Good morning. Thomas Morgan here with today's AM NewsMail.

We start in the Middle East, with Matthew Doran's latest wrap of developments in the war between Iran, the US and Israel. Donald Trump says Iran wants a ceasefire, but Tehran says that's "false".

Plus, the latest analysis on the prime minister's address to the nation last night and a look at the vital weaponry that could decide when the Iran war ends.

And in other news, a survivor shares her story with the ABC about the abuse she suffered at the hands of the UK's "Jeffrey Epstein", and it's not long now until lift-off for the next generation of moon astronauts.

G'day, ABC Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran here, writing to you from Jerusalem. It's the end of day 33 of the war in the Middle East, and here's your wrap up of the main points overnight Australia time.

For some time, the US president has been insisting Iran was "begging" for a deal to end the war. And Iran's rhetoric in response has always been the same — it isn't backing down.

Donald Trump's social media announcement that Iran had asked for a ceasefire is no different in following that rhythm. Adding to the confusion is the question of who he was actually referring to as having asked for the truce — the "New Regime President".

The President of Iran, Masoud Pezeskhian has been in the role since mid-2024. He's not new. 

And numerous times during this war, it's been seen that his public comments have been somewhat at odds with the position of the armed elements of the regime, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Mojtaba Khamanei is the "new" Supreme Leader. If the call came from him, that might mean a deal is cooking, given the closer alignment with other parts of the regime. Maybe we'll get more details when the president speaks to his nation at around midday AEDT.

In a sign that the war is still ongoing, Israel announced it has continued to launch wave after wave of attacks against Tehran — and we need to remember that it is the other party in this war.

In other words, even if the US president calls time on the conflict, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have a very different view on the way forward.

Iran launched multiple missile barrages at Israel in response, with warning sirens ringing out across central Israel and parts of the West Bank. (A note — sirens only ring out in the West Bank from warning stations placed in illegal Jewish settlements, not Palestinian communities.)

While the sirens were silent in Jerusalem, interceptions could be heard quite clearly. It sounded like rolling thunder at times, which seemed to fit with the heavy rain clouds hanging over the holy city.

The ABC Bureau shook a couple of times as the booms got louder and louder, and the missiles got closer and closer. It could be a less than peaceful Passover.

Thanks for joining me. You can keep track of the latest updates from Iran and around the world throughout the day via our live blog.

Thank you to Matthew for that. Our correspondents in the region will be along tomorrow with more on the Iran war. Here's what else we're tracking on the conflict and its impacts here at home:

• 'Press ahead': With a budget looming, the federal government is showing no signs of backing away from major reforms. Hot off the heels of giving a national address last night, Anthony Albanese will today use a major speech to unveil a national economic resilience package.
• News analysis: On yesterday's address, our chief digital political correspondent Clare Armstrong writes that the PM is hoping Australians take away one key message — drive if you must, otherwise please take the bus.
• On public transport: Some states have made their networks free in response to the oil shock. So what can we learn from a similar experiment in France? That it isn't always so straightforward.
• Dire straits: From the Strait of Hormuz to the Strait of Malacca, where Singapore's vital role in global oil is coming under stress. The city-state's refinery is one of Australia's major suppliers of petrol, and it's heavily reliant on the Middle Eastern oil.
• Stockpiles low: Meanwhile, Iran's drone and missile attacks are wearing the US and allies thin. Projections show supplies of crucial missile interceptors could run out by mid-April, which experts say might explain why the White House is looking for an off-ramp this conflict.

• It's almost time for lift-off: If everything goes to plan, later this morning a new generation of astronauts will be blasted into space and propelled further from Earth than any human before them. This is what the Artemis II's mission to the moon and back will look like.
• One Nation: One of the party's candidates at the recent South Australian election has been the subject of domestic violence allegations, an ABC investigation can reveal. Another candidate published more than a dozen extremist posts on social media, that were racist, antisemitic and homophobic. It has raised questions about the surging party's internal vetting processes.
• 'Hostile attitude': The union representing tertiary education workers is accusing universities in Victoria of abusing processes meant to bring transparency to the sector. It follows a Four Corners investigation that revealed increasingly corporatised Australian unis spent $1.8 billion on consultants in a single year.

"My role there was purely to be fresh game for the chairman."