Australia to be the ‘middle power' in achieving peace in the Middle East
Independent Senator David Pocock says he has been urging the Albanese government to place sanctions on Israeli ministers for over a year after he claimed the Israeli government's actions are 'unacceptable'.
'Given the concern amongst the Australian community, there's a real sense the Australian government can't end this war, but they can actually be a middle power,' Mr Pocock told Sky News Australia.
'I think it's totally unacceptable what is happening.'
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The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
EU-Aust free trade deal: a "middle finger to Trump"
There is appetite for the European Union and Australia to signal a "middle finger to Trump" by uniting on a long-awaited free trade deal but some in Brussels are tempering expectations of a quick turnaround. Trade talks kicked off in 2018 but Canberra walked away about 18 months ago over unsatisfactory market access for beef and lamb producers, and a reluctance to give up naming rights on products for geographical origin reasons, including feta, parmesan and prosecco. Fast forward to 2025 and US President Donald Trump's tariff antics have brought both parties back to the negotiating table. There was speculation of a quick conclusion with the Australian Financial Review reporting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had flagged a trip to Australia for late July or early August in anticipation of signing a deal. This echoed the fact she had also been quick to flag an agreement while offering Anthony Albanese her congratulations on becoming prime minister via Twitter in 2022. But multiple EU spokespeople have declined to confirm the travel, telling AAP a Down Under trip is "not on the radar". Despite acknowledging renewed political will, various sources in Brussels are cautioning patience. "There is no rush," according to one inside the EU Commission. "I wouldn't even say the end of the year, I would say more next year." Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow with Brussels think-tank Bruegel, estimates it could take at least another six months to resolve outstanding issues on agricultural tariffs and quotas. "The broad contour of the deal is already negotiated," he told AAP. "They know where the skeletons are buried. It takes a political grand bargain to do it." He noted that if the EU makes concessions, it would likely encounter an angry backlash from French and Polish farmers, who also opposed the EU's deal last year with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. However tractor and manure street protests wouldn't be enough to block a deal with Canberra, he said. Amid Washington's shift to extreme trade protectionism, an EU-Australian free trade deal would send a strong message to the Trump administration, Kirkegaard said. "As two of America's traditional allies, if both the EU and Australia find themselves subject to US tariffs, what better way than to do a deal with each other," he said. "So perhaps both countries feel this political signal is kind of a middle finger to Trump as well." Back in Melbourne, Sicilian-born cheesemaker Giorgio Linguanti from That's Amore Cheese faces an anxious wait to find out whether he can continue to market his wares using generic terms like parmesan or mozzarella. Yet he is open to compromise. "We should call it Australian parmesan and Australian feta because Australian milk is the best in the world," he said. Canberra and Brussels announced on Wednesday separate negotiations on a defence pact to boost defence industry, cyber-security and counter-terrorism co-operation. But it would not have military deployment obligations. There is appetite for the European Union and Australia to signal a "middle finger to Trump" by uniting on a long-awaited free trade deal but some in Brussels are tempering expectations of a quick turnaround. Trade talks kicked off in 2018 but Canberra walked away about 18 months ago over unsatisfactory market access for beef and lamb producers, and a reluctance to give up naming rights on products for geographical origin reasons, including feta, parmesan and prosecco. Fast forward to 2025 and US President Donald Trump's tariff antics have brought both parties back to the negotiating table. There was speculation of a quick conclusion with the Australian Financial Review reporting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had flagged a trip to Australia for late July or early August in anticipation of signing a deal. This echoed the fact she had also been quick to flag an agreement while offering Anthony Albanese her congratulations on becoming prime minister via Twitter in 2022. But multiple EU spokespeople have declined to confirm the travel, telling AAP a Down Under trip is "not on the radar". Despite acknowledging renewed political will, various sources in Brussels are cautioning patience. "There is no rush," according to one inside the EU Commission. "I wouldn't even say the end of the year, I would say more next year." Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow with Brussels think-tank Bruegel, estimates it could take at least another six months to resolve outstanding issues on agricultural tariffs and quotas. "The broad contour of the deal is already negotiated," he told AAP. "They know where the skeletons are buried. It takes a political grand bargain to do it." He noted that if the EU makes concessions, it would likely encounter an angry backlash from French and Polish farmers, who also opposed the EU's deal last year with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. However tractor and manure street protests wouldn't be enough to block a deal with Canberra, he said. Amid Washington's shift to extreme trade protectionism, an EU-Australian free trade deal would send a strong message to the Trump administration, Kirkegaard said. "As two of America's traditional allies, if both the EU and Australia find themselves subject to US tariffs, what better way than to do a deal with each other," he said. "So perhaps both countries feel this political signal is kind of a middle finger to Trump as well." Back in Melbourne, Sicilian-born cheesemaker Giorgio Linguanti from That's Amore Cheese faces an anxious wait to find out whether he can continue to market his wares using generic terms like parmesan or mozzarella. Yet he is open to compromise. "We should call it Australian parmesan and Australian feta because Australian milk is the best in the world," he said. Canberra and Brussels announced on Wednesday separate negotiations on a defence pact to boost defence industry, cyber-security and counter-terrorism co-operation. But it would not have military deployment obligations. There is appetite for the European Union and Australia to signal a "middle finger to Trump" by uniting on a long-awaited free trade deal but some in Brussels are tempering expectations of a quick turnaround. Trade talks kicked off in 2018 but Canberra walked away about 18 months ago over unsatisfactory market access for beef and lamb producers, and a reluctance to give up naming rights on products for geographical origin reasons, including feta, parmesan and prosecco. Fast forward to 2025 and US President Donald Trump's tariff antics have brought both parties back to the negotiating table. There was speculation of a quick conclusion with the Australian Financial Review reporting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had flagged a trip to Australia for late July or early August in anticipation of signing a deal. This echoed the fact she had also been quick to flag an agreement while offering Anthony Albanese her congratulations on becoming prime minister via Twitter in 2022. But multiple EU spokespeople have declined to confirm the travel, telling AAP a Down Under trip is "not on the radar". Despite acknowledging renewed political will, various sources in Brussels are cautioning patience. "There is no rush," according to one inside the EU Commission. "I wouldn't even say the end of the year, I would say more next year." Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow with Brussels think-tank Bruegel, estimates it could take at least another six months to resolve outstanding issues on agricultural tariffs and quotas. "The broad contour of the deal is already negotiated," he told AAP. "They know where the skeletons are buried. It takes a political grand bargain to do it." He noted that if the EU makes concessions, it would likely encounter an angry backlash from French and Polish farmers, who also opposed the EU's deal last year with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. However tractor and manure street protests wouldn't be enough to block a deal with Canberra, he said. Amid Washington's shift to extreme trade protectionism, an EU-Australian free trade deal would send a strong message to the Trump administration, Kirkegaard said. "As two of America's traditional allies, if both the EU and Australia find themselves subject to US tariffs, what better way than to do a deal with each other," he said. "So perhaps both countries feel this political signal is kind of a middle finger to Trump as well." Back in Melbourne, Sicilian-born cheesemaker Giorgio Linguanti from That's Amore Cheese faces an anxious wait to find out whether he can continue to market his wares using generic terms like parmesan or mozzarella. Yet he is open to compromise. "We should call it Australian parmesan and Australian feta because Australian milk is the best in the world," he said. Canberra and Brussels announced on Wednesday separate negotiations on a defence pact to boost defence industry, cyber-security and counter-terrorism co-operation. But it would not have military deployment obligations. There is appetite for the European Union and Australia to signal a "middle finger to Trump" by uniting on a long-awaited free trade deal but some in Brussels are tempering expectations of a quick turnaround. Trade talks kicked off in 2018 but Canberra walked away about 18 months ago over unsatisfactory market access for beef and lamb producers, and a reluctance to give up naming rights on products for geographical origin reasons, including feta, parmesan and prosecco. Fast forward to 2025 and US President Donald Trump's tariff antics have brought both parties back to the negotiating table. There was speculation of a quick conclusion with the Australian Financial Review reporting European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had flagged a trip to Australia for late July or early August in anticipation of signing a deal. This echoed the fact she had also been quick to flag an agreement while offering Anthony Albanese her congratulations on becoming prime minister via Twitter in 2022. But multiple EU spokespeople have declined to confirm the travel, telling AAP a Down Under trip is "not on the radar". Despite acknowledging renewed political will, various sources in Brussels are cautioning patience. "There is no rush," according to one inside the EU Commission. "I wouldn't even say the end of the year, I would say more next year." Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a senior fellow with Brussels think-tank Bruegel, estimates it could take at least another six months to resolve outstanding issues on agricultural tariffs and quotas. "The broad contour of the deal is already negotiated," he told AAP. "They know where the skeletons are buried. It takes a political grand bargain to do it." He noted that if the EU makes concessions, it would likely encounter an angry backlash from French and Polish farmers, who also opposed the EU's deal last year with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. However tractor and manure street protests wouldn't be enough to block a deal with Canberra, he said. Amid Washington's shift to extreme trade protectionism, an EU-Australian free trade deal would send a strong message to the Trump administration, Kirkegaard said. "As two of America's traditional allies, if both the EU and Australia find themselves subject to US tariffs, what better way than to do a deal with each other," he said. "So perhaps both countries feel this political signal is kind of a middle finger to Trump as well." Back in Melbourne, Sicilian-born cheesemaker Giorgio Linguanti from That's Amore Cheese faces an anxious wait to find out whether he can continue to market his wares using generic terms like parmesan or mozzarella. Yet he is open to compromise. "We should call it Australian parmesan and Australian feta because Australian milk is the best in the world," he said. Canberra and Brussels announced on Wednesday separate negotiations on a defence pact to boost defence industry, cyber-security and counter-terrorism co-operation. But it would not have military deployment obligations.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
How the militaries of Israel and Iran compare
On Thursday, an Israeli military official said that Iran used a missile with multiple warheads, posing a new challenge to its defences. There was no immediate independent analysis of the attack. Iran claims to have a multi-warhead missile, known as the Khorramshahr, which was first tested in 2017 and appears likely to be derived from a North Korean missile, according to a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies' Missile Defence Project. According to the CSIS report, 'the 'multiple warheads' claim is most likely a reference to a sub-munitions warhead, rather than multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology'. A true MIRV missile allows separately targeted warheads to be set on independent paths from the main missile. The security of Iran's top commanders has also been a recurring problem, with the head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, and General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, among those who killed in last Friday's strikes in Tehran. Top nuclear scientists were also killed. Other senior commanders have been killed in recent strikes around the region. Iran's nuclear program has advanced in recent years, and it is believed to have developed enough uranium enriched to near-weapons grade levels to produce multiple nuclear weapons in a matter of months if it took the decision to do so. But Iran would need even more time to develop a missile or other means of weaponising them. Israel does not appear inclined to take that chance, however, having already struck facilities manufacturing nuclear material and ballistic missiles. How does Israel compare? Loading Israel's formidable land, sea and air forces are derived from both the latest US and European technology as well as a robust domestic defence industry that can design, build and sustain a full range of armaments, allowing it to take on opponents on multiple fronts at the same time. For a small nation, it also has a considerable supply of troops, with about 170,000 active duty forces and another 400,000 reserves. Though fewer than Iran, Israel's forces have been battle-hardened by regional conflicts. One option for Iran's counterstrike may include hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel, though how long that could be sustained is unclear. In October 2024, a massive Iranian missile assault on Israel caused only limited damage, partly because of US help in shooting down Iranian missiles. That defence was made possible by Israel's multi-tiered missile defences. The sophisticated system, developed over decades with considerable US support, is capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population centre or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100 per cent guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, though it has never acknowledged having such weapons. Israel also has a steadfast ally in the United States, which has been key in previous conflicts and will likely be crucial in any that follow. The US role The United States has distanced itself from the Israeli actions, but could be a target of Iranian retaliation. Among the US assets in the region are an aircraft carrier with about 60 fighters in the Arabian Sea, along with dozens of other jets at bases throughout the region – as well as thousands of troops. America also has 'bunker-buster' bombs, which have assumed central importance because of Iran's Fordow nuclear site buried deep within a mountain. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran', warning Iran not to target US forces in retaliation. In recent days, the US began pulling some diplomats from Iraq's capital and offering voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East. Israel already curtailed Iran's ability to fight back, having decimated Iranian proxies Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah and heavily bombed Iran's air defence systems. Ahead of Friday's strikes, Iran had vowed massive retaliation for any attack, not just against Israel but also US bases in the region, with one official vowing to in effect drive the US from the Middle East through the destruction of its military infrastructure.
