'Serious situation': Aussies in Iran and Israel warned to leave
Australians still in Iran and Israel have been warned to leave as the government gears up to provide repatriation flights out of the Middle East.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley expresses support for US strikes on Iran, calls for solidarity against nuclear threat
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has expressed support for US President Donald Trump's military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday (Australian time) that US forces had hit three of Iran's principal nuclear sites, including Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. While the Albanese government has called for 'de-escalation', the federal opposition has expressed strong support for the United States' military actions. 'The Coalition supports actions taken by the United States of America to ensure that the Iranian regime is stopped from acquiring nuclear weapons,' Ms Ley said. 'It was made clear by the International Atomic and Energy Agency on June 12 that Iran was in breach of its Non-Proliferation Treaty obligations.' Under the treaty, Iran was prohibited from attempting to acquire, manufacture, or otherwise obtain nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic had since stockpiled more than 400 kilograms of 60 per cent enriched uranium at the Fordow facility. This was understood to be the last step in enrichment before Iran was able to produce a nuclear weapon. 'The world can never accept a nuclear-armed Iranian regime and today the United States military has taken proactive action to ensure that we never need to,' Ms Ley said. 'A nuclear armed Iranian regime would be a serious and direct threat to world peace and stability. The Coalition stands with the United States of America today. 'We can never allow the Iranian regime the capacity to enact its objectives of the destruction of the United States and Israel.' The Albanese government also issued a carefully worded statement on Sunday calling for 'de-escalation and diplomacy'. 'We have been clear that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programme has been a threat to international peace and security," a government spokesperson said. 'The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy.' The statement also warned Australians in the region to follow public safety advice and confirmed that DFAT was providing support. Former prime minister Scott Morrison told Sky News that the US strikes were 'necessary' and accused the Albanese government of 'ambiguity' in its response. 'This was a necessary event. There were no other options available to the (US) president,' Mr Morrison said. "It's time for some clarity (from the Albanese government). I think there's been far too much ambiguity about this from Australia." Defence Minister Richard Marles had refrained from giving an explicit position on any US strikes earlier on Sunday. 'We are worried about the prospect for escalation here and we've been urging de-escalation,' Mr Marles said prior to the attack. The US strikes mark a dramatic escalation in the volatile conflict between Israel and Iran. President Trump said the attacks were 'very successful' and declared that the underground Fordow facility was 'gone' after bunker-buster bombs were dropped. 'This was an amazing success tonight… They should make peace immediately or they'll get hit again,' he said.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Concert tickets prices are skyrocketing. Fans have come up with a worrying solution
When Bianca Wilmott wanted to surprise her boyfriend with two expensive tickets to Lady Gaga's coming Australian tour, she knew exactly how she was going to do it. The 32-year-old social media manager from Sydney's inner west turned to the buy now, pay later (BNPL) service Afterpay to cover the cost of her two $600 tickets. 'It's part of my budgeting, to be able to split the payment up … I wouldn't have [purchased tickets without Afterpay] because I wouldn't have wanted to make that big payment in one go,' says Wilmott, who was one of 11,500 people to purchase Lady Gaga tickets through the BNPL platform. Data provided by Afterpay showed that 1.5 million transactions were made in live entertainment in Australia over the 12 months to April 2025 amid a flurry of big international acts such as Katy Perry, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo, as well as our own Kylie Minogue. Later this year there's Gaga, Metallica, Kendrick Lamar, Bad Bunny, Oasis and Usher. And tickets are getting more expensive – last year, a Live Performance Australia report revealed that the average price for a concert ticket rose from $87.01 in 2022 to $128.21 in 2023. And a report by Music Australia this year found that 'despite feeling less financially secure, young Australians are spending larger sums on entertainment and leisure in 2024 than they were in 2019' and are increasingly purchasing last-minute tickets that might 'break the bank'. Loading The report, titled Listening In: Insights on live music attendance, found that young people were driven by FOMO – fear of missing out – when it came to shelling out for international touring artists, often to the detriment of ticket sales for local talent. A fall in ticket sales for pub and club concerts, often featuring emerging artists, corresponded 'with a spate of big international acts touring Australia after the pandemic', the report says. While the report did not address how audiences bought tickets, it did find that 79 per cent of under 24s had saved money to purchase concert tickets, compared with 31 per cent of those over 40.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
