PARIS, France (AFP) — Here are the latest economic events in the Middle East war:

US stocks rise, oil up

Wall Street stocks logged gains Monday on hopes for a ceasefire in the Middle East, after Tokyo and Seoul also closed higher.

Many markets in Asia and Europe were closed for Easter Monday, which coincided with China’s Qingming Festival.

Oil prices also climbed, with a barrel of the main Brent benchmark adding 0.7 per cent to $109.77. The West Texas Intermediate increased 0.8 per cent to $112.41 per barrel.

Trump plans to destroy Iran bridges, power plants

United States (US) President Donald Trump said Monday that the military had war plans to destroy all bridges and power plants in Iran over a four-hour period if his peace deal deadline is not met.

“We have a plan – because of the power of our military – where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night, where every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again,” he told a press conference.

Trump previously set 8:00 pm Washington time on Tuesday (midnight GMT Wednesday) for Iran to agree to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Turkish, Japanese tankers go through Hormuz strait

A third Turkish-owned ship has passed through the war-torn Strait of Hormuz, Turkey’s Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said.

Tehran has virtually closed the key waterway since US-Israeli strikes targeting Iran on February 28, sending global oil and gas prices soaring.

Uraloglu said the
Ocean Thunder was carrying crude oil from Iraq to Malaysia. Japanese shipping firm Mitsui OSK Lines said an Indian-flagged tanker owned by a subsidiary had also safely transited the strait.

IAEA warns of effects on power plant strikes

The chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said attacks near Iran’s Bushehr atomic power plant “pose a very real danger to nuclear safety and must stop”.

The facility in the south of the country and equipped with a 1,000-megawatt reactor, has been targeted four times in the US-Israeli war on Iran, most recently on Saturday.

Strikes near the operating plant could cause “harmful consequences for people and the environment in Iran and beyond,” said Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Iran petrochemical site hit

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said his country has conducted a “powerful strike” on Iran’s largest petrochemical facility in Assaluyeh, and Iranian media reported multiple explosions at the site.

“The Israel Defence Forces have just carried out a powerful strike on Iran’s largest petrochemical facility, located in Assaluyeh – a central target responsible for about 50 per cent of the country’s petrochemical production,” Katz stated.

South Korea, Taiwan, take Saudi option

South Korea will send five Korean-flagged ships to the Saudi Red Sea port of Yanbu to establish alternative oil supply routes to the Strait of Hormuz, a ruling MP said.

South Korea relies on Middle East crude for around 70 per cent of its imports. Taiwan, with a similar reliance on imports, said it will also redirect ships to bring crude from Saudi Red Sea ports.