Pauline Hanson unleashes on Anthony Albanese - as she issues a warning to Australia
has praised Donald Trump 's handling of the Israel-Iran crisis, while claiming Anthony Albanese lacks the 'backbone' to achieve a similar ceasefire in the Middle East.
The One Nation founder said it was 'fantastic' that the US President unleashed 'bunker buster' bombs on Iran 's nuclear sites last weekend before taking credit for brokering a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
When both sides violated the agreement in its early hours, Trump vented his fury, claiming in no uncertain terms that he was 'not happy' with both sides.
'We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don't know what the f*** they're doing,' he told reporters.
Following Trump's f-bomb intervention, the ceasefire appears to be holding - a success praised by Senator Hanson.
'(Trump) is a man that goes and follows through,' she told Sky News on Thursday.
'We haven't got that in our Prime Minister. There's no way in the wide world would our Prime Minister have gone in. We don't even have the military might.
'He doesn't have the backbone to do it so we have to rely on people like Donald Trump. And through his actions hopefully there will be peace for decades to come.'
'I hope that will be the case for people on both sides, whether you're Iranian or you're from Israel.'
The Albanese government was criticised for taking 24 hours to say it supported Trump's decision to drop bombs on Iran's nuclear sites, sparking criticism that Australia was not doing enough to support its largest ally.
At first a government spokesperson noted what had happened and called for 'de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy'.
But after the Coalition offered its full support for the 'proactive action', Albanese changed tack in a testy, nine-minute press conference.
'The world has long agreed that Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon and we support action to prevent that - that is what this is,' Albanese told reporters on Monday.
'The US action was directed at specific sites central to Iran's nuclear program. We don't want escalation and a full-scale war. We continue to call for dialogue and for diplomacy.'
Asked if his government was briefed in advance, Albanese refused to comment, repeatedly saying: 'This was a unilateral action taken by the United States.'
Australian facilities - such as the Pine Gap signals intelligence base near Alice Springs, and the Harold Holt naval communication station in Australia's north-west - often provide assistance to US military operations.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer revealed he was told of the military action in advance.
Albanese also admitted that he had had no contact with Trump since the US President left the G7 summit in Canada early last week to deal with the deepening crisis in Iran.
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BBC News
28 minutes ago
- BBC News
Tehran is coming back to life, but its residents are deeply shaken
In the heart of the Iranian capital, the Boof cafe serves up refreshing cold drinks on a hot summer's must be the most distinctive iced Americano coffees in this city – the cafe sits in a leafy corner of the long-shuttered US embassy. Its high cement walls have been plastered with anti-American murals ever since Washington severed relations with Tehran in the wake of the 1979 Iranian revolution and the hostage crisis – which still cast a long shadow over this tortuous the charming Boof cafe, Amir the barista says he'd like relations to improve between America and Iran. "US sanctions hurt our businesses and make it hard for us to travel around the world," he reflects as he pours another iced coffee behind a jaunty wooden sign - "Keep calm and drink coffee."Only two tables are occupied - one by a woman covered up in a long black veil, another by a woman in blue jeans with long flowing hair, flouting the rules on what women should wear as she cuddles with her a small snapshot of this capital as it confronts its deeply uncertain future."The Americans have been opposing the Islamic Republic of Iran from the very beginning", declared Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in his recorded speech broadcast on Thursday from the IRIB state TV compound a short drive carries out wave of arrests and executions in wake of Israel conflict'We are exhausted' - how Iranians are feeling after fragile ceasefire"At its core, it has always been about one thing: they want us to surrender," went on the 86-year Ayatollah, said to have taken shelter in a bunker aer Israel unleashed its unprecedented wave of strikes targeting Iran's nuclear and missile sites and assassinating senior commanders and scientists. We watched his speech, his first since President Donald Trump suddenly announced a ceasefire on Tuesday, on a small TV in the only office still intact in a vast section of the IRIB compound - all that's le is a charred skeleton of an Israeli bomb slammed into this complex on 16 June, a raging fire swept through the main studio which would have aired the supreme leader's address. Now it's just ash. You can still taste its acrid smell; all the TV equipment - cameras, lights, tripods - are tangles of twisted metal. A crunching glass carpet covers the said it targeted the propaganda arm of the Islamic Republic, accusing it of concealing a military operation within - a charge its journalists gaping shell seems to symbolise this darkest of times for can also see it in the city's hospitals, which are still treating Iranians injured in Israel's 12-day war. "I am scared they might attack again, " Ashraf Barghi tells me when we meet in the emergency department of the Taleghani General hospital where she works as head nurse."We don't trust this war has ended" she says, in a remark reflecting the palpable worry we've heard from so many people in this Israel bombed the threshold of the nearby Evin prison on 23 June, the casualties, both soldiers and civilians, were rushed into Nurse Barghi's emergency we know about the Iran-Israel ceasefire"The injuries were the worst I've treated in my 32 years as nurse, even worse than what I saw in the Iran-Iraq war in the 80s," she recounts, still visibly strike on the notorious prison where Iran detains most of its political prisoners was described by Israel as "symbolic". It seemed to reinforce Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's repeated message to Iranians to "stand up for their freedom"."Israel says it only hit military and nuclear prison but it's all lies," insists Morteza from his hospital bed. He had been at work in the prison's transport department when the missile slammed into the building. He shows us his injuries in both arms and his the ward next door, soldiers are being cared for, but we're not allowed to enter there. Across this sprawling metropolis, Iranians are counting the cost of this confrontation. In its latest tally, the government's health ministry recorded 627 people killed and nearly 5,000 is slowly returning to life and resuming its old rhythms, at least on the surface. Its infamous traffic is starting to fill its soaring highways and pretty tree-lined side in its beautiful bazaars are opening again as people return to a city they fled to escape the bombs. Israel's intense 12-day military operation, coupled with the US's attacks on Iran's main nuclear sites, has le so many shaken."They weren't good days, " says Mina, a young woman who immediately breaks down as she tries to explain her sadness. "It's so heart-breaking, " she tells me through her tears. "We tried so hard to have a better life but we can't see any future these days."We met on the grounds of the soaring white marble Azadi tower, one of Tehran's most iconic landmarks. A large crowd milling on a warm summer's evening swayed to the strains of much-loved patriotic songs in an open air concert of the Tehran Symphony Orchestra. It was meant to bring some calm to a city still on and critics of Iran's clerical rulers mingled, drawn together by shared worry about their country's future."They have to hear what people say," insists Ali Reza when I ask him what advice he would give to his government. "We want greater freedoms, that's all I will say."Despite rules and restrictions which have long governed their lives, Iranians do speak their minds as they wait for the next steps by their rulers, and leaders in Washington and beyond, which carry such consequences for their Doucet is being allowed to report in Iran on condition that none of her reports are used on the BBC's Persian service. This law from Iranian authorities applies to all international media agencies operating in Iran.
Reuters
32 minutes ago
- Reuters
Iran's hackers keep a low profile after Israeli and US strikes
June 27 (Reuters) - After Israeli and American forces struck Iranian nuclear targets, officials in both countries sounded the alarm over potentially disruptive cyberattacks carried out by the Islamic Republic's hackers. But as a fragile ceasefire holds, cyber defenders in the United States and Israel say they have so far seen little out of the ordinary – a potential sign that the threat from Iran's cyber capabilities, like its battered military, has been overestimated. There has been no indication of the disruptive cyberattacks often invoked during discussions of Iran's digital capabilities, such as its alleged sabotage of tens of thousands of computers at major oil company Saudi Aramco in 2012, or subsequent break-ins at U.S. casinos or water facilities. "The volume of attacks appears to be relatively low," said Nicole Fishbein, a senior security researcher with the Israeli company Intezer. "The techniques used are not particularly sophisticated." Online vigilante groups alleged by security analysts to be acting at Iran's direction boasted of hacking a series of Israeli and Western companies in the wake of the airstrikes. A group calling itself Handala Hack claimed a string of data heists and intrusions, but Reuters was not able to corroborate its most recent hacking claims. Researchers say the group, which emerged in the wake of Palestinian militant group Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, likely operates out of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence. Rafe Pilling, lead threat intelligence researcher at British cybersecurity company Sophos, said the impact from the hacking activity appeared to be modest. 'As far as we can tell, it's the usual mix of ineffectual chaos from the genuine hacktivist groups and targeted attacks from the Iran-linked personas that are likely having some success but also overstating their impact,' he said. Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment. Iran typically denies carrying out hacking campaigns. Israeli firm Check Point Software said a hacking campaign, opens new tab it ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guards has in recent days sent phishing messages to Israeli journalists, academic officials and others. In one case, the hackers tried to lure a target to a physical meeting in Tel Aviv, according to Sergey Shykevich, Check Point's threat intelligence group manager. He added that the reasoning behind the proposed meeting was not clear. Shykevich said there have been some data destruction attempts at Israeli targets, which he declined to identify, as well as a dramatic increase in attempts to exploit a vulnerability in Chinese-made security cameras – likely to assess bomb damage in Israel. The pro-Iranian cyber operations demonstrate an asymmetry with pro-Israeli cyber operations tied to the aerial war that began on June 13. In the days since the start of the conflict, suspected Israeli hackers have claimed to have destroyed data at one of Iran's major state-owned banks. They also burned roughly $90 million in cryptocurrencies that the hackers allege were tied to government security services. Israel's National Cyber Directorate did not return a message seeking comment. Analysts said the situation is fluid and that more sophisticated cyber espionage activity may be flying under the radar. Both Israeli and U.S. officials have urged industry to be on the lookout. A June 22 Department of Homeland Security bulletin warned that the ongoing conflict was causing a heightened threat environment in the U.S. and that cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against U.S. networks. The FBI declined to comment on any potential Iranian cyber activities in the United States. Yelisey Bohuslavskiy, the cofounder of intelligence company Red Sense, compared Iran's cyber operations to its missile program. The Iranian weapons that rained down on Israel during the conflict killed 28 people and destroyed thousands of homes, but most were intercepted and none significantly damaged the Israeli military. Bohuslavskiy said Iranian hacking operations seemed to work similarly. 'There is a lot of hot air, there is a lot of indiscriminate civilian targeting, and - realistically - there are not that many results,' he said.
BBC News
33 minutes ago
- BBC News
Chaos and gunfire after month of Gaza aid plan
A month after the start of a controversial US- and Israeli-backed aid distribution system in Gaza, BBC Verify analysis of dozens of videos shows repeated incidents of gunfire near people travelling to collect aid, as well as other moments of chaos and several of the videos analysed, gunfire can be heard and there are a number showing dead or injured to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, in the past month more than 500 people on their way to get aid have been killed and 4,000 injured - the vast majority blamed on Israeli fire by Gazan officials and medics as well as Verify has not found videos which allow a definitive assessment of who is responsible for the wave of killings, but the overall picture is one of confusion and constant statements over the past month, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have several times said they fired "warning shots" at individuals who they described as "suspects" or said posed a IDF has told BBC Verify that Hamas does "everything in its power to prevent the success of food distribution in Gaza, tries to disrupt aid, and directly harms the citizens of the Gaza Strip".On 18 May Israel announced it was partially easing its 11-week long blockade of aid into Gaza, which it had said was aimed at putting pressure on Hamas to release IDF built four aid distribution sites - three in the far south-west of Gaza and one in central Gaza by an Israel security zone known as the Netzarim Corridor - which began operations on 26 sites in IDF-controlled areas - known as SDS 1, 2, 3 and 4 - are operated by security contractors working for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), with the Israeli military securing the routes to them and the perimeters. On Thursday the US State Department announced $30m (£22m; 26m euros) in funding for the GHF - the first known direct contribution to the the start the UN condemned the plan, saying it would "militarise" aid, bypass the existing distribution network and force Gazans to make long journeys through dangerous territory to get days of the plan starting, dozens of Palestinians were killed in separate incidents on 1 and 3 June, sparking international condemnation. Since then there have been near-daily reports of killings of people travelling to collect aid. The IDF said that its "forces conduct systematic learning processes aimed at improving the operational response in the area and minimizing possible friction between the population and the IDF forces".Israeli government spokesman David Mencer called reports of people killed while getting aid "another untruth". "There have not been hundreds of people dying."The GHF denied there had been any "incident or fatalities at or near" any of its distribution Tuesday, the Red Cross said its field hospital in Rafah had had to activate its mass casualty procedures 20 times since 27 May, with the vast majority of patients suffering gunshot wounds and saying they had been on the way to an aid UN and its World Food Programme as well as other aid providers are continuing to try to distribute aid in Gaza, but they say they are reliant on the Israeli authorities to facilitate their UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said the killing of Palestinians trying to access aid was a "likely war crime". International human rights lawyer Sara Elizabeth Dill told BBC Verify that if there had been any intentional targeting of civilians, it could constitute a serious violation of international law."Mass shootings during civilian relief access violate core rules against targeting civilians and using starvation against them, potentially rising to war crimes," she said. Chaos on the coast Three videos, the first of which was published on 9 June, showed hundreds of people, some holding what appear to be empty flour sacks, scrambling over mounds of rubble and hiding in ditches. Several bursts of automatic gunfire can be that day, the Hamas-run health ministry reported six people had been killed that morning while seeking aid and more than 99 injured. The next day, it reported 36 aid-related deaths and more than 208 injuries. It's not possible to verify whether any of these casualties were a result of the gunfire that could be heard in the were able to confirm the videos were filmed from about 4km (2.5 miles) north-west of SDS4, on the way to the site in central analysis of the gunfire from Steve Beck, a former FBI consultant who now runs Beck Audio Forensics, said one of the guns sounded like and fired at rates consistent with the FN Minimi machine gun and the M4 assault rifle. The second gun, Mr Beck said, fired at a rate that was "compatible" with the sound of an AK-47. We cannot establish whose weapons were firing but FN Minimis and M4s are commonly used by the IDF, while AK-47s are typically used by Hamas and other groups in footage published the next day, on 10 June, and filmed nearby, more crowds were seen running in panic as the sound of gunfire, followed by what sounds like an explosion, was heard in the distance. Injured and bloodied people, including children, were then seen being carried has maps showing "safe passages" to its sites and communicates opening times via WhatsApp and social media. Each passage has a "start point" and a ''stop point" with Palestinians warned that they must not cross the latter until instructed. The GHF has said these corridors are secured by the IDF and warned people that crossing these stop points, unless told to, may be at SDS4 there was no safe passage planned for people coming from the north. Deaths by the truck There have also been killings close to non-GHF related aid footage from 17 June showed at least 21 bodies and several injured people on a road in which several vehicles, including a heavily damaged flatbed truck, were told the BBC that IDF drones and a tank fired at the crowd as they were waiting to collect aid. An IDF statement acknowledged that it had identified a "gathering" of people "adjacent to an aid distribution truck that got stuck in the area of Khan Yunis, and in proximity to IDF troops operating in the area".It said: "The IDF is aware of reports regarding a number of injured individuals from IDF fire following the crowd's approach." It expressed regret for "any harm to uninvolved individuals" and said the details of the incident were under review.A spokesman for Gaza's Hamas-run civil defence agency said at least 50 people were killed at the video shows a number of the dead around scorch marks on the ground, including one person with their legs blown Cancian, from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, noted the lack of obvious impact crater but told us the extent of damage was likely the result of "a lot of direct fire". Bodies being moved Another video posted on 16 June, which we've verified, shows bodies pulled on a cart by a horse along al-Rashid street in northern Gaza, the main coastal road and often used by aid caption alongside the video claims that these Palestinians were killed while waiting for aid. The next day, several photos and videos we verified were posted on social media located nearby showing a body carried by several men on a wooden pallet along the same GHF claimed many of the alleged incidents were linked to convoys and distribution sites for other groups, including the UN. It said those aid supplies were "being looted by criminals and bad actors".A GHF spokesperson said it has overall been "pleased" with its first month of operations, with 46 million meals distributed to two million Gazans, but was aiming to scale up its IDF has said that among other changes it is installing fences and signs and opening additional routes."We have raised concern [with the IDF] about maintaining safe passage for aid seekers but unfortunately some have attempted to take dangerous short cuts or travel during restricted times," the GHF spokesperson said."Ultimately the solution is more aid, which will create more certainty and less urgency among the population."Additional reporting and verification by Paul Brown, Emma Pengelly, Lamees Altalebi, Richard Irvine-Brown, Benedict Garman, Alex Murray, Kumar Malhotra, and Thomas Spencer. What do you want BBC Verify to investigate?
