Australia urges diplomacy as deadly Israel-Iran strikes ramp up and Trump weighs US options
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has joined demands for Iran to stop its nuclear weapons program and come to the negotiating table within the two-week deadline set by US President Donald Trump on Friday as he decides whether to join Israel's strikes on the country.
But as the Israel-Iran war entered its second week, more than 60 Israeli warplanes struck targets in Iran on Friday, including what Israel said were industrial sites used to produce missiles.
Israel said it had also hit the headquarters of Iran's Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research, which the US had previously linked to the possible development of nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, Iran condemned Israel's strike on its Arak heavy-water reactor on Thursday, describing it as a violation of international protocols designed to protect nuclear sites.
'Any military attack on nuclear facilities is an assault on the entire IAEA safeguards regime and ultimately the NPT,' Iran's Foreign Minister Sayyid Abbas Araghchi posted on X.
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In Israel, the emergency service said seven people suffered minor injuries when Iranian missiles hit a residential area in the south, causing damage to buildings.
Separately, Israel accused Iran of deliberately targeting civilians with cluster munitions, which disperse small bombs over a wide area.
And Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz warned Lebanon's Hezbollah to exercise caution, saying Israel's patience with 'terrorists' who threaten it had worn thin.
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7NEWS
2 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Donald Trump rejects spy chief's take on Iran nuclear program
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is wrong in suggesting there is no evidence Iran is building a nuclear weapon, President Donald Trump says. Trump contested intelligence assessments relayed earlier in 2025 by his spy chief that Tehran was not building a nuclear weapon when he spoke with reporters at an airport in Morristown, New Jersey. 'She's wrong,' Trump said on Friday. In March, Gabbard testified to Congress that the US intelligence community continued to believe that Tehran was not building a nuclear weapon. 'The (intelligence community) continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon,' she said. On Friday, Gabbard said in a post on X that: 'America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalise the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree.' She said the media has taken her March testimony 'out of context' and was trying to 'manufacture division'. The White House has said Trump would weigh involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict over the next two weeks. On Tuesday, Trump made similar comments to reporters about Gabbard's assessment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has justified a week of air strikes on Iranian nuclear and military targets by saying Tehran was on the verge of having a warhead. Iran denies developing nuclear weapons, saying its uranium enrichment program is only for peaceful purposes. In March, Gabbard also described Iran's enriched uranium stockpile as unprecedented for a state without such weapons and said the government was watching the situation closely. She also said Iran had started discussing nuclear weapons in public, 'emboldening nuclear weapons advocates within Iran's decision-making apparatus'. A source with access to US intelligence reports told Reuters the March assessment presented by Gabbard has not changed. Trump has frequently disavowed the findings of US intelligence agencies, which he and his supporters have charged — without providing proof — are part of a 'deep state' cabal of US officials opposed to his presidency.
SBS Australia
2 hours ago
- SBS Australia
What we know and don't know about Iran's nuclear ambitions
Natanz nuclear facility in central Iran has been targeted by Israel in recent airstrikes. Source: EPA, AAP / Abedin Taherkenareh While Iran's perceived nuclear capabilities are a key driver of the country's ongoing hostilities with Israel, there is much that remains unknown about Tehran's nuclear program and some experts argue the program's true endgame remains unclear. According to Israeli officials, the primary goal of the 13 June attacks on Iran, which started the ongoing air war between the countries, was to wipe out Iran's nuclear program. Israel accuses the Islamic Republic of Iran of seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describes as an "existential threat to Israel". However, the Iranian regime has always denied claims it's pursuing nuclear weapons, saying its program is aimed at "developing civilian nuclear power". Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly emphasised his 2003 fatwa (Islamic legal ruling) against the development of nuclear weapons. Dara Conduit, a political science lecturer at Melbourne University, told SBS News that it's "very difficult to know" what's motivating Iran's nuclear program. "The best information we have is the US Intelligence Assessment that was released in March, which said that there was no evidence that Iran was attempting to make a nuclear weapon." Then, Gabbard said the US intelligence community didn't believe Iran was building a nuclear weapon. On Saturday, she said her testimony had been taken "out of context" and provided a new appraisal. "America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalise the assembly," she said. However, a source with access to US intelligence reports told Reuters the March assessment had not changed. They claimed the country's spy services estimated it would take Iran up to three years to develop a warhead capable of hitting a target of its choice. Iran's civilian nuclear program began in the 1950s with US support under the Atoms for Peace initiative. That support was ended by the 1979 Islamic Revolution, after which Iran started to work with Russia and China on nuclear projects. It wasn't until 2002, when information about undeclared enrichment sites in central Iran was brought to light, that the world became aware of significant advancements of Iran's nuclear program since the revolution. However, there was no official statement on the country's enrichment capability until 2006, when then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iranian scientists had successfully enriched uranium to 3.5 per cent. Most civilian nuclear reactors require 3 to 5 per cent enrichment. While a nuclear weapon can be made with uranium that's only 20 per cent enriched, nuclear-armed nations usually use about 90 per cent enriched uranium, ANU Department of Nuclear Physics researcher Kaitlin Cook wrote in a recent Conversation article. A day before Israel's strikes, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran was able to produce 34 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 per cent each month. According