Strike in Iraq reportedly kills seven fighters – as it happened

This blog is closed. Follow our new liveblog here European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said it is time for negotiations with Iran to take place to end the war in the Middle East. Speaking in Australia at the conclusion of a new free-trade agreement between the EU and Australia, she said: double quotation markThe situation is critical for the energy supply allies worldwide. We all feel the knock-on effects on gas and oil prices, our businesses and our societies, but it is of utmost importance that we come to a solution that is negotiated, and this puts an end to the hostilities that we see in the Middle East. Asked what role European nations will have in the strait of Hormuz, including after it opens, von der Leyen said EU leaders had said they could engage in an operation once hostilities end. double quotation markSo the leaders in the European Union have been very clear that at the when the hostilities end, they could envisage an operation, a mission. But of course, it is not for me to judge on their decision to provide the necessary capabilities in the strait of Hormuz. This blog is closing now but our live coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran continues in a ne