Asian shares and oil prices are mixed after the US launches strikes in southern Iran

Shares were mixed Tuesday in Asia after the U.S. military said it carried out what it called “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines.

The attacks came even as President Donald Trump said on social media that negotiations on ending the war were “proceeding nicely.”

U.S. futures jumped. Oil prices were mixed, with Brent crude rising but still trading below $100 a barrel while U.S. benchmark crude oil fell.

The U.S. military said the strikes Monday were done “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces.” It said it used restraint due to the ceasefire with Iran, which gave no official response. Further details were not immediately available, including more specifics on threats from Iran and what this means for negotiations.

With the status of peace talks with Iran unclear, markets have been swayed by various developments and comments by Trump.

“Markets are behaving as though a full Iran breakthrough already exists, even though the hardest parts of the negotiation remain unresolved,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management wrote in a commentary. “Washington continues to signal optimism, while Tehran insists no agreement is imminent.”

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 lost 0.3% to 64,996.09, falling back from an all-time high close on Monday.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.4% to 25,700.33, while the Shanghai Composite index shed 0.2% to 4,143.14.

South Korea's Kospi jumped 2.6% to 8,047.51, catching up after markets were closed Monday for a holiday.

The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia lost 0.4% to 8,657.80.

The future for the S&P 500 was up 0.6%, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 0.7% early Tuesday.

Benchmark U.S. crude oil declined $4.65 to $91.95 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gained $2.05 to $95.47 a barrel after falling nearly $5 on Monday.

U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday, while European shares advanced.

The gains followed signals of progress toward a peace deal. Regional officials said Sunday that the United States was close to reaching an agreement with Iran to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and see Iran give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium,

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz will help decide the direction of oil prices. Its closure due to the war has prevented oil tankers from exiting the Persian Gulf and delivering crude to customers worldwide. Japan, for instance, imports almost all its oil, most of it through the strait.

On Friday, the S&P 500 added 0.4% and the Dow industrials climbed 0.6%. The Nasdaq composite gained 0.2%.

In other dealings early Tuesday, the U.S. dollar rose to 159.09 Japanese yen from 158.91 yen. The euro cost $1.1636, down from $1.1645.

People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 25, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A currency trader talks on the phone near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 25, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index, seen through the glass wall of an office building Monday, May 25, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An airliner carrying a group of Australian women and children linked to the Islamic State group landed in Melbourne on Tuesday despite Australian government warnings that they could face charges.

Another group of women and children linked to IS, who have spent years in a Syrian refugee camp, are expected to land in Sydney later Tuesday.

The government has confirmed seven women and 12 children were heading home on Qatar Airways flights, less than three weeks after a group of 13 people in similar situations returned to Australia’s two largest cities.

Three of the four women on the earlier flights were charged with slavery and terrorism offenses and remain behind bars.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said anyone among the 19 on their way to Australia who has committed crimes "can expect to face the full force of the law.”

“The government has not and will not provide any assistance to this group,” Burke said in a statement.

“These are people who have made the horrific choice to join a dangerous terrorist organisation and to place their children in an unspeakable situation,” he added.

Australian law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been preparing for their return since 2014 and have long-standing plans in place to manage and monitor them, Burke said.

“The priority of the government, as always, is the safety of the Australian community,” he said.

After the departure of the latest group, at least two Australians will remain in Roj camp, a location in northeast Syria near the Iraq border where people linked to IS have been held since IS forces in the Middle East were defeated in 2019.

A mother who was prevented from returning to Australia in February by a temporary exclusion order was not traveling with the group.

The woman, who is aged around 29, had remained at Roj with her daughter who had been disabled by shrapnel wounds, The Australian newspaper reported.

Their family has engaged a Sydney lawyer to challenge the order, which would bar the mother from Australia until February 2028.

Exclusion orders were created by laws introduced in 2019 to prevent defeated IS fighters from returning to Australia.

The last Australian cohort returned from Syria on May 7, similarly without government help.

Kawsar Ahmed, also known Kawsar Abbas, 53, and her daughter Zeinab Ahmed, 31, were arrested when they landed in Melbourne over allegations that their family had bought a female Yazidi slave.

Janai Safar, 32, was arrested at Sydney Airport when she arrived with her 9-year-old son on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization and with entering or remaining in a region controlled by a terrorist organization.

Australian governments have repatriated Australian women and children from Syrian detention camps on two occasions. Other Australians have returned quietly without government assistance.

FILE - Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (Lukas Coch/AAPImage via AP, File)

FILE - A group of supporters surround a woman and child with alleged ties to the Islamic State as they arrive at Melbourne international Airport, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP, File)

FILE - A group of supporters surround a woman and child with alleged ties to the Islamic State as they arrive at Melbourne international Airport, in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP, File)