Australia's enduring love affair with the US is at a critical point
It is worth remembering that the trend to American unreliability now so blatant, started more than two decades ago, when fragmentary intelligence was deliberately "sexed up" to look like solid intel ahead of the Iraq invasion. America's "forever wars" in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the attendant abuses of Abu Ghraib and the eventual surrender to the very Taliban it had expelled - signalled a loss of prestige internationally. But they also sparked a crisis at the moral and institutional core of America. The nativist, protectionist, anti-establishment Trump is its indignant progeny. A vulgar up-yours to the compromises of democracy and the checks on executive power by laws, courts, multilateral bodies and international norms.
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Perth Now
35 minutes ago
- Perth Now
World leaders react to US attack on Iran nuclear sites
World leaders are reacting after US forces struck three Iranian nuclear sites. * ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU "Congratulations, President Trump. Your bold decision to target Iran's nuclear facilities with the awesome and righteous might of the United States will change history ... History will record that President Trump acted to deny the world's most dangerous regime the world's most dangerous weapons." * UN SECRETARY-GENERAL ANTONIO GUTERRES "I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today. This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge - and a direct threat to international peace and security. There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control - with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world. I call on member states to de-escalate and to uphold their obligations under the UN Charter and other rules of international law. At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos. There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace." * VENEZUELA FOREIGN MINISTER YVAN GIL "Venezuela Condemns US Military Aggression Against Iran and Demands an Immediate Cessation of Hostilities. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela firmly and categorically condemns the bombing carried out by the United States military, at the request of the State of Israel, against nuclear facilities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan complexes." * MEXICO FOREIGN MINISTRY "The ministry urgently calls for diplomatic dialogue for peace between the parties involved in the Middle East conflict. In keeping with our constitutional principles of foreign policy and our country's pacifist conviction, we reiterate our call to de-escalate tensions in the region. The restoration of peaceful coexistence among the states of the region is the highest priority." * CUBA PRESIDENT MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL "We strongly condemn the US bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities, which constitutes a dangerous escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. The aggression seriously violates the UN Charter and international law and plunges humanity into a crisis with irreversible consequences." * OFFICE OF AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE "We have been clear that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security. We note the US president's statement that now is the time for peace. The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy."
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Donald Trump's statement in full after US bombs Iran nuclear sites
US President Donald Trump has addressed the world after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites, explaining the reasons why he took action. Here is his statement in full. Thank you very much. A short time ago, the US military carried out massive precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime, Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Everybody heard those names for years as they built this horribly destructive enterprise. Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror. Tonight, I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success. Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier. For 40 years, Iran has been saying, death to America, death to Israel. They have been killing our people, blowing off their arms, blowing off their legs with roadside bombs. That was their speciality. We lost over 1000 people, and hundreds of thousands throughout the Middle East and around the world have died as a direct result of their hate. In particular, so many were killed by their general, Qasem Soleimani. I decided a long time ago that I would not let this happen. It will not continue. I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked before. And we've gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel. I want to thank the Israeli military for the wonderful job they've done. And most importantly, I want to congratulate the great American patriots who flew those magnificent machines tonight and all of the United States military on an operation the likes of which the world has not seen in many, many decades. Hopefully, we will no longer need their services in this capacity. I hope that's so. I also want to congratulate the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan 'Razin' Kane, (a) spectacular general, and all of the brilliant military minds involved in this attack. With all of that being said, this cannot continue. There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days. Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight's was the most difficult of them all, by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace does not come quickly, we will go after those other targets with precision, speed, and skill. Most of them can be taken out in a matter of minutes. There's no military in the world that could have done what we did tonight, not even close. There has never been a military that could do what took place just a little while ago. Tomorrow, General Kane and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth will have a press conference at 8am at the Pentagon. And I want to just thank everybody and In particular, God, I want to just say we love you, God, and we love our great military. Protect them. God bless the Middle East. God bless Israel. And God bless America. Thank you very much. Thank you.
