Iranians express fears for future
Protesters chant slogans as one of them holds up a poster of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a protest following the U.S. attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Sky News AU
30 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Aussie motorists told to fuel up now as Iran-Israel conflict escalates
Australians are being warned that now is the low point in the petrol cycle and they should fuel up before prices rise in the coming days. With the price of Brent crude oil hitting a three-month high over the weekend as the Israel-Iran conflict escalates, surpassing $US80 a barrel, motorists are being urged to fill up. 'We will start to see the prices increase, but they are nowhere near as high as other economies have predicted,' NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said. Mr Khoury said while the price of petrol was going up, it was not as much as some motorists feared, with on average drivers likely to pay 8 cents more a litre when fuelling up their car. 'Our regional benchmark – Malaysian Tapis – closed at $77 a barrel and we do expect it to go higher when the markets open tonight,' Mr Khoury said. 'But to put it in perspective, when we saw those really horrible record high prices back when Russia invaded Ukraine, Tapis was trading at $133 a barrel.' Australia motorists' fuel costs are based on Malaysian Tapis crude oil prices. While Tapis crude oil prices are influenced by the same factors as US brent crude oil prices, they do not necessarily trade at the same price. The price of Brent crude oil spiked to $US80 a barrel over the weekend after the US attacked and 'completely obliterated' three nuclear sites in Iran. Traders were worried about two major potential escalations in the conflict, with either the closure of the Strait of Hormuz or an all-out regional war negatively impacting the price of oil. Cutting off the Strait of Hormuz could send the price of oil above $US100 a barrel, as the 32km mile stretch is the primary route of exports from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE, and Kuwait. But the passage that feeds the world with about 30 per cent of its oil supply is still open, at least for now, pending a final decision by Iran's Supreme Council after Iran's parliament voted to close it. Mr Khoury said it was important that Australians educated themselves before they filled up, with motorists in Sydney facing the bottom of the cycle, while Perth prices are set to fall on Tuesday. 'The reason I say that is because there is always a spread of prices,' he said. 'People are really surprised. We've had people say I thought the prices would be sky high and they are not.' Like an interest rate rise Higher petrol prices could act like an interest rate rise, as Aussies would have to spend more at the pump. Independent economist Saul Eslake said what happened next was unknown, but two scenarios could impact the Australian economy. 'One is the Iranians either choose to or find they can't do anything at all to which oil could fall back relatively quickly,' he said. 'On the other hand if they block the Strait of Hormuz, then the oil price could rise above $US100 a barrel, which while the world doesn't end it gets uncomfortably high.' Mr Eslake said the spike in oil prices was unlikely to move the Reserve Bank of Australia on interest rates in the short term. 'The RBA will look through the initial spike in oil prices, as it gets taken out through trimmed mean inflation rate,' he said. 'In a sense, higher oil prices act like an increase in interest rates; that is, to say people spend more on petrol and (have) less to spend on everything else. It's kind of the same way interest rates work.' Originally published as Aussie motorists told to fuel up now as Iran-Israel conflict escalates
ABC News
37 minutes ago
- ABC News
Satellite images show impact craters, building damage at Iranian nuclear sites
New satellite imagery shows US stealth bombers appear to have targeted a vulnerable spot in one of Iran's key nuclear sites, buried deep in a mountain. Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, located near the city of Qom, is a once-secret facility that has recently been enriching uranium to levels high above the minimum needed for civilian use. "If your goal is to eliminate [Iran's] nuclear program, you have to eliminate Fordow," one expert told ABC NEWS Verify. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the bombers had "obliterated" Iran's nuclear ambitions, in a press conference following the mission. New imagery from the site shows six visible craters on the mountain that shields Fordow's underground structure, thought to be about 90 metres below. They were caused by several of the 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bombs dropped on two Iranian nuclear sites during the attack. The images have been analysed by experts from the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) — a think-tank led by David Albright, a leading American physicist and nuclear weapons expert, who is also a former weapons inspector. The impacts at the bottom of the image appear to exploit one of the facility's vulnerabilities — a ventilation shaft, according to the ISIS analysis. "This set of holes [is] near the ventilation shaft of the underground complex, enabling an easier pathway for the MOPS to the deeply buried halls," it reads. "It is highly likely that the enrichment halls were severely damaged or even destroyed in the attack. Debris from the explosions can be seen on the side of the mountain," it concludes. The ventilation shaft had been identified as a weak spot in the structure — after Fordow's early blueprints were stolen in a 2018 raid by Mossad, Israel's foreign intelligence service. "We were surprised by this, there's only one ventilation shaft