Middle East crisis live: US and Iran in blockade stalemate as Washington’s navy secretary leaves office ‘immediately’

White House says Tehran in ‘very weak position’; Iran says two seized ships transferred to its coast; US navy secretary exiting post ‘effective immediately’, says Pentagon

• ‘Impossible’ to reopen strait of Hormuz amid ‘flagrant’ ceasefire breaches, Iran says

Most stockmarkets in Asia have fallen in response to the latest Iran war developments.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore and Wellington are all down. But Seoul rallied more than 1% to a new record due to a fresh rally in the tech sector that has been the backbone of a surge in the Kospi index this year.