In a notable announcement, as a part of a slew of new defense appointments in Australia following the end of previous terms, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles announced today that they plan to appoint Lieutenant General Susan Coyle as Chief of Army, making her the first woman to fill the role as head of the Australian Army.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump has stated that 34 ships transited the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, which he claims to be the highest number since the start of the Iran War. Prior to the conflict, roughly 140 cargo ships and tankers passed everyday through the Hormuz Strait.

Several vessels have transited the Strait of Hormuz over the last 36 hours, though levels are less than 15% of normal, inbound and outbound. The vast majority of them are using the Iranian traffic separation scheme transiting near Larak Island.

According to Barak Ravid, citing a senior U.S. official, following the failed talks between Iran and the United States in Islamabad, Pakistan, mediators from Turkey, Pakistan, and Egypt will continue talks with their U.S. counterparts in an attempt to find points of convergence between the U.S. and Iranian sides. Per the report, mediators, who still believe a lasting ceasefire is possible, hope to realize the aforementioned goals before the ceasefire deadline on April 21, 2026.

U.S. Air Force C-17A Globemaster and KC-135 Stratotanker activity over the last 24 hours across Europe and the Middle East.

Here's the current view of tanker (red) and container (green) traffic in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center has issued an advisory for all vessels in the Arabian (Persian) Gulf, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz, advising that restrictions will go into effect at 1400UTC (1000EST), affecting the entirety of the Iranian coastline. Neutral vessels currently in Iranian ports have been granted a limited grace period to depart before being affected by the blockade by the United States.

According to the Israel Defense Force (IDF), two IDF soldiers were moderately injured, with another 6 being lightly injured, following a Lebanese Hezbollah bomb-laden drone attack during IDF operations in southern Lebanon. The soldiers were transported to the hospital and their families have been notified, per reports.

U.S. President Donald J. Trump said on TruthSocial that if any Iranian fast-attack vessels approach the now in effect U.S. blockade they will be “immediately eliminated” in the same manner that vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) in the U.S. Southern Command Area-of-Responsibility.

According the Wall Street Journal, citing a senior U.S. official, the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is now in effect. Per the official, 15 U.S. warships are in position to enforce the blockade of Iranian ports across the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea.

Confirming reports that the U.S. and Indonesia were looking to increase military-to-military cooperation, the U.S. Department of Defense has released a statement detailing the upgrade of the U.S.-Indonesia defense relationship to a Major Defense Cooperation Partnership (MDCP). Per the release, the MDCP will be centered around, military modernization and capacity building, training, professional military education (PME), and exercises/unspecified operational cooperation across the Indo-Pacific.

According to U.S. President Donald J. Trump, “it won’t be pleasant for them [Iran]” if a peace deal is not reached before the nominal deadline on April 21, 2026.

Engagement between the U.S. delegation and Iranian leaders has continued since this past weekend’s failed round of peace talks in Islamabad, officials tell CBS News, with one official stating that there has been “forward motion on trying to get to an agreement.”

Asked earlier at the White House about one of his posts last night on TruthSocial, which included a picture of himself depicted as Jesus Christ, President Trump responded: “I thought it was me as a doctor and had to do with Red Cross, as a Red Cross worker there, which we support. And only the fake news could come up with that one. It's supposed to be me as a doctor making people better. And I do make people better. I make people a lot better.”

According to USNI News, citing two defense officials, the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) and its escorts, USS Donald Cook (DDG-75), USS Mason (DDG-87) and USS Ross (DDG-71), did not transit the Strait of Gibraltar and are instead sailing around the southern tip of Africa. The carrier strike group is currently operating off the coast of Namibia, as it makes the trip avoiding the Suez Canal transit and the potentially contested zones of the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait.