It's been a few weeks since news2day brought you a story about what is happening in the Middle East. To bring us up to date with the situation with Iran, the US and Israel, RTÉ's Deputy Foreign Editor Edmund Heaphy joined Florence in studio.
Press play on the images in the article to watch all three news2day Explainers - get informed on what is happening now and how we got to this point.
The major update is there is a ceasefire in the war, which means that both sides are mostly not fighting with each other. But the key thing now is that the Strait of Hormuz, which is a narrow waterway, that remains closed.
Edmund says: "The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow stretch of water between Iran and the Arabian Sea. It's basically a busy doorway. Now, before the war, a fifth of the world's oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz. But basically, since the war began, Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, which means that not much oil is getting through.
"And when there's less oil, it means the prices of oil has gone up. So that's why the price of fuel at garages and petrol stations is higher in many countries, including in Ireland. And Iran has basically realised that keeping it closed gives it enormous power. So, while Iran is saying that it wants to reach an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, it probably isn't in much of a hurry to do so."
Earlier this year, we explained how a widespread protest by the Iranian people against its government, which were harshly put down by the authorities.
US President Donald Trump said at the time that the United States could intervene through force. On Saturday, along with Israel, the US launched airstrikes on Iran's capital city, Tehran.
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say they want the current government in Iran to fall and be replaced. They also say they want to stop Iran building nuclear weapons. However, some experts say that Iran is further away from creating these weapons than the US and Israel claim.
Since the beginning of the attacks, several hundred people have died, including the head of the Iranian government, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled since 1989. Iran has responded with attacks on Israel and on US military bases all around the Middle East.
At the time Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was deeply concerned by the developments in Iran. He urged everyone involved to exercise restraint to avoid a larger conflict.
The Protests
Iran is a large country located in the Middle East with both European and Asian neighbours. It is home to 93 million people. Protests began in the capital city, Tehran, in January. The Iranian people were unhappy with the high cost of living, as things like food and fuel had become very expensive.
They see these as issues being caused by the government. Thousands took to the streets to demonstrate against their rule. Human rights groups say that thousands of people have been killed and many more arrested.
Watch the report in full by pressing play on the images in this article and tune in to news2day on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player weekdays at 4.20pm.
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