to the IAEA, Iran also had enough uranium enriched to near-weapons grade to build nine nuclear bombs if it were further enriched. "The problem is that they are enriching uranium to a level that is far higher than what would be required for a civilian nuclear capacity," Conduit said. "Why are they doing that? We don't know. "It could be that the regime is intending to pursue a nuclear weapon, or it could be that the regime is trying to strengthen its hand [for] when it does get back to the negotiating table." The IAEA's June assessment found that Iran was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations and it could not declare the country's nuclear program was "exclusively peaceful", as per the terms of a 2015 nuclear deal. In 2015, Iran and the "P5+1 group" — comprising the US, Russia, China, France, the UK, and Germany — reached a deal that committed signatories to limit their nuclear programs in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. As part of the deal, Iran agreed that for 15 years it would enrich uranium only up to 3.67 per cent. However, in 2018, a first-term Donald Trump decided to exit the agreement negotiated under his predecessor, Barack Obama. "It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement," he said at the time. Conduit said Trump's decision was made despite the fact that "Iran was upholding its side of the agreement". "I guess that was the first step towards the crisis that we see Iran in now." Following Trump's re-election in 2024, he said he was looking to make a new deal with Iran. In recent months, Iranian and American representatives have held several rounds of negotiations, mainly focusing on enrichment. During the negotiations, the Iranian foreign minister said his nation would not accept suspending uranium enrichment completely, something US officials have demanded. Israel's strike on Iran effectively halted that round of negotiations. On Saturday, Gideon Sa'ar, Israel's foreign minister, told German newspaper Bild that his country's strikes had already delayed Iran's potential to develop a nuclear weapon by "at least two or three years". In a statement on Friday, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi confirmed some damage to various nuclear facilities in Iran, but didn't clarify the precise impacts on the country's nuclear enrichment capabilities.
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Diplomatic efforts stall as Israel-Iran war drags on
Talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran have failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war enters its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries. European ministers and Iran's top diplomat met on Friday in Geneva, as President Donald Trump continued to weigh US military involvement and worries rose over potential strikes on nuclear reactors. European officials expressed hope for future negotiations, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasising that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking. "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes," he told reporters. At a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in Istanbul on Saturday, Araghchi told the AP "it would be very, very dangerous for everyone" if the US became actively engaged militarily in the war. No date is set for the next round of talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue "for as long as it takes" to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles. But Netanyahu's goal could be out of reach without US help. Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks. The war between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13, with Israeli air strikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 430 people have been killed and 3500 wounded in Iran, Iranian state-run Nour News reported on Saturday, citing the country's health ministry. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Israel said Saeed Izadi was commander of the Palestine Corps for the elite Iranian Quds Force, and he was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom. The Israeli military later said it killed a second commander of the Guards' overseas arm, Benham Shariyari, during a strike on his vehicle overnight in Tehran. Addressing the UN Security Council, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel said its warplanes hit dozens of military targets across Iran on Friday, including missile-manufacturing facilities, while an Iranian missile hit Israel's northern city of Haifa, wounding at least 31 people. The Israeli military believes it has destroyed most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers, contributing to the steady decline in Iranian attacks. But several of the three dozen missiles that Iran fired on Friday slipped through the country's aerial defences, sending shrapnel flying into a residential area in the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was hit on Thursday. Reuters Talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran have failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war enters its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries. European ministers and Iran's top diplomat met on Friday in Geneva, as President Donald Trump continued to weigh US military involvement and worries rose over potential strikes on nuclear reactors. European officials expressed hope for future negotiations, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasising that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking. "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes," he told reporters. At a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in Istanbul on Saturday, Araghchi told the AP "it would be very, very dangerous for everyone" if the US became actively engaged militarily in the war. No date is set for the next round of talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue "for as long as it takes" to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles. But Netanyahu's goal could be out of reach without US help. Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks. The war between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13, with Israeli air strikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 430 people have been killed and 3500 wounded in Iran, Iranian state-run Nour News reported on Saturday, citing the country's health ministry. