‘Last resort': Scott Morrison backs US attack on Iranian nuclear sites

News.com.au

5 hours ago

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison has backed US President Donald Trump's decision to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities as 'a last resort', urging Australia to now speak with clarity about why the US had to act.
Describing the bombing as 'a necessary event', Mr Morrison stressed that the United States had launched a targeted mission and was not proposing regime change.
Speaking on Sky News, he said it reflected the fact the US was the only ally of Israel with the military hardware to penetrate Iran's underground nuclear bunkers.
'There were no other options available to the President,'' Mr Morrison said.
'I think President Trump has been very clear about seeking to get an agreement with Iran.
'This was completely rejected, and made it very clear that there was no negotiation now there was the opportunity for complete capitulation and that was not offered, and they are the only military in the world that is capable of doing what it has just done, and that is what has happened.'
But in a barbed observation on the conduct of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong he urged Australia to now speak with 'clarity.'
'Well, it's time for some clarity. I think there's been far too much ambiguity about this from Australia, far too much ambiguity,'' he said.
'And it's time for clarity. And the clarity is we were dealing with a theocratic authoritarian state that sponsored an attack on a close friend in Israel back on October 7.
'They have shown their true colours. And Iran is not a friend of Australia. It's not a friend of Australia's interests. This is not a conflict not with the people of Iran who are wonderful people.'
Mr Morrison said that President Trump would have been a reluctant convert to involving the US military in the conflict.
'The President came to office with a peace through strength doctrine, and we have now seen what that means when all other avenues fail,'' Mr Morrison said.
'This is a President that I think doesn't wish to rush to these outcomes or to use these capabilities, but if necessary will. And as a result, a massive blow has been struck against Iran's nuclear capability.
'This is not something that I believe he wants to see widened, but this hopefully resolves that question of their nuclear capability, which is something that has been sought for a very long time.'
The big issue to understand Mr Morrison said was that only the US had the capability to drop a bomb that could target Iran's underground nuclear bunker.
'I think obviously, if Israel had been capable of doing this, then, then that would have been the preferred option, no question other than to evolve, you know, the direct defensive capability of the United States, that would not have been a preferred option, as I said, it became the necessary option,'' he said.
'Now Israel will make its own decisions about how it continues to prosecute its conflict with Iran, the US has played, I think, a very specific role here which only they could have, only they could have done. I think that needs to be underlined. That was the only reason I believe that this would have drawn the US directly into this.'
Mr Morrison said it was not about 'regime change' in Iran.
'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,'' he said.