‘Crucial' for Albanese to attend NATO in order to secure Trump meeting
Former LNP candidate Maggie Forrest urges Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to attend the NATO Summit in a bid to secure a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
'I do think that Albanese should go to NATO to pursue a meeting with President Trump,' Ms Forrest told Sky News host Paul Murray.
'While an in-person meeting between the two of them should've happened a long time ago given how crucial Australia's strategic partnership with America is and especially with AUKUS under review … it's crucial for the Prime Minister to travel to NATO to secure a meeting with President Trump.'

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Perth Now
9 minutes ago
- Perth Now
PM may play NATO trump card to score US president talks
Australia's chances of tariff exemptions remain uncertain as the prime minister returns from an overseas trip without having spoken to Donald Trump. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's much-anticipated plans to hold his first in-person meeting the US president were thrown into chaos because of escalating tensions in the Middle East. The two were expected to speak on the sidelines of the G7 in Canada during the summit's final day to discuss trade, tariffs and defence. But less than 24 hours before their meeting, Mr Trump revealed he had to leave early to deal with the situation between Iran and Israel. The prime minister will fly into Sydney on Thursday without clear progress towards a trade resolution. But Mr Albanese could get a second chance at Mr Trump within days. The prime minister is considering going to The Hague at the end of June to attend a summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, where the US president is expected to appear. "We'll meet soon and I'm sure that will occur," Mr Albanese told reporters in Calgary on Tuesday local time (Wednesday AEST). "From time to time, meetings are rescheduled - that's what happens." The prime minister is also expected to advocate for Australia's nuclear submarine deal with the US and UK at his meeting with Mr Trump. Mr Albanese was not the only world leader lining up to speak with the leader of the free world at the G7. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had talks scheduled with Mr Trump the day after he left. Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum was also set to meet Mr Trump face-to-face for the first time that day. Ms Sheinbaum received a call from the US president soon after news broke of his departure, but the prime minister has not received a direct call from Mr Trump. Instead, he met with the president's senior economic team on the day he was supposed to speak with Mr Trump. His discussions with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer involved trade, tariffs and critical minerals - which Australia has considered using as a bargaining chip in US negotiations. The prime minister said Mr Trump's departure was "understandable" and insisted things were progressing. Australia's exports to the US continue to be hit with a baseline 10 per cent tariff and its steel and aluminium products incur a 50 per cent levy.


Perth Now
an hour ago
- Perth Now
Trump won't say whether US will join strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump has told reporters he will not say whether he has decided to order a US strike on Iran, a move that Iranian officials warned anew would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it happens. Speaking outside the White House, Trump declined to say whether he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's bombing campaign against Iran. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said. Trump said Iranian officials had reached out about negotiations including a possible meeting at the White House but "it's very late to be talking," he said. "Unconditional surrender, that means I've had it." Asked for his response to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejecting the idea of surrendering, Trump said: "I say, good luck." Residents jammed the highways out of the capital Tehran, fleeing from intensified Israeli air strikes. In its latest bombing run, Israel said its air force had destroyed Iran's police headquarters. "As we promised - we will continue to strike at symbols of governance and hit the ayatollah regime wherever it may be," Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday. The United States "should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," he said. "Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender." Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the five-day-old war to suggesting the United States might join it. A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate committee that the Pentagon was prepared to execute any order given by Trump. Israel's military said 50 Israeli jets struck about 20 targets in Tehran overnight, including sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles. The Israeli military told Iranians to leave parts of the capital for their own safety while it struck targets. Traffic was backed up on highways leading out of the capital Tehran, a city of 10 million people, as residents sought sanctuary elsewhere. Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out to the nearby resort town of Lavasan. "We will stay here as long as this war continues. My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear program?" In Israel, sirens rang out warning people of retaliatory Iranian missile strikes. At Ramat Gan city train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses lined along the floor or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about. "I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces," said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter. with AP


West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Trump won't say whether US will join strikes on Iran
US President Donald Trump has told reporters he will not say whether he has decided to order a US strike on Iran, a move that Iranian officials warned anew would be greeted with stiff retaliation if it happens. Speaking outside the White House, Trump declined to say whether he had made any decision on whether to join Israel's bombing campaign against Iran. "I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said. Trump said Iranian officials had reached out about negotiations including a possible meeting at the White House but "it's very late to be talking," he said. "Unconditional surrender, that means I've had it." Asked for his response to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejecting the idea of surrendering, Trump said: "I say, good luck." Residents jammed the highways out of the capital Tehran, fleeing from intensified Israeli air strikes. In its latest bombing run, Israel said its air force had destroyed Iran's police headquarters. "As we promised - we will continue to strike at symbols of governance and hit the ayatollah regime wherever it may be," Defence Minister Israel Katz said. Khamenei, 86, rebuked Trump in a recorded speech played on television, his first appearance since Friday. The United States "should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage," he said. "Intelligent people who know Iran, the Iranian nation and its history will never speak to this nation in threatening language because the Iranian nation will not surrender." Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the five-day-old war to suggesting the United States might join it. A source familiar with internal discussions said Trump and his team were considering options that included joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear installations. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Senate committee that the Pentagon was prepared to execute any order given by Trump. Israel's military said 50 Israeli jets struck about 20 targets in Tehran overnight, including sites producing raw materials, components and manufacturing systems for missiles. The Israeli military told Iranians to leave parts of the capital for their own safety while it struck targets. Traffic was backed up on highways leading out of the capital Tehran, a city of 10 million people, as residents sought sanctuary elsewhere. Arezou, a 31-year-old Tehran resident, told Reuters by phone that she had made it out to the nearby resort town of Lavasan. "We will stay here as long as this war continues. My friend's house in Tehran was attacked and her brother was injured. They are civilians," she said. "Why are we paying the price for the regime's decision to pursue a nuclear program?" In Israel, sirens rang out warning people of retaliatory Iranian missile strikes. At Ramat Gan city train station east of Tel Aviv, people were lying on city-supplied mattresses lined along the floor or sitting in the odd camping chair, with plastic water bottles strewn about. "I feel scared, overwhelmed. Especially because I live in a densely populated area that Iran seems to be targeting, and our city has very old buildings, without shelters and safe spaces," said Tamar Weiss, clutching her four-month-old daughter. with AP