Australia ‘alarmed' by escalation between Israel and Iran
Australia foreign minister Penny Wong said the escalation risks further destabilising a region that is already volatile. PHOTO: REUTERS
Australia 'alarmed' by escalation between Israel and Iran
SYDNEY - Australia foreign minister Penny Wong said on June 13 she was alarmed by the escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran, after Israel said it had struck dozens of targets inside Iran.
'Australia is alarmed by the escalation between Israel and Iran,' Ms Wong told a news conference.
'This risks further destabilising a region that is already volatile.'
Australians in the region should monitor government advisories from Canberra on travel in the Middle East, she added.
Israel said early on June 13 that it struck Iran, and Iranian media said explosions were heard in Tehran as tensions mounted over US efforts to win Iran's agreement to halt production of material for an atomic bomb. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Israel and Iran strike at each other in new wave of attacks
Israel and Iran strike at each other in new wave of attacks TEL AVIV/DUBAI - Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other late on June 14, stoking fears of a wider conflict after Israel expanded its surprise campaign against its main rival with a strike on the world's biggest gas field. Tehran called off nuclear talks that Washington had said were the only way to halt Israel's bombing, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attacks were nothing compared with what Iran would see in the coming days. Israel's military said on June 14 that more missiles were launched from Iran towards Israel, and it was working to intercept them. It also said it was attacking military targets in Tehran. Iranian state television said Iran had launched missiles and drones at Israel. Several projectiles were visible in the night sky over Jerusalem late on June 14. Air raid sirens did not sound in the city, but were heard in the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Israel's ambulance service said 14 people were injured, including one critically, at a two-storey house in northern Israel following an Iranian missile strike. Israeli media reported that one person had been killed in the strike. US President Donald Trump had warned Iran of worse to come, but said it was not too late to halt the Israeli campaign if Tehran accepted a sharp downgrading of its nuclear programme. A round of US-Iran nuclear talks due to be held in Oman on June 15 was cancelled, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi saying the discussions could not take place while Iran was being subjected to Israel's 'barbarous' attacks. In the first apparent attack to hit Iran's energy infrastructure, the semi-official Tasnim news agency said Iran partially suspended production at the world's biggest gas field after an Israeli strike caused a fire there on June 14. The South Pars field, offshore in Iran's southern Bushehr province, is the source of most of the gas produced in Iran. Fears about potential disruption to the region's oil exports had already driven up oil prices 9 per cent on June 13 even though Israel spared Iran's oil and gas on the first day of its attacks. Iranian general Esmail Kosari said on June 14 that Tehran was reviewing whether to close the Strait of Hormuz controlling access to the Gulf for tankers. Scores killed, says Iran Iran said 78 people were killed on the first day of Israel's campaign, and scores more on the second, including 60 when a missile brought down a 14-storey apartment block in Tehran, where 29 of the dead were children. Iran had launched its own retaliatory missile volley on the night of June 13, killing at least three people in Israel. With Israel saying its operation could last weeks, and Mr Netanyahu urging Iran's people to rise up against their Islamic clerical rulers, fears have grown of a regional conflagration dragging in outside powers. B'Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organisation, said on June 14 that instead of exhausting all possibilities for a diplomatic resolution, Israel's government had chosen to start a war that puts the entire region in danger. Tehran has warned Israel's allies that their military bases in the region would come under fire too if they helped shoot down Iranian missiles. However, 20 months of war in Gaza and a conflict in Lebanon last year have decimated Tehran's strongest regional proxies, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, reducing its options for retaliation. Israel sees Iran's nuclear programme as a threat to its existence, and said the bombardment was designed to avert the last steps to production of a nuclear weapon. Tehran insists the programme is entirely civilian and that it does not seek an atomic bomb. However, the UN nuclear watchdog reported it this week as violating obligations under the global non-proliferation treaty. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Pope Leo, from Chicago, makes his first US pitch at White Sox Park