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Israel said Saeed Izadi was commander of the Palestine Corps for the elite Iranian Quds Force, and he was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom. The Israeli military later said it killed a second commander of the Guards' overseas arm, Benham Shariyari, during a strike on his vehicle overnight in Tehran. Addressing the UN Security Council, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel said its warplanes hit dozens of military targets across Iran on Friday, including missile-manufacturing facilities, while an Iranian missile hit Israel's northern city of Haifa, wounding at least 31 people. The Israeli military believes it has destroyed most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers, contributing to the steady decline in Iranian attacks. But several of the three dozen missiles that Iran fired on Friday slipped through the country's aerial defences, sending shrapnel flying into a residential area in the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was hit on Thursday. Reuters Talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran have failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war enters its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries. European ministers and Iran's top diplomat met on Friday in Geneva, as President Donald Trump continued to weigh US military involvement and worries rose over potential strikes on nuclear reactors. European officials expressed hope for future negotiations, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasising that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking. "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes," he told reporters. At a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in Istanbul on Saturday, Araghchi told the AP "it would be very, very dangerous for everyone" if the US became actively engaged militarily in the war. No date is set for the next round of talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue "for as long as it takes" to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles. But Netanyahu's goal could be out of reach without US help. Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks. The war between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13, with Israeli air strikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 430 people have been killed and 3500 wounded in Iran, Iranian state-run Nour News reported on Saturday, citing the country's health ministry. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Israel said Saeed Izadi was commander of the Palestine Corps for the elite Iranian Quds Force, and he was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom. The Israeli military later said it killed a second commander of the Guards' overseas arm, Benham Shariyari, during a strike on his vehicle overnight in Tehran. Addressing the UN Security Council, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel said its warplanes hit dozens of military targets across Iran on Friday, including missile-manufacturing facilities, while an Iranian missile hit Israel's northern city of Haifa, wounding at least 31 people. The Israeli military believes it has destroyed most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers, contributing to the steady decline in Iranian attacks. But several of the three dozen missiles that Iran fired on Friday slipped through the country's aerial defences, sending shrapnel flying into a residential area in the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was hit on Thursday. Reuters Talks aimed at de-escalating fighting between Israel and Iran have failed to produce a diplomatic breakthrough as the war enters its second week with a fresh round of strikes between the two adversaries. European ministers and Iran's top diplomat met on Friday in Geneva, as President Donald Trump continued to weigh US military involvement and worries rose over potential strikes on nuclear reactors. European officials expressed hope for future negotiations, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was open to further dialogue while emphasising that Tehran had no interest in negotiating with the US while Israel continued attacking. "Iran is ready to consider diplomacy if aggression ceases and the aggressor is held accountable for its committed crimes," he told reporters. At a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation in Istanbul on Saturday, Araghchi told the AP "it would be very, very dangerous for everyone" if the US became actively engaged militarily in the war. No date is set for the next round of talks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's military operation in Iran would continue "for as long as it takes" to eliminate what he called the existential threat of Iran's nuclear program and arsenal of ballistic missiles. But Netanyahu's goal could be out of reach without US help. Iran's underground Fordo uranium enrichment facility is considered to be out of reach to all but America's "bunker-buster" bombs. Trump said he would put off deciding whether to join Israel's air campaign against Iran for up to two weeks. The war between Israel and Iran erupted on June 13, with Israeli air strikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 430 people have been killed and 3500 wounded in Iran, Iranian state-run Nour News reported on Saturday, citing the country's health ministry. Iran has retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1000 drones at Israel, according to Israeli army estimates. Most have been shot down by Israel's air defences, but at least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Israel's defence minister said on Saturday it killed a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard who financed and armed Hamas in preparation for the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that sparked the 20-month long war in Gaza. Israel said Saeed Izadi was commander of the Palestine Corps for the elite Iranian Quds Force, and he was killed in an apartment in the city of Qom. The Israeli military later said it killed a second commander of the Guards' overseas arm, Benham Shariyari, during a strike on his vehicle overnight in Tehran. Addressing the UN Security Council, Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, warned against attacks on Iran's nuclear reactors, particularly its only commercial nuclear power plant in the southern city of Bushehr. Israel has not targeted Iran's nuclear reactors, instead focusing its strikes on the main uranium enrichment facility at Natanz, centrifuge workshops near Tehran, laboratories in Isfahan and the country's Arak heavy water reactor southwest of the capital. Iran previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors access to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the US, France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief. But after Trump pulled the US out of the deal during his first term, Iran began enriching uranium closer to weapons-grade levels and restricting access to its nuclear facilities. Iran has long maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel said its warplanes hit dozens of military targets across Iran on Friday, including missile-manufacturing facilities, while an Iranian missile hit Israel's northern city of Haifa, wounding at least 31 people. The Israeli military believes it has destroyed most of Iran's ballistic missile launchers, contributing to the steady decline in Iranian attacks. But several of the three dozen missiles that Iran fired on Friday slipped through the country's aerial defences, sending shrapnel flying into a residential area in the southern city of Beersheba, where a hospital was hit on Thursday. Reuters
