Radio National Breakfast

As the unofficial closure of the Strait of Hormuz enters its third week, US President Donald Trump has called on China and US allies to send warships to the region in an attempt to protect the global oil trade.

The narrow strait has remained effectively closed since the US-Israeli strikes began - with Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps threatening to attack any ship that attempts to pass through the strait.

And while the world's attention has turned to the soaring price of oil and gas, maritime organisations have raised the alarm over the welfare of the tens-of-thousands of seafarers trapped in the Gulf. 

• Guest: Simon Grainge, Chief Executive International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network
• Producer: Grace Stranger

We hear from the man who once ran the Pentagon's civilian protection department, tasked with providing guidance on strikes and investigating killings in war.  

He is accusing the Trump administration of failing to protect civilians in its bombardment of Iran, as the military investigates a strike on an Iranian school, which left more than 160 people dead, most of them children

Then a former advisor on Iran to both Presidents Biden and Trump discusses the future of the war. 

And we hear about the domestic impacts, as One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce shares frustrations over the supply of petrol.

Recap the morning's news, politics and global affairs with the Breakfast Wrap.

A widening war in the Middle East, critical freight blockages, stranded international travellers, depleting oil and gas reserves and asylum-seeking footballers.

And amid all that a new National Party leader stepped up to the plate. Our political panel broke down the week from parliament.

• Guests: Anna Henderson, Chief Political Correspondent at SBS World News, Matthew Knott, Foreign and National Security Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and Stephanie Borys, Breakfast Political Correspondent.
• Producer: Jason Whittaker

The conflict in the Middle East has been dominating the headlines this month.

But representatives from the nation of Estonia - in Europe's north-east - have been in Australia this week to remind leaders that the war in Europe between Ukraine and Russia grinds on.

There are now concerns U-S suggestions of lifting sanctions on Russian oil producers - to ease supply pressures after Iran's attacks on the Strait of Hormuz - could undermine Ukraine's war effort.

• Guest: Margus Tsahkna, Estonia's Minister for Foreign Affairs 
• Producer: Pip Cook, Tyler Hall

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has proposed rationing fuel in the cities to help address regional fuel supply issues.

The federal government will temporarily change fuel standards to allow more supply into the market. Barnaby Joyce says the government's action to date on fuel supplies "really scares people".

• GUEST: Barnaby Joyce, One Nation Member for New England
• PRODUCER: Isadora Bogle

Software giant Atlassian is the latest Australian tech company to slash its workforce.

Its CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes told staff yesterday that the decision to lay off 16-hundred workers globally - 500 in Australia - was needed for the company's long-term health.

It comes as thousands of jobs are shed at Australian software company WiseTech - and Block, the owner of AfterPay.

• Guest: James Riley, Editorial Director of InnovationAus.com

The first statement from Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has raised a number of questions, not just about the regime's approach, but also about his health. 

He's vowed to avenge the deaths of Iranians killed in the war and threatened to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz. 

But the written statement, delivered via Iranian state TV, has raised questions around why the supreme leader is being kept from public view. 

The Trump administration is facing accusations that it's failing to protect civilians in its bombardment of Iran, as the military investigates a strike on an Iranian school, which left more than 160 people dead - most of them children.

The New York Times yesterday reported that an ongoing military investigation has determined the US was responsible for the strike, citing US officials and others familiar with the preliminary findings.

Last year, Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth scrapped initiatives aimed at reducing civilian harm in military operations - including programs designed to track and investigate civilian casualties.

• GUEST: Wes J Bryant, retired Master Sergeant in the Warfare Branch of the US Air Force

il prices have moved higher again - topping 100 US dollars a barrel.

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has told CNBC overnight, that the US Navy can't at the moment escort ships through the ‌Strait, but that it's "quite likely" to happen by the end of the month.  

• Guest: Nate Swanson, Director of the Iran Strategy Project at the Atlantic Council and a former Iran policy adviser to the Trump and Biden administrations
• Producers: Grace Stranger, Brooke Young

Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says the Strait of Hormuz will remain blocked as long as the war with the US and Israel continues.

Oil prices have climbed higher again, as the strait — which supplies a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas — remains closed. So, is strangling the strait the regime's most effective strategy in this conflict?

• GUEST: Jamie Smyth, US Energy Editor, Financial Times
• PRODUCERS: Oscar Coleman, Eleni Psaltis