Pope Leo XIV delivers a video message during a public celebration hosted by the Chicago White Sox and the Archdiocese of Chicago for the election of Pope Leo XIV, featuring a mass at Rate Field in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio CHICAGO - Pope Leo, a native of Chicago's south side and a long-time fan of his beloved but beleaguered White Sox, sent a video message on Saturday to a sellout crowd attending Catholic Mass in his honor at their hometown ballpark. The pontiff, the first leader of the global Catholic Church from the United States, appeared for about seven minutes on Rate Field's jumbotron during the event, organized by the Chicago archdiocese and featuring several other local personalities, including Bulls announcer Chuck Swirsky. "It's a pleasure for me to greet all of you gathered together at White Sox Park on this great celebration," the pope said in the video message, his first public address to the U.S. since his election on May 8 to replace the late Pope Francis. The new pope called on Chicagoans to put aside "egotistical ways" in order to spread hope and work to build community in their hometown. "We have to look for ways of coming together and promoting a message of hope," he said, speaking in English with a slight Chicago accent. Hours before the event at Rate Field started, people had gathered around the stadium, including kids in White Sox jerseys, hawkers selling "Da Pope" baseball hats, nuns in white and blue habits and priests in their collars. Saturday's event, led by Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, took place as demonstrations were held in cities across the U.S., including at Chicago's Daley Plaza, to protest President Donald Trump's crackdown on undocumented immigrants, and in Washington, D.C., ahead of the president celebrating his 79th birthday with a military parade. The pope did not mention politics, and instead offered a message of encouragement to young people. Sister Barbara Reid, president of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where the pope attended seminary in the 1980s, told Reuters she hoped his message could help unite the U.S. "A celebration that's centered on hope and possibility and unity is needed now more than ever before," she said. "Hopefully this can be a catalyst to bring us together." Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost, was born in Dolton, on the outskirts of the city's south side, and has spent most of his career as a priest outside the U.S. He is a member of the Augustinian religious order, and spent decades in Peru as a missionary and bishop, before first taking up a senior Vatican role in 2023. In a nod to Leo's close ties to the South American country, his celebration in Chicago on Saturday began with a performance of Peru's national anthem. The U.S. national anthem followed, performed by Leo High School's choir, which was a contestant on "America's Got Talent." The pope's family, including a brother who still lives in a Chicago suburb, has spoken about the pontiff's enthusiasm for the White Sox, even as the rival Chicago Cubs also tried to claim him. Leo briefly donned the trademark black-and-white Sox cap offered by a pilgrim during his weekly audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday. TICKETS RESELL FOR MORE THAN $1,200 On the first day that tickets became available for Saturday's event, more than 10,000 tickets were sold in the first 15 minutes, the White Sox said. Tickets, which sold for $5 apiece, hit resale sites like StubHub for more than $1,200 just hours after they were released, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. While Catholic parishes across the city, including the one where the Prevost family attended Mass, have shuttered amid waning church attendance, Chicago's identity is still very much entwined with the Catholic Church. When meeting strangers, Chicagoans sometimes identify their neighborhood by the name of the closest parish. "A lot of people in Chicago just have great pride that the new pope is from Chicago," said Rev. Tom McCarthy, a popular preacher from the city who is also an Augustinian. "They want to celebrate it together." The White Sox (39-121) set the modern-day record for most losses in a single season in 2024. This year, the team has the worst record in the American League so far. Fans pray the Mass gives the team a divine boost. "We need all the help we can get," said McCarthy, a lifelong Sox fan. "If the field is going to be blessed by this event, hopefully it will go right through to the players." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
4 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump says ‘war in Israel-Iran should end'
Mr Trump's comments mark the first time he has explicitly called for an end to hostilities between Washington's ally Israel and its Middle East rival Iran since Israel began striking Iran on June 13. PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on June 14 'this war in Israel-Iran should end,' with his comments coming in a social media post on his call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Key quote 'The call (between Trump and Putin) lasted approximately 1 hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end,' Mr Trump said, on Truth Social. Why it's important Mr Trump's comments mark the first time he has explicitly called for an end to hostilities between Washington's ally Israel and its Middle East rival Iran since Israel began striking Iran late on June 12 US time and early on June 13 Middle East time. Iran launched its own retaliatory strikes against Israel and the hostilities have raised alarm in a region already on edge since the start of Israel's war in Gaza in October 2023. Iranian officials have said dozens have been killed in Israel's attacks while Iran's missile volleys killed at least three in Israel on June 13, according to Israeli officials. Context Mr Trump said he and Mr Putin mostly discussed the Middle East and spent 'much less time' talking about Russia's war in Ukraine. Mr Trump hinted at follow up discussions on the war in Ukraine in the coming week and said in his post that he told Mr Putin that Moscow's war in Ukraine should also end. Mr Trump had promised to end the world's hottest conflicts during his election campaign but nearly five months into his second term, with Israel attacking Iran and bloodshed in Gaza and Ukraine unabated, those promises have not yet been met. The Kremlin separately also confirmed the Trump-Putin call and said they discussed the war in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