for the building," David Albright said in a 2024 podcast interview. "You see it in the drawings. We went back and looked at historical imagery and we could see it being built, and then [camouflaged]. "You know exactly where it is … you can destroy that shaft deeply, that could potentially cause damage mostly through temperature effects. "You could put the facility out of commission for quite a long time, measured probably in a few years rather than a few months," he told Arms Control Poseur. The ISIS analysis also notes that Fordow's entrances were backfilled by Iran ahead of the attack. Evidence of this can be seen in imagery from June 20, where trucks and what appear to be bulldozers were captured near the facility's entrances. Natanz and Isfahan The new imagery also shows Natanz — Iran's largest enrichment facility — has been impacted by at least one "bunker-buster". An image from its construction in 2003 shows large structures in the middle of the site, which are not present in more recent imagery and were likely buried. The new imagery shows at least one GBU-57 impact point above what is thought to be a buried enrichment hall, according to ISIS analysis. "This explosion likely destroyed the facility," it concludes. The high-resolution imagery shows at least one other likely impact crater. Previous Israeli strikes had hit an electrical substation, gas turbine generators, a power supply support building and a pilot fuel enrichment plant. The Isfahan nuclear site had also been hit by Israeli strikes prior to America's involvement. But a US submarine launched more than two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles at the site as the attack was unfolding. ISIS analysis said the Isfahan complex sustained heavy damage, including to its main uranium conversion facility and nearby tunnel entrances. Bombers fly east B-2 Spirit Stealth Bombers were used to drop the GBU-57s — marking the first time the bombs have been used in an operation. The bombs reach depths of up to 60 metres before exploding. The US's entire fleet of B-2s operates out of Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. It took 18 hours for the bombers to reach their target, according to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine. Including the flight back to the US, it was the longest B-2 mission since 2001. The mission included flying a number of bombers west over the Pacific as decoys — which were able to be tracked by some aviation enthusiasts. General Caine said more than 125 aircraft were involved in the mission — including fourth- and fifth-generation fighter jets.
News.com.au
42 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Iran could be banned from the 2026 World Cup in USA over bombings
Iran could be spectacularly banned from participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup amid the threat of war between the Islamic Republic and tournament host nation USA. The national team back in March were the sixth team to qualify for the tournament set to take place in America, Mexico and Canada next year, but the latest air strikes on the country's nuclear facilities have the world watching on with ongoing military tensions continuing to escalate. The situation makes it unlikely Team Melli — Iran's national football team — will be playing games on US soil. Their fourth successive World Cup appearance is now in serious jeopardy. A tournament ban is a genuine possibility given several teams have been barred from international tournaments previously on the basis that warring nations cannot participate. Russia have been indefinitely suspended by FIFA since invading Ukraine while FIFA and UEFA also banned Yugoslavia during 1990s as a result of the Balkans conflict. Even if Iran do participate in next year's tournament, they are most likely to be without supporters as the country remains on President Donald Trump's banned travel list which bars citizens from travelling to America. The decision was made back in March and included severe travel restrictions to over 40 countries including Iran, Afghanistan, the Republic of Congo, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and others. Exemptions will most likely be granted for the team and associated staff only. There is no associated ban from Mexico and Canada, who will host the other 26 matches of the tournament. With the schedule already drawn up to decide cities, date and stages, the best case scenario would be for Iran to be drawn into Group A and play all three group stage matches in Mexico. However, any progress to the knockout stages means the side will play at least one match in America, creating a logistic nightmare for organisers. Meanwhile, Iran and Inter Milan striker Milan Mehdi Taremi has found himself stuck in his home country in the capital city of Tehran amid the ongoing war with no way of getting out. Taremi was named by Inter in the 32 man squad for the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup in the US, but is unable to join his side as the conflict continues. The 32-year-old initially flew back to Iran to compete in their qualifiers against Qatar and North Korea and to accept Iran's footballer of the Year award, and planned to leave for Los Angeles straight after but was left stranded. It was Taremi's two goals in the 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan that sealed his sides World Cup qualification back in March, but the striker has now been left stranded as his club scrambles to find a way out. It is reported that Inter president Giuseppe Marotta has been in contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Italian ambassador to Tehran to find a way out for the Milan striker, but has been unsuccessful. The player himself is said to been in constant contact with teammates, who won their most recent group stage match against Urawa Reds.
