Neighbouring countries ‘quietly pleased' by US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities
Liberal Senator Dave Sharma suggests neighbouring countries may be 'quietly pleased' by the US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
'Most or all in fact of Iran's neighbours are concerned about its nuclear weapons program, its ballistic missile activities,' Mr Sharma told Sky News host Sharri Markson.
'Many Arab Gulf states, while they will not say this publicly, will be quietly pleased that Iran's ambitions have been humbled.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
Peta Credlin says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese becoming ‘more diminished by the day' as govt defends response to US strikes on Iran
Sky News host Peta Credlin has taken aim at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for going into defence mode after it took more than a day for the government to back a United States move to hit Iranian nuclear targets. The government initially responded to the US strike via a spokesperson-issued statement which did not overtly support the move, before Mr Albanese later backed the action directly. Credlin blasted the Prime Minister following his interview with Sky News on Tuesday, where Mr Albanese denied his stance taken was 'flat-footed' and claimed he ran a 'considered, orderly government'. '(Mr Albanese's) becoming more and more diminished as the days go on and world events swirl around him, and he's left looking like he's trying to lasso a column of smoke,' Credlin said. Mr Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have both claimed Australia is not 'central player' in the Middle East crisis, leading Credlin to question stances taken by the government toward world events. 'Not central (Mr Albanese) says, despite the fact that our largest military ally is, and many Australians ,too, are currently stuck in the region,' Credlin said. 'It is bizarre isn't it that when it relates to Israel, this isn't our sphere of influence, that the Middle East isn't anywhere or somewhere that Australia gets involved in. 'Yet, if that's the case, explain to me why the government took 3,000 people out of Gaza when no other Muslim neighbour in the region took anyone and we are still funding UNRWA?' The Australian's Foreign Editor Greg Sheridan Greg Sheridan has also criticised the Albanese government for its stance towards the Israel and Iran conflict, labelling its latest position 'bizarre' and 'implausible'. 'If (the Albanese government) backs the US action, why did it not back identical Israeli actions against identical targets?' Mr Sheridan asked when he spoke to Sky News on Tuesday. 'If it backs the US action it has to say 'the US action is legal'. Otherwise, logically, the government is backing an illegal action and therefore the government no longer thinks international law has any consequence.' Meanwhile, Centre for Independent Studies executive director Tom Switzer said he does not think Canberra's stance on the US strikes will negatively impact Australia's image. 'Many Americans from left to right, Democrats and Republicans, are highly anxious that this could drag the United States once again into a forever war,' Mr Switzer told Credlin on Tuesday. 'So I don't think that Canberra's stance really damages Australian credibility or isolates us in the world, especially if, and it is still an if, if there is a ceasefire,' Mr Switzer told Credlin on Tuesday.
Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Renowned author Ayaan Hirsi urges Trump to ‘rise to the occasion' and end threat Iran poses to the world
Renowned author and human rights activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali has urged Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu to end the Ayatollah's threat to the world and help the Iranian people achieve regime change. The Somali-born former refugee told Sky News Peta Credlin on Tuesday she hopes Mr Trump can 'rise to the occasion' with Mr Netanyahu and end the Iranian regime. After the hours-long ceasefire between Iran and Israel crumbled following bombs exploding in Israel, Ms Ali stressed that the US President cannot feel like the job was done after one strike. 'I hope that Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu, that they rise to the occasion and that they don't stop at this moment where we say, 'oh, we've destroyed the facilities, and so now we can move on',' she said. 'We can't move on, they're going to regroup, they are going to use terrorism in the region and beyond. And they're determined to build this bomb. Even if it takes them another 10 decades, they're absolutely determined. 'And that is why they have to be completely removed. And so, the people of Iran want to do it. We just need to help the people instead of throwing the Ayatollah lifeline.' The renowned author said the Iran regime is committed to changing society, the region and then the 'whole world', hence why it's important the nation does not have nuclear weapons. 'So the reason why it's really important, in my view, to bring this particular regime down is because it's explicitly committed to exporting the Islamic Revolution beyond Iran's borders,' she said. 'And it explicitly says in their constitution that they have to use subversion, terrorism, civil wars, proselytization, and other means, and these other means that is this development of a nuclear bomb. And they regard America as the great Satan and Israel as the little Satan.' Ms Ali encouraged the US President to help the Iranians hoping for a regime change, citing the differences between Iran and other countries that went through tumultuous regime change. 'They're desperate for change, they just need a little bit of help from us,' Ms Hirsi Ali said. 'Iran is different from Libya and Syria ... And the people of Iran who reject this regime ... they want to rid themselves of this. 'And all we need to do is help them.'
Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
'We got smashed': but Ley eyes political resurrection
A plan to resurrect the coalition from the ashes of its election loss will be revealed by the opposition leader as she vows to represent modern Australia. Sussan Ley will become the first Liberal leader to address the National Press Club since 2022 and the first female opposition leader to use the platform when she outlines her vision to win back voters on Wednesday. Australians handed the coalition its worst loss at the federal election in May and, although Ms Ley has said her appointment to the opposition's top job represented a fresh approach, there is still some way to go. "Let's be honest and up front about last month's election. We didn't just lose, we got smashed," she will say in her address. "We respect the election outcome with humility, we accept it with contrition and we must learn from it with conviction. "The task before me - and my team - is to lead a Liberal Party that respects modern Australia, reflects modern Australia and represents modern Australia." Polls before the election suggested the coalition would not form government but the depth of the defeat was a shock. The coalition was left without a leader and with less than half as many seats as Labor. Policies such as an end to working-from-home arrangements for public servants and vague threats to cut jobs in government departments were blamed for its unpopularity with voters, alongside a perceived tendency to wade into culture wars. These platforms failed to win over women and younger Australians, in particular. But Ms Ley has committed to bringing them back into the Liberal fold, vowing to represent young and older Australians, professionals, everyday workers and families. "Aspiration is the thread that connects every single part of Australian society," she will say. "Aspiration is the foundation of the Australian promise. "That promise feels distant for many Australians today." By promising to reward, back and empower Australians, Ms Ley hopes to offer a strong alternative vote at the next federal election. The coalition has been urged to move back towards the political centre, but many of its moderate members were wiped out at the election, leaving a significant contingent of conservatives that could threaten Ms Ley's leadership during the next three years. She also has to navigate the relationship with the National Party after the long-term coalition partners split briefly during the fallout from the calamitous election result.
