UAE announced the temporary and complete closure of its airspace in an "exceptional precautionary measure" today.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The airspace closure was lifted within a few hours.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Air traffic in the region returned to normal, which included commercial flights out of the region to Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, the GCAA warned that "continuous real-time monitoring remains in place to ensure the highest levels of safety of air navigation".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><strong><span>Chalmers blames war for inflation biting</span></strong></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>On Australian soil, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) surprised precisely no one by </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/rba-interest-rates-live-updates-march-2026-decision-latest-news-headlines/350491ae-9cc3-47b0-84f2-71cef3b2a650" rel="" target="_blank" title="increasing the cash rate to 4.10 per cent."><span>increasing the cash rate to 4.10 per cent.</span></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the escalating conflict in the Middle East has contributed to inflation, which was already headed for troubled waters.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The impacts of what we're seeing in that part of the world are already substantial, but we don't know yet how enduring those very substantial economic pressures will be," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It depends very heavily on how long the conflict in the Middle East continues for."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><em><span>NEVER MISS A STORY:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><span>Get your breaking news and exclusive 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