G7 leaders have agreed to release strategic reserves “up to 100 million barrels, within four months”, French President Emmanuel Macron has said.

He added the leaders will “take no measures to restrict the exchange of energy and petroleum products between partner countries”.

It comes following a stand-off with Donald Trump in the wake of the US conflict with Iran, after he claimed Europe is going to “release a massive amount” of its diesel stocks.

Donald Trump has added Iran “doing drugs” to the list of reasons for starting his unpopular war eight months ago.

​The president has long said the ongoing conflict with the Islamic Republic, which began at the end of February, was launched to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

However, speaking at a rally in Durant, Oklahoma, on Thursday, Mr Trump said: ​“They went from Missouri and then at one o’clock in the morning, with no moon, dark as can be, these unbelievable machines led by the most incredible pilots in the world, they unloaded every single bomb, went right down air chutes into this, uh, drug factories, really.

“That’s what they were doing. They were nuclear and drugs. They were doing drugs, but they were doing the nuclear. These drug factories/nuclear factories were hit so hard.”

The average pump price of a litre of diesel fuel hit £2 ($2.64) in Britain for the first time on Friday, according to data compiled by the RAC, the latest landmark in a global surge in fuel prices.

Prices ⁠have been inching steadily higher since passing the previous ‌high of 199.09 pence ​on ⁠Monday. That old record was set in June 2022 shortly after ‌Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

RAC head of policy Simon Williams said the rise in prices was “showing no ⁠signs of slowing”.

EU countries discussed a French proposal on Friday to release diesel stocks in response to US pressure to help cool surging fuel prices.

French president ‌Emmanuel Macron intends to hold ​a call with his counterparts ‌from the G7 ⁠to discuss actions on the world ⁠markets for crude and refined products after ‌discussing the issue ​with Donald Trump.

The European Union “fully rejects” the threat made by the US to ban diesel exports if Europe does not release more of its fuel stocks, European Commission spokesperson Anna-Kaisa Itkonen said on Friday.

“A ban would not be beneficial ‌to anyone. ‌It would undermine our trust in ⁠the United States as a reliable partner,” she said, adding that the next EU’s Oil ‌Coordination Group meeting ​is scheduled for 15 October, ⁠but could ⁠be brought forward ‌if ​needed.

French president Emmanuel Macron intends to hold a call with his counterparts from the G7 to discuss actions on the world markets for crude and refined products after discussing the issue with US president Donald Trump in a call, Elysee Palace said on Friday.

The ⁠Elysee added ‌that Macron had emphasised the need for G7 countries to ‌work together to ‌fight fuel price hikes and refined product supply with no ⁠restrictions on exports.

France has asked its EU partners to release additional diesel stockpiles, in response to US pressure on European nations to unleash more supplies in an attempt to reduce surging fuel prices, a source familiar with details of the discussion told Reuters on Friday.

Iran is weighing its options for how to hit back if the US resumes hostilities and could attempt to disrupt Israel’s upcoming election, a senior Israeli defence official told the Jerusalem Post.

The official said Iran was still assessing the American side’s willingness to resume stalled talks on its nuclear programme and the easing of sanctions.

“The Iranians are looking for tools within this campaign. They are asking themselves how they can get out of this situation. It is reasonable to assume that they are also discussing the possibility of influencing the elections in order to understand the other side,” the official was quoted as saying.

Trump’s war with Iran has become staggeringly unpopular and by far the least popular of Trump’s stances among his own voters.

Three in four Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of relations with Iran in a recent CNN/SRSS poll, and other surveys have shown that Americans broadly doubt that the president has a solid strategy for extracting the US from the conflict.

Yemen’s armed forces spokesperson said on Friday that air force warplanes carried out 20 precision strikes over the past three hours targeting Houthi movements, reinforcements, gatherings, personnel, vehicles and military equipment in Taiz province.

The strikes hit ⁠hostile targets directly and inflicted losses on Houthi militia personnel, equipment and ‌military movements, the ​spokesperson ‌said in ⁠a post ⁠on X.

The Houthis have reported Saudi strikes on the Yemeni capital ⁠Sanaa and other parts of Yemen.

A spokesperson for Yemen’s armed forces, which are aligned with the internationally recognised government, said coalition forces had attacked what it described as “high-value targets” in the capital Sanaa.

The recent escalation is the most serious fighting between Saudi Arabia and the ​Iran-aligned Houthis ⁠since a UN-brokered truce largely halted cross-border ‌attacks in 2022.

Hostilities resumed this year after the Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in July and began attacking Saudi territory and shipping, while Houthi forces also made major territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. Saudi Arabia has responded with air strikes ‌in Yemen and backed government forces fighting to repel the Houthis.

The coalition also said it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait.

Local officials said early on Friday that ‌the Houthis had also targeted the ​headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition forces command in Aden ‌with several ballistic missiles and drones.