ScoMo's warning to Albo after Iran strikes
Former prime minister Scott Morrison has accused the Albanese Labor government of not showing enough 'clarity' on the Israel-Iran conflict. Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Mr Morrison urged Labor to back the United States' attack on Iran's nuclear sites, after Donald Trump deployed a series of strikes on the country's three nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan. 'I think there's been far too much ambiguity about this from Australia, far too much ambiguity, and it's time for clarity,' Mr Morrison said. 'And the clarity is we were dealing with a theocratic authoritarian state that had sponsored an attack on close friends in Israel back on the seventh of October, and they have shown their true colours, and Iran is not a friend of Australia. It's not a friend of Australia's interests. 'We should be expressing no ambiguity when it comes to Iran.' Former prime minister Scott Morrison said Australia had shown 'far too much ambiguity' over the Israel-Iran conflict. NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Following Mr Trump's confirmation of the strikes, a government spokesperson said Labor has noted Mr Trump's statements, and reiterated the President's comments that 'now is the time for peace'. 'We have been clear that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security,' they said. 'The security situation in the region is highly volatile. 'We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy.' They also urged the 2600 Australians in Iran and 1200 in Israel to monitor public safety information by local authorities and 'shelter in place when required'. 'The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will be communicating directly with registered Australians about preparations for assisted departures,' they said. Mr Morrison gave his firm backing of Mr Trump's decision to strike the three Iranian nuclear bases, saying the US were the 'only ones who could do it'. He said the move was done not to 'oppose some sort of regime change', but to end the threat of Iran's nuclear programs, and were 'totally justified given the threat that was faced'. 'This has been the most decisive and the most comprehensive action to terminate that threat,' Mr Morrison told Sky. 'This is not the place that President Trump would rather be. He has not rushed towards this and further, this is not about the US trying to oppose some sort of regime change, they have a very specific job here that they have undertaken.' In the wake of the strikes, Mr Trump urged the Iranian regime to 'make peace' or risk 'greater' and 'easier' attacks. 'There will be either peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days,' he said. '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.' US President Donald Trump says Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities have been 'completely and totally obliterated'. Mr Trump has addressed the nation after the United States carried out attacks on three nuclear sites in Iran, marking a significant development in the conflict in the Middle East. Earlier on Sunday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said the government remained concerned about the prospect of escalation and continued calls for dialogue, denying claims the government was trying to distance itself from the US. However he acknowledged Israel's 'right to defend itself', and the 'risk that the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile program represents to both the region and the stability of the world'. He said the Department of Foreign Affairs remained alert in trying to evacuate the thousands of Australians caught in Iran and Israel. 'We do have civilian aircraft chartered ready to go in the event that airspace opens up over Iran and Israel, and right now that is the biggest constraint here, that both airspace over both countries is closed,' he said. 'We have a C-17 and a KC-30 which both can take hundreds of passengers placed in Al Minhad (in the United Arab Emirates), which is just outside of Dubai.' Mr Marles said the staff at Al Minhad had been increased from 'about 40, to 'about 300'. US President Donald Trump warned of further attacks on Iran if it doesn't 'make peace'. Carlos Barria/ NewsWire POOL Credit: NewsWire Greens Leader Larissa Waters said the US strikes on Iran were a 'terrifying and catastrophic escalation by the USA,' and called on Mr Albanese to condemn the actions. 'From Iraq to Afghanistan, we have seen Australia follow the US into devastating and brutal wars that have done untold damage to the people of the Middle East. We know that you cannot bomb your way to peace,' she said. Greens defence and foreign affairs spokesman David Shoebridge said Australia should distance itself from the US' actions, including withdrawing from the AUKUS defence pact. 'That means ending the AUKUS agreement, prohibiting the use of US military bases in Australia, including Pine Gap, from being used in this conflict, and clearly opposing military action by the US and Israel against Iran,' he said. 'Like every war, the cost will not be carried by governments, but by people, families and communities who face destruction. 'The impact of war is always inflicted on ordinary people. The Iranian people, who currently face oppression under the Iranian regime, are only put at further risk of violence and persecution by these US and Israeli attacks.'
