MANILA, Philippines – On March 30, US President Donald Trump warned that the US will destroy Iran’s power plants and oil wells if Tehran does not open the Strait of Hormuz. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt later said Trump wanted to reach an agreement with Tehran before the April 6 deadline he set last week after extending an earlier deadline.
Iran said it had received US peace proposals through mediators, following talks on March 29 between the foreign ministers of Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the proposals were “unrealistic, illogical and excessive.”
On April 2, stocks fell, oil prices rose, and the dollar gained after Trump said military operations would be stepped up in the next two to three weeks, without giving a firm timetable for ending the hostilities that have fueled global energy supply chaos and threatened to send the world economy into a tailspin.
Hope for a quick end The war in the Middle East faded as Trump vowed to attack Iran more forcefully, disappointing investors hoping for clear signs of a way out of the month-long conflict.
On April 3, the United Nations Security Council was to vote on a resolution to protect Bahrain commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuzbut veto-wielding China made clear its opposition to authorizing any use of force.
Diplomats said Bahrain, the current chair of the Security Council, had finalized a draft resolution that would authorize “all necessary defensive measures” to protect commercial shipping.
Find more stories in these photos from the week that was:
Anja Dengler, 22, reacts with her face painted as people gather to participate in the ‘No Kings’ protest against the administration policies of US President Donald Trump, in St. Paul, Minnesota, March 28, 2026. PHOTO BY ERICA DISCHINO/REUTERS
Women mourn over the body of one of the children killed by an Israeli attack, as hostilities escalate between Israel and Hezbollah, while the conflict between the United States and Israel and Iran continues, in Saksakiyeh, Lebanon, March 28, 2026. PHOTO BY YARA NARDI/REUTERS
People take part in a protest following the killing of Lebanese journalists, Al Manar reporter Ali Shaib, Al Mayadeen reporter Fatima Ftouni, and photographer Mohammed Ftouni in a targeted attack by Israel, as the US-Israel-Iran conflict continues, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 28, 2026. PHOTO BY ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS/REUTERS
Affan Haritah, 11, Daffa Ibnu Alkhalifi, 12, and Kevin Prince, 14, use their phones, as Indonesia’s digital communications and information ministry enforces restrictions against ‘high risk’. social networking platformsincluding Facebook, TikTok, and Roblox, in Depok, a suburb of Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 28, 2026. PHOTO BY AJENG DINAR ULFIANA/REUTERS
Preachers carrying palm branches on Palm Sunday Mass at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, March 29, 2026. PHOTO BY FRANCESCO FOTIA/REUTERS
A tourist boat sails past cherry blossoms along the Meguro River in Tokyo, Japan, March 30, 2026. PHOTO BY KIM KYUNG-HOON/REUTERS
People visit a memorial to victims of attacks and executions by Russian soldiers, marking the fourth anniversary of the liberation of the town of Bucha, outside Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 30, 2026. PHOTO BY GLEB GARANICH/REUTERS
A gas station attendant in Paco, Manila, changes the price board as drivers fill up their tanks after another round of oil prices increase on March 31, 2026. PHOTO BY RAPPLER
Members of various urban poor communities, as well as church groups, hold ‘Kalbaryo ng Maralita,’ a Lenten Way of the Cross celebration at the fire-ravaged NIA Road housing complex in Quezon City on March 31, 2026. PHOTO BY JIRE CARREON/RAPPLER
Bosnia and Herzegovina fans celebrate their FIFA World Cup qualification against Italy, in the UEFA Qualifying Finals at Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, March 31, 2026. PHOTO BY AMEL EMIC/REUTERS
Drag queen Kay Long attends an audience performance inside an underground parking garage used as a bomb shelter, in Tel Aviv, Israel, March 31, 2026. PHOTO BY RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS
Orthodox Jews look on from a damaged residential building, after Iran fired missiles at Israel, in Bnei Brak, Israel, on April 1, 2026. PHOTO BY NIR ELIAS/REUTERS
People, mostly children, gather at the La Rodadora museum to watch the live broadcast of the NASA launch Mission of Artemis II fly by the moon, during an event organized by the US Embassy in Mexico, in Ciudad Juarez on April 1, 2026. PHOTO BY JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ/REUTERS
A customer looking at US President Donald Trump addressed the nation about the Iran crisis from the White House, on display at the Brooklyn Diner in Times Square, New York, April 1, 2026. PHOTO BY DAVID DEE DELGADO/REUTERS
An oil tanker carrying coal and other fuels is seen near the Petron Refinery, following the arrival of Russian crude in mid- global energy crisisin Limay, Bataan, on April 2, 2026. PHOTO BY DANIEL CENG/ANADOLU VIA REUTERS
A handbag made using collagen derived from Tyrannosaurus rex will be exhibited at the Museum ArtZoo in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on April 2, 2026. PHOTO BY PIROSCHKA VAN DE WOUW/REUTERS
A Filipino believer makes a gesture of self-denial on Maundy Thursday, April 2, 2026, in Mandaluyong City. PHOTO BY NOEL CELIS/REUTERS
Tourists and locals watch as a penitent man wearing a skeleton costume performs the ‘Dance of Death’ with an object representing the passage of time and death, during a Holy Week procession in Verges, Catalonia, Spain, April 3, 2026. PHOTO BY NACHO DOCE/REUTERS
Pilgrims from the Northern Cross carry a wooden cross as they walk over the waterway to Lindisfarne (Holy Island) during the final leg of their annual Good Friday pilgrimage in Northumberland, England, April 3, 2026. PHOTO BY TEMILADE ADELAJA/REUTERS
Actors reenacting the Passion of Christ during the 29th Buhing Kalbaryo, a long-running festival. Holy Week custom in Cebu, at the Espina Compound in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City, on Good Friday, April 3, 2026. PHOTO BY JACQUELINE HERNANDEZ/RAPPLER
– and reports from Reuters/Rappler.com
