Europeans in talks with Iran as Rubio calls around

"The Iranians can't sit down with the Americans whereas we can," said a European diplomat. "We will tell them to come back to the table to discuss the nuclear issue before the worst case scenario, while raising our concerns over its ballistic missiles, support to Russia and detention of our citizens."

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‘Like a dystopian episode of Black mirror': New Yorkers slammed for war crimes protest

Attorney Elica Le Bon slams the hundreds of people who protested in Times Square in New York, calling for an end to US war crimes in Gaza and Iran, with some reportedly waving the Iranian regime flag. 'We don't even call them the Iranian regime, they are the Islamic regime … it is not the name we gave them; it's the name that they gave themselves,' Ms Le Bon told Sky News Senior Reporter Caroline Marcus. 'That flag is a flag that symbolises oppression for tens of millions of Iranians. 'It's both upsetting and incredibly ironic that we're seeing these so-called human rights protestors go pouring out into the streets for the first time to say hands off the regime in Iran. 'Where were they when it was time to say hands off the Iranian people for 46 years that this regime was oppressing and harming Iranian people? 'It's literally like living in a dystopian episode of Black Mirror.'

West Australian

an hour ago

• West Australian

Richard Marles will represent Australia at NATO meeting after Anthony Albanese confirms he won't attend

Anthony Albanese won't attend next week's NATO meeting in the Netherlands, forgoing his first chance to meet Donald Trump since his snubbing at the G7 summit. Earlier this week, the US President left G7 early and cancelled a planned meeting with the Prime Minister amid rising tensions between the countries. Mr Albanese had been considering heading to the Netherlands for the defence-focused gathering — which was a change of heart after he had already announced his deputy Richard Marles would be representing Australia at NATO. Now it's back to plan A, with Mr Marles to head off early next week. The reasons for Mr Albanese's rethink of going to NATO were twofold. Firstly, the June 25 security talks among European and US leaders come at a time of global unrest, with wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. The American president is expected to go to the NATO meeting, although with his attention focused on the Israel-Iran conflict, he may still pull out at the last minute. The Middle-East conflict led to Mr Trump departing the G7 in Canada a day early this past week. The US been pressuring Australia to spend significantly more on defence, the Pentagon is currently reviewing the AUKUS pact with its pledge to sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, and Australia has been caught up in the White House's sweeping tariffs. Government sources said Mr Albanese was keen to arrange a meeting with Mr Trump soon. Mr Albanese did speak about the trade issues with senior US officials while in Canada and Foreign Minister Penny Wong pressed the case for AUKUS with Marco Rubio during a phone call on Friday. 'We talked about the Indo-Pacific and the importance of our partnership to stability, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,' Senator Wong said. 'I've outlined, as you would expect, the benefits to all countries, all three countries of the AUKUS agreement, an agreement which I think is so important for strategic balance in the region, that means protecting peace, preventing conflict and assuring prosperity and security for all countries. And AUKUS is a contribution to that. 'I've also outlined, just as the Prime Minister has, the near-term benefits to the United States, including additional maintenance days and more days in the water for more submarines.' NATO has traditionally been focused on Europe and North America. But the convergence of security interests has prompted deepened ties between the bloc the four Indo-Pacific nations — Australia, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. Mr Albanese has attended two previous NATO summits and met NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte in Canada last week. Mr Marles also attended the gathering in Washington DC last year. This time, the leaders of Japan and New Zealand are heading to the Netherlands, and the South Korean president is keeping the door open to attending. Senior Opposition frontbencher James Paterson said he'd support Mr Albanese attending NATO regardless of whether he met with Mr Trump because the security discussions were so important.

The Age

4 hours ago

• The Age

How the first week of the Israel-Iran war unfolded, day by day

Since Israel attacked Iran last week, hundreds of people have been killed in both countries, as they traded waves of missiles and drones. US President Donald Trump has stayed true to the image of a volatile and unpredictable leader as the White House considers whether to engage directly in the conflict. Meanwhile, the Israeli military continues to kill Palestinians in Gaza and is accused of targeting those seeking aid. Here's how the first week of the Middle East war has unfolded, day by day. June 13: Israel attacks Iran Israel attacks Iran in what it says is a targeted campaign to wipe out the Islamic republic's nuclear program. Israeli airstrikes kill top Iranian generals and nuclear scientists, as well as civilians in residential parts of Tehran. About 80 people are killed and hundreds more injured. The attack also blows up negotiations between the United States and Iran over a potential nuclear deal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims Iran is rapidly approaching the ability to build nuclear weapons – something he's said for years. But some media reports suggest Iran is years away from building a bomb, according to US intelligence. Iran launches a salvo of retaliatory drones and missiles against Israel. June 14: Iran responds; Israeli MP warns 'Tehran will burn' Iranian missiles destroy buildings in Tel Aviv and other cities in Israel, killing three civilians and injuring dozens more. An Israeli official says Iran fired about 200 ballistic missiles in four waves. Airstrikes pummel surface facilities at Iran's biggest nuclear enrichment plant, Natanz, the global nuclear watchdog says. These are the types of facilities where Iran is accused of trying to make weapons-grade uranium, a key ingredient in nuclear bombs. Israel's defence minister warns 'Tehran will burn' if retaliatory strikes against Israel continue, as Netanyahu calls on Iranians to overthrow their government. June 15: Civilians killed, oil depot set alight Ten Israelis are killed in Iranian missile strikes, including six in a residential building in Bat Yam, and four in the northern town of Tamra. Israel attacks Iranian energy infrastructure, including one of the country's largest oil refineries, Shahr Rey, the Shahran fuel depot in Tehran and the immense South Pars natural gas facility. The attack heightens the risk to energy infrastructure and sends the price of oil, already inflated since the war began, surging higher. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis say they have targeted central Jaffa in central Israel's with several ballistic missiles over 24 hours in co-ordination with Iran. The group has been launching attacks against Israel, most of which have been intercepted, in what they say is support for Palestinians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war there. Some Iranians protest against Israel's attacks on the streets of Tehran, but others celebrate Israel's attacks in hope they would topple the almost 40-year regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. June 16: Trump vetoes assassination plot; DFAT plans repatriation Trump vetoes a plan Israel presented to the US to kill Khamenei, according to AP and Reuters. Israel kills the intelligence chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Kazemi, and his deputy, in attacks on Tehran, and the IDF blows up surface-to-surface missile sites in central Iran. At least three people are killed and dozens more injured in Iranian attacks on the central Israeli city of Petah Tikva, near Tel Aviv, according to Israel's national emergency service, Magen David Adom. Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirms the government is planning repatriation flights for Australians trapped in the Middle East, but says the exact timing would depend on airspaces reopening. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese discusses the conflict with other world leaders before the G7 summit in Canada. June 17: Trump departs G7 early; people flee Tehran Israeli missiles hit Iran's state-run TV station live on air, killing three people and sending the presenter running for cover. Watch it unfold below. Trump leaves the G7 summit early to address the unfolding crisis and cancels his planned meeting with Albanese. The US president joins leaders in signing a statement calling for de-escalation in hostilities which condemns Iran as the 'principal source of regional instability and terror', and declares that the world would not allow the country to have nuclear weapons. Trump also warns Iranians to 'immediately evacuate Tehran', but fleeing civilians are stuck on gridlocked highways exiting the city of 10 million while airports in Iran remain closed. More Australians in Iran and Israel register with DFAT as they seek safe passage home. Two Iranian humanitarian aid workers are killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to the Red Crescent. State media reports 224 Iranians have been killed in hostilities. One of Israel's largest oil companies shuts down all refinery facilities after a power station is damaged by an Iranian missile strike. June 18: Trump brands Khamenei 'easy target'; Israel strikes nuclear base Trump claims to know the whereabouts of Iran's leader Khamenei and suggests the US could kill him easily if it wished to do so. 'We know exactly where the so-called 'Supreme Leader' is hiding,' Trump writes on his Truth Social platform. 'He is an easy target, but is safe there. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now … our patience is wearing thin.' The US president holds a meeting with his National Security Council in the White House and hints that the US could become more involved in Israel's war. CBS News reports the White House is actively considering joining its ally's attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. Israel airstrikes damage the highly protected underground enrichment halls at Natanz, Iran's biggest nuclear base. Along with destroying Iran's only uranium-conversion facility in Isfahan, breaching Natanz's fortification counts as a major accomplishment for Israel. Iran's secretive Fordow nuclear base remains undamaged. Iranian state media claims military forces have shot down an advanced Hermes-900 drone before it could destroy any weapons. Iran's state television urges citizens to remove WhatsApp from their smartphones, alleging that the messaging app has gathered user information to send to Israel. WhatsApp brands the advice a 'false report'. Iranian internet access, which had been faltering in the days since the attacks began, plummeted by 91 per cent on Thursday night and is severely restricting communications within the country. June 19: US mulls joining war; Israeli hospital struck Trump tells senior aides that he has approved plans to attack Iran but has withheld a final order to see if Tehran will abandon its nuclear program, the Wall Street Journal reports. Iran's missiles hit civilian areas in Israel, including Soroka hospital in the southern city of Beersheba, injuring people. Nobody is killed in the attack. Other parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv and Ramat Gan, are also targeted. Netanyahu denounces the attacks from Iran's 'terrorist tyrants', which he says have hit the 'civilian population in the centre of the country'. The Israeli military says it has sent 60 warplanes to strike 20 military sites in Tehran. The IDF claims it has killed two Hezbollah commanders in overnight strikes in southern Lebanon. Israel also claims an attack on a non-operational Iranian nuclear reactor in Arak and dozens of other military and government targets throughout the country. At least 639 people have been killed and 1329 wounded in Israeli strikes on Iran, say Human Rights Watch activists based in Washington. The group says it has identified 263 of those killed in Israeli strikes as civilians and 154 as security personnel. June 20: 'Two weeks' for US to join war; Australian embassy evacuated Trump will decide whether the US will intervene in the war within 'two weeks', White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tells reporters. Here's the statement she made on Trump's behalf: Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh warns that US intervention could lead to 'hell for the whole region'. Netanyahu instructs his army to increase the intensity of attacks on Iran after Iran bombs a hospital the day before. The Australian embassy in Tehran is evacuated, and its staff leave the country by road. The evacuation comes as DFAT faces mounting complaints about its communications process from Australians with family in Iran. Foreign Minister Penny Wong announces Australia is sending 'defence assets' to the Middle East to support the evacuation of Australians. She emphasises the deployment is 'to help Australians' and 'not there for combat'. News out of Iran is severely limited due to ongoing internet outages. Israel still killing Palestinians While Israel bombs Iran, it continues to kill Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid. Almost 400 Palestinians have been killed at aid centres since aid deliveries resumed in late May, health officials in Gaza say. Loading According to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, at least 531 people were killed and 2486 injured across the territory between June 11 and 18.