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
THE NEW YORK TIMES: What to know about the Israel-Iran conflict as the US joins the war
The United States bombed three nuclear sites in Iran, bringing the U.S. military directly into Israel's war with Iran, a move that could kick off a more dangerous phase in the war. The attack followed days of uncertainty about whether President Donald Trump would intervene in the conflict, which began with a surprise attack on Iran by Israel on June 13. Trump said the sites that were hit Sunday morning included Iran's two major uranium enrichment centers — the under-mountain facility at Fordow and the larger enrichment plant at Natanz. The third site, near the ancient city of Isfahan, is where Iran is believed to keep its near-bomb-grade enriched uranium. 'All planes are now outside of Iran air space,' he said in a social media post Saturday night in the United States, adding that a 'full payload' of bombs had been dropped on Fordow. 'All planes are safely on their way home.' Israel has struck Iran's nuclear facilities in what it says is an effort to stop it from developing a nuclear bomb, though Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful. Ambassadors from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait had earlier expressed concern over the safety of nuclear facilities near their borders, and cautioned that any attack on such sites could have serious consequences. U.S. warplanes dropped bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran, Trump said. After a week of mixed signals, Trump, who has long vowed to steer America clear of overseas 'forever wars,' authorized U.S. forces to strike Iran's most heavily fortified nuclear installation, deep underground. The U.S. bombing early Sunday in Iran followed a wave of airstrikes by Israel on Saturday against missile sites and a nuclear facility in Iran. Israeli forces targeted sites for missile launchers and radars in the Ahvaz region, which would have most likely been on any potential flight path used by U.S. warplanes on the way to strike Fordow. As the conflict entered its ninth day, Israel also said its strikes had killed three commanders of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the most powerful military force in the country. The civilian toll of the attacks by Israel has steadily risen. Iran's Health Ministry, in an updated toll of casualties, said Saturday that more than 400 Iranians, including 54 women and children, had been killed since Israel began its attacks, and at least 3,056 others had been wounded. A spokesperson for Iran's Health Ministry said that most of the casualties were civilians. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is taking precautions against assassination, according to three Iranian officials familiar with his emergency war plans. He speaks with his commanders mostly through a trusted aide now, the officials said, and electronic communications have been suspended to make it harder to find him. He has also chosen replacements for his lieutenants down the chain of military command, in case of their deaths. The chief of staff of Iran's armed forces and senior military commanders have been killed in the conflict. A near-total internet blackout in Iran appeared to be partially lifted early Saturday, but connectivity collapsed again just two hours later, according to internet monitoring group NetBlocks. The blackout has lasted nearly three days, making it hard for Iranians to communicate with each other or the outside world. Civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks, as Israeli missiles hit some apartment buildings and residential complexes. Residents who spoke to The New York Times said they had not experienced attacks like this in a generation, with some recalling the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s. Israeli airstrikes achieved 'direct impacts' on the underground area of the Natanz nuclear site, where Iran enriches uranium, the United Nations' chief nuclear monitor said Tuesday, based on new satellite images. That indicates more serious damage than previous assessments of the attack had shown. On Saturday, Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles and launched drones into Israel. The drones set off air raid sirens in northern Israel and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Over the last week, Israel has generally intercepted Iranian drones, which travel relatively slowly, with no reports of casualties. On Friday, missiles from Iran damaged buildings in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba and in downtown Haifa, Israel's third-largest city. The Israeli military said that Iran had launched a missile with a cluster munition warhead at a populated area in central Israel on Thursday, according to Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, a military spokesperson. It is the first report of that type of weapon being used in the current war. Iran's mission to the United Nations declined to respond to the Israeli claim, which was linked to a ballistic missile that struck Or Yehuda, Israel, and nearby towns. No one was killed by the missile or its bomblets; it was unclear if anyone was injured. Israel has invested billions of dollars in sophisticated and multilayered aerial defenses, but they are now being put to the test. Since Iran started retaliating against Israel's fire last week, Israel's world-leading air defense system has intercepted most incoming Iranian ballistic missiles, giving the Israeli air force more time to strike Iran without incurring major losses at home. As the war continues, Israel is firing interceptors faster than it can produce them. For days, Trump had been weighing whether to provide Israel the powerful munitions needed to destroy Iran's deeply buried nuclear enrichment facilities at Fordo. Only the U.S. military has the 30,000-pound bombs known as bunker busters that are believed up to the job, and only American aircraft can deliver them. Just days ago, the Trump administration appeared intent on distancing itself from the conflict. 'We are not involved in strikes against Iran, and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared. But Trump, when he was not urging peace talks, began sounding increasingly belligerent. Experts expected that direct participation of the U.S. military in Israel's bombing campaign would lead to a quick retaliation from Iran against U.S. troops stationed across the Middle East. The U.S. Air Force developed the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, or GBU-57, to penetrate underground defences. It is also called a bunker buster. The United States began designing the weapon in 2004, during the George W. Bush administration, specifically to attack nuclear facilities constructed deep beneath mountains in Iran and North Korea. It was tested and added to the U.S. arsenal during Trump's first term. The bomb has a much thicker steel case and contains a smaller amount of explosives than similarly sized general-purpose bombs. The heavy casings allow the munition to stay intact as it punches through soil, rock or concrete before detonating. Its size and weight — 20 feet long and 30,000 pounds — means that only the American B-2 stealth bomber can carry it. While Israel has fighter jets, it has not developed heavy bombers capable of carrying the weapon. The U.S. military has concluded that one bomb would not destroy the Fordo facility on its own; an attack would have to come in waves, with B-2s releasing one bomb after another down the same hole. This article originally appeared in The New York Times .
