Tara Oakes

Hi, I'm Tara Oakes in Liverpool.

It's Tuesday, March 31st.

Today, Iran hits a giant oil tanker off Dubai after Trump's latest threats.

Thousands of US Army paratroopers arrive in the Middle East.

An Israeli law makes the death penalty the default punishment for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks.

And record heat sees US skiers take to the slopes in their bikinis.

This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the frontlines in 10 minutes, 7 days a week.

US President Donald Trump is once again threatening to obliterate Iran's oil wells and power plants if Tehran doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The threats followed Iran rejecting US peace proposals as unrealistic and firing fresh waves of missiles at Israel.

After those threats, Iran attacked a fully loaded crude oil tanker, setting it on fire off Dubai.

Meanwhile, officials tell Reuters that thousands of elite US soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division have started arriving in the Middle East, giving Trump new options for potential ground operations inside Iran.

Still, the White House says that talks with Iran continue and are progressing well, adding that what Tehran says publicly and privately is very different.

Trevor Honeycutt covers the White House.

Trump says the U.S.

is engaging with a quote, new and more reasonable regime.

White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt explains what he meant.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says the central bank will wait and see how the Iran war affects the economy, even as US gas prices hit $4 a gallon for the first time in more than three years.

Speaking at Harvard, Powell said the Fed typically looks through oil price shocks and that inflation expectations remain well anchored.

But he acknowledged the Fed faces tension between its two mandates, keeping inflation down and protecting jobs.

For more econ and market news, please tune into our sister podcast, MorningBid, available wherever you get your podcasts.