US politics live updates: King Charles, Queen Camilla conclude US state visit; Trump floats new plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East and King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit to the United States, as well as developments in Australia.

Here’s what you need to know this morning:

• King Charles and Queen Camilla spent the fourth and final day of their US state visit farewelling the president and first lady at the White House before visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery and attending a block party in Front Royal, Virginia.
• Posing for photographs at the White House, US President Donald Trump pointed to King Charles and said he was “the greatest king, in my book”.
• Trump has floated a new plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Under the possible plan, the US would continue its blockade on Iranian ports, while coordinating with allies to impose higher costs on Iran’s attempts to subvert the free flow of energy, according to a senior administration official.
• In a statement read on Iranian television on Thursday, Iran’s supreme leader said the Islamic Republic would protect its “nuclear and missile capabilities” as a national asset, while signalling the strait would remain shut.
• A 60-day deadline looms for Trump to secure congressional approval for continued military action.

King Charles has good reason to be happy with the parting gift from Donald Trump at the end of the monarch’s four-day state visit to the US.

Buckingham Palace has welcomed Trump’s decision to remove tariffs on whisky from the United Kingdom.

“The King has been informed of President Trump’s warm gesture and sends his sincere gratitude for a decision that will make an important difference to the British whisky industry and the livelihoods it supports,” said a palace spokesperson.

“His Majesty will be raising a dram to the President’s thoughtfulness and generous hospitality as he departs the US after a most enjoyable State Visit for both Their Majesties in this special anniversary year.”

Donald Trump said he was sticking with a naval blockade of Iranian ports even as oil prices hit a wartime high amid concerns the vital Strait of Hormuz would not reopen anytime soon.

“Their economy is crashing, the blockade is incredible,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

“Their economy is a disaster. So we’ll see how long they hold out.”

Oil prices steadied after surging earlier in the day with little sign that Washington and Tehran were moving closer to a deal, with the US doubling down on a blockade and strident comments from Iran’s new leader.

Another 100 million litres of jet fuel and 50 million litres of diesel are bound for Australia, the government has announced.

“We have now secured more than 450 million litres of additional diesel and 100 million litres of additional jet fuel to keep Australia moving,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement this morning.

“In the face of global instability, we are leaving no stone unturned as we work to keep Australia moving, working and flying,” he said.

The fuel shipments are bound for Brisbane, Darwin and Perth.

Export Finance Australia is also progressing discussions with other businesses to secure fertiliser supplies under Strategic Reserve powers.

More shipments are expected to follow.

Brent crude prices have cooled off after ripping to a four-year high as the market braces for a protracted US war with Iran, in a US sharemarket session marked by machine-led trading and thin volumes.

The global benchmark’s June contract edged lower to settle near $US114 a barrel ($158) after earlier surpassing $US126 — the highest since the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Volumes were low ahead of its expiry at the end of the session as investors closed out positions, contributing to heightened volatility.

Some traders suggested prices were moving closer in line with the next, lower-priced July contract.

King Charles is departing the United States to Bermuda after a four-day tour taking in Washington DC, New York and Virginia.

The final day of the tour in Virginia included a visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, a block party celebrating the 250th anniversary this year of US independence, and the Shenandoah National Park.

Queen Camilla visited a thoroughbred breeding and training facility to learn about the American horseracing industry and efforts to improve welfare and rehabilitation.

Charles will make his first visit as sovereign to a British Overseas Territory when he lands in Bermuda later today.

The Trump administration is constrained in its war on Iran by the 1973 War Powers Resolution law, which requires several notification and approval steps meant to keep a commander-in-chief’s military powers in check.

One of its provisions is that military action authorised by the president without Congress approval must end after 60 days or has declared war. That 60-day clock runs out on Friday (US time).

One White House official said the administration was in “active conversations” with lawmakers on addressing the deadline, but did not elaborate. The official was granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

The administration can request a 30-day extension of Trump’s order by telling Congress in writing that there’s a continued need for military action. The White House, which has long stressed that the president is working towards a diplomatic option in Iran, hasn’t indicated publicly whether Trump would seek that extension.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the ceasefire postpones the deadline for securing approval.

AP

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has clashed with Democratic lawmakers in Congress for a second day, rejecting senators’ accusations that the Iran war was launched without evidence of an imminent threat and waged with no coherent strategy.

The three-hour hearing of the Senate armed services committee mostly traced the well-worn positions of Republicans and Democrats on the conflict, Hegseth’s leadership and the ways in which President Donald Trump has used the American military.

In his opening statements, Hegseth called Democratic lawmakers “reckless naysayers” and “defeatists from the cheap seats” who have failed to recognise the many successes of the US military against the Islamic Republic.

Hegseth said Trump has had the courage “unlike other presidents to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon and that their nuclear blackmail never succeeds. We have the best negotiator in the world driving a great deal.”

Donald Trump says the Secret Service agent injured during the attack at the White House Correspondents’ dinner had not been hit by friendly fire.

An armed man sprinted through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel last Saturday attempting, prosecutors allege, to assassinate Trump.

During the attack, a Secret Service officer was shot in the chest while wearing a ballistic vest, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent in court, which did not specify by whom.

There has been media reporting suggesting the agent may have been shot by friendly fire.

London: The British public has been told to expect more terror attacks within months after the frenzied stabbing of two Jewish men on a London street, heightening fears of violent antisemitism and prompting the government to outline new spending on community protection.

The government raised the national threat level to its worst rating in almost five years, lifting it from “substantial” to “severe” on the advice of counter-terror authorities who believe another attack is highly likely in the next six months.

Crowds gathered at the site of the stabbings in the north London neighbourhood of Golders Green on Thursday to protest against Prime Minister Keir Starmer when he arrived to show his concern over the attacks, amid a ferocious debate about whether he was doing enough to stop the threats to British Jews.

Graphic video showed the assailant lunging at a man at a bus stop on Wednesday morning and stabbing him as he fell to the street, before police arrived at the scene and Tasered the suspect.

Two Jewish men, aged 34 and 76, were taken to hospital and remain in a stable condition.

Read more from Europe correspondent David Crowe here.

Donald Trump said he is removing certain tariffs on Scotch whisky after this week’s White House visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla.

“The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!” Trump posted on social media.

Trump said people had wanted this change, especially regarding the wooden barrels in which the spirits of Scotch and bourbon can be aged.

The US president has used alcohol as a pressure point in his tariff threats. Last year, he threatened a 200 per cent tariff on European wine – a major potential blow to French and Italian vineyards that never came to fruition.