US ramps up warning to Iran as Israel and Iran continue to trade fire
Middle East Correspondent Matthew Doran and North America Correspondent provide an update on the situation between Israel and Iran as well as the increasing pressure on Iran from Washington.
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ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Albanese eyes next week's NATO summit as he seeks rescheduled Trump meeting
Anthony Albanese is considering attending next week's NATO summit as he tries to land a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump, after a scheduled sideline chat at the G7 fell through when the US president left early. The PM ruled out deploying naval assets to the Middle East even as allies weigh support for a possible US intervention in Iran after Israel began strikes. Speaking to reporters in Canada shortly before leaving the summit, Mr Albanese said Australia's military focus remained on "where we are in the world" but that he may replace Defence Minister Richard Marles at the NATO gathering in the Netherlands. Mr Trump, who has demanded Iran's "unconditional surrender" and teased direct involvement in the Israeli offensive, will attend the meeting of the military alliance, of which Australia is not a member. Mr Albanese said it was "perfectly understandable" that the US president had cut short his G7 attendance before the leaders could meet in person for the first time and added he was "sure" that they would meet "soon". The US president told reporters he left the G7 summit early because he "did everything [he] had to do". Australia did not receive advance warning of the cancellation and the PM has not received a phone call in its wake, a courtesy given to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum whose meeting was also missed. "We're all mature … We understand the circumstances which are there and we have agreed through our American friends that we'll reschedule the meeting," he said. In Mr Trump's absence, the PM held last-minute talks with his economic team, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and principle economic adviser Kevin Hassett. Mr Albanese said he took the opportunity to press Australia's case for exemptions from tariffs on steel and aluminium and the all-encompassing 10 per cent tariff, and again signalled giving the US access to Australian critical minerals as a bargaining chip. "My clear point is that it's in the United States' interest, because they have a trade surplus with Australia, for that trade to not just continue but to be enhanced. And there are opportunities to do that across a range of issues," he said. He also confirmed he had addressed US concerns about Australia's new tax for social media platforms who do not pay news companies for their content, arguing the tax was not meant to raise revenue from American tech platforms. "I explained the position of what it is … It's something that we want the platforms to negotiate in good faith with the produces of a product that they use to make money." The PM also announced Australia would begin negotiating with European Union leaders for a security and defence partnership to enhance co-operation. "We see this as an important framework for our current and future co-operation in areas like defence industry, cyber and counter-terrorism," he said, adding that ministers would discuss the partnership in coming weeks and hoped to finalise it "pretty quickly". Mr Albanese added that a European free trade agreement was progressing and that there was "sight of where the landing point could be" on sticking points including naming rights for products such as parmesan. The announcement followed a meeting with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and European Council President Antonio Costa, one of several bilateral meetings held on the last day of the summit including with Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom. With UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Mr Albanese said he discussed the AUKUS alliance and had seen "nothing to suggest" any weakening in support for the alliance from the US despite the recent announcement of a review. The UK government has not ruled out supporting Israel and the US in an escalation of hostilities in Iran, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has backed Israel's actions. Mr Albanese said Australia had received briefings about the situation from the US but downplayed any prospect of Australian involvement. Richard Marles told the ABC Australia continued to call for "de-escalation" and took "at face value" public statements from US officials suggesting the country was for now taking a "defensive posture … of their people and their assets within the region". "We want to see a move towards diplomacy and dialogue and I guess implied in that obviously is a very clear concern that we have about the opposite, about this escalating into some broader conflict," he said. "We have a system of full knowledge and concurrence in terms of the way in which any country operates from Australia and that includes the Untied States. And we are not a part of this conflict."
Courier-Mail
an hour ago
- Courier-Mail
Israel-Iran conflict live updates: Iran's chilling move
Welcome to our live coverage of the febrile situation in the Middle East. Iran and Israel continue to trade blows at one another with Israel insisting it has the upper hand. US President Donald Trump left the G7 meeting of wold leaders in Canada on Monday, local time, to return to Washington DC to deal with the unfolding crisis, he stated. On Tuesday, he chaired a meeting of his national security council. In a new series of social media posts, he has called for Iran's 'unconditional surrender'. Mr Trump also wrote that the US knows where Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei apparently threatening to kill him. 'We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now,' he said, ominously. US bombers and refuelling planes have been positioning closer towards the Middle East. But it's unsure if this is a sign the US could directly enter the war or if it's signalling to get Iran to negotiate. Read on for live updates. Originally published as Israel-Iran conflict live updates: Iran's chilling move
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Albanese flags potential trip to NATO summit in the Netherlands to reschedule canned Trump meeting within days
Anthony Albanese has flagged a trip to the NATO summit in the Netherlands next week after his meeting with US President Donald Trump was canned. While he planned to cosy up to key ally America in a much anticipated first in-person meeting on the sideline of the G7, the PM missed out after Mr Trump made an abrupt exit. Speaking in Kananaskis in the Rocky Mountains on Wednesday, Mr Albanese said 'yes, that is being considered' when asked if he would travel to the upcoming summit in The Hague on June 24-25. It could mean the pair meet within days instead of the next likely date which would have been in September in Washington around the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York. Mr Trump had departed a day earlier citing the escalating Israel-Iran conflict, prompting the cancellation of a string of meetings with world leaders, including Mr Albanese. Mr Albanese labelled Mr Trump's departure as 'understandable' and hit back at questions of why he hadn't received a phone call from the president after the cancellation like India and Mexico's leaders had. 'We're mature about the circumstances of what happened. It's perfectly understandable,' he said. 'We'll reschedule a meeting. From time to time, that is what occurs.' Despite his headline meeting falling through, Mr Albanese had face time with several key figures during the trip, including the heads of Canada, Italy, France, India the UK, Japan, and South Korea. 'As well as saying G'day to a whole bunch of other people during the day,' the PM added. 'It's a real opportunity for Australia to engage with a range of partners.' It also included a trilateral with European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council's President António Costa. 'I'm pleased to announce today that we will commence negotiations on a security and defence partnership with the European Union,' he said. 'We see this as an important framework for our current and future cooperation in areas like defence industry, cyber and counter-terrorism. 'We will have our respective ministers progress that (agreement) over coming weeks. But we hope to conclude those discussions pretty quickly.' In Mr Albanese's most recent meeting on Wednesday morning, he met with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. It marked the duo's first official bilateral after the pair had first met on the sidelines of Pope XIV's inauguration mass in Rome last month. 'We discussed how we can deepen our economic and infrastructure ties through our enhanced strategic partnership with further trade and business cooperation in the energy transition,' the PM said. 'We also reiterated our commitment to the ongoing need in Ukraine and uphold international law.' It comes as Penny Wong on Wednesday announced further sanctions by Australia on 60 vessels linked to Russia's shadow fleet, echoing sanctions imposed by other nations. While Mr Albanese didn't get the chance to raise the importance of the trilateral AUKUS agreement with Mr Trump he said confirmed he had strong support from UK PM Keir Starmer. He labelled his British counterpart as a 'good friend' and revealed Mr Starmer had extended the PM an invite during their engagement. 'I also met my good friend, Keir Starmer,' he said. 'We welcome the progress that we've made to bolster the UK-Australia relationship. 'We discussed continuing to work together on both AUKUS Pillar 1 and AUKUS Pillar 2. And Prime Minister Starmer invited me to the United Kingdom over the coming period.' Alongside AUKUS the pair discussed the Australia-UK Climate and Energy Partnership and 'very effective' Free Trade Agreement.
