The 9 at 9: Thursday

The 9 at 9 Gas field in Iran attacked, hauliers meet with minister on fuel prices and Claire’s stores closing.

LAST UPDATE | 19 Mar

GOOD MORNING.

Here’s all the news that you need to know as you start the day.

1. US President Donald Trump has said Israel will carry out no further strikes on Iran’s key South Pars gas field after the site was targeted yesterday, while warning the US could “massively blow up” the site if Iran attacks Qatar again.

2. EU leaders will discuss the bloc’s response to the Iran war when they convene in Brussels today and tomorrow, with soaring fuel costs very high on the agenda.

3. Here, hauliers are due to sit down with Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien this morning, amid growing pressure on the Government to act on fuel costs.

4. In our Morning Lead, Eoghan Dalton spoke to workers at retail chain Claire’s Accessories, who hit out at what they termed “disgusting” treatment of staff after they were told that plans to save much of the company had failed and they are being “laid off without pay” this week.

5. The Irish Government is prioritising the growth of data centres in Ireland, Taoiseach Micheál Martin told a room of high-powered business leaders in Washington DC this week.

6. In an effort to claw Ireland out of the housing crisis, the Government spent over €400,000 in 2024 and 2025 on advertising campaigns to attract construction workers back to the country.

7. A man in his 30s was arrested yesterday evening after bomb disposal experts from the Defence Forces deemed a suspect device found in the Liffey Valley area as “non-viable”.

9. Temperatures will hit highs of 18 degrees in parts of Ireland today, making it the warmest day of the year so far.