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
How the militaries of Israel and Iran compare
On Thursday, an Israeli military official said that Iran used a missile with multiple warheads, posing a new challenge to its defences. There was no immediate independent analysis of the attack. Iran claims to have a multi-warhead missile, known as the Khorramshahr, which was first tested in 2017 and appears likely to be derived from a North Korean missile, according to a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies' Missile Defence Project. According to the CSIS report, 'the 'multiple warheads' claim is most likely a reference to a sub-munitions warhead, rather than multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) technology'. A true MIRV missile allows separately targeted warheads to be set on independent paths from the main missile. The security of Iran's top commanders has also been a recurring problem, with the head of the Revolutionary Guards, General Hossein Salami, and General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, among those who killed in last Friday's strikes in Tehran. Top nuclear scientists were also killed. Other senior commanders have been killed in recent strikes around the region. Iran's nuclear program has advanced in recent years, and it is believed to have developed enough uranium enriched to near-weapons grade levels to produce multiple nuclear weapons in a matter of months if it took the decision to do so. But Iran would need even more time to develop a missile or other means of weaponising them. Israel does not appear inclined to take that chance, however, having already struck facilities manufacturing nuclear material and ballistic missiles. How does Israel compare? Loading Israel's formidable land, sea and air forces are derived from both the latest US and European technology as well as a robust domestic defence industry that can design, build and sustain a full range of armaments, allowing it to take on opponents on multiple fronts at the same time. For a small nation, it also has a considerable supply of troops, with about 170,000 active duty forces and another 400,000 reserves. Though fewer than Iran, Israel's forces have been battle-hardened by regional conflicts. One option for Iran's counterstrike may include hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel, though how long that could be sustained is unclear. In October 2024, a massive Iranian missile assault on Israel caused only limited damage, partly because of US help in shooting down Iranian missiles. That defence was made possible by Israel's multi-tiered missile defences. The sophisticated system, developed over decades with considerable US support, is capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population centre or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100 per cent guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties. Israel is widely believed to be the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, though it has never acknowledged having such weapons. Israel also has a steadfast ally in the United States, which has been key in previous conflicts and will likely be crucial in any that follow. The US role The United States has distanced itself from the Israeli actions, but could be a target of Iranian retaliation. Among the US assets in the region are an aircraft carrier with about 60 fighters in the Arabian Sea, along with dozens of other jets at bases throughout the region – as well as thousands of troops. America also has 'bunker-buster' bombs, which have assumed central importance because of Iran's Fordow nuclear site buried deep within a mountain. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Israel took 'unilateral action against Iran', warning Iran not to target US forces in retaliation. In recent days, the US began pulling some diplomats from Iraq's capital and offering voluntary evacuations for the families of US troops in the wider Middle East. Israel already curtailed Iran's ability to fight back, having decimated Iranian proxies Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah and heavily bombed Iran's air defence systems. Ahead of Friday's strikes, Iran had vowed massive retaliation for any attack, not just against Israel but also US bases in the region, with one official vowing to in effect drive the US from the Middle East through the destruction of its military infrastructure.
