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Hastie says he would be reluctant to commit Australian troops to any conflict with Iran that the US elects to join, but said any decision about logistical support would be “a decision for the government.”
Asked about Australia’s relationship to the US, Hastie said “we have to have a more discussion about our relationship with the US.”
We need greater transparency. Secretary Hegseth appeared before the arms committee this week, last week, he talked about the Indo-Pacific and named Communist China as the Pacific threat – his words and he talked about the US building up its forward posture in the Indo-Pacific.He spoke specifically of Australia, Japan and The Philippines. We’re very much part of the integrated deterrence that the US is building in the region.
Hastie said the Australian government needs to be “clear” with the public about “what that means.
We need greater transparency, to talk about operationalising the alliance, building guardrails for combat operations and defining our sovereignty. This will make things clearer for us, so we can better preserve our national interests. We’re not just a vassal state, we’re an ally, partner and it’s time we had a discussion about what that looks like.
Hastie said this included efforts to ensure US military operations would only be operated from bases in Australia if Australia gave them the green-light.
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Hastie says that if US elects to join Israel in striking Iran, it will create an incentive for Iran to rapidly develop its military nuclear program.
One thing is clear. If you are Iran and you survive this conflict with your regime intact and a nuclear program intact, I think you will move at best speed to build a bomb, to put yourself in the strongest position the, in time this happens.
Hastie said reiterated a point he had made at other times in the interview, saying Iran cannot have a weapon.
They will use it.
The shadow home affairs minister said he agreed with the government’s current approach of urging Iran to come back to the table and negotiate.
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Updated at 00.43 BST
Hastie says an Israeli commando attack on Iranian nuclear facilities was unlikely as it was “very complex” and could not be undertaken “without a lot of operational risk” saying it would be a “one-way ticket” for any Israeli forces.
It would be difficult to generate surprise when you are inserting a ground element, particularly to somewhere like Fordow [nuclear site] where the Iranians would expect the Israelis to come. Then speed. It would be difficult to overcome security there, to breach the facility and then to sabotage or destroy the nuclear component and then fight your way back out for extraction. I think for a number of reasons it will be a one-way ticket for the Israeli Special Forces.
There would be expectation of casualties, capture and therefore, I think, unlikely.
Hastie previously served as a commander of an Australian SAS regiment who served in Afghanistan. Asked about whether this experience gave him any thoughts on the current moment in the Middle East, he said “it is dangerous and risky”.
We could see regime change a collapse of the Iranian regime, large-scale migration and refugees across the world, but particularly Europe. We don’t know who would fill the power vacuum.
If there is one lesson I take out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, be careful what you wish for. Sometimes it’s better the devil you know, particularly for stability. Once the structures of order, as bad as they might be under a tyranny of a regime like in Iran, then it’s chaos and it’s danger for the people and for Iran.
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Updated at 00.42 BST
Asked whether Israel’s actions in striking Iran adhere to international law, Hastie says Israel has been “at war since October 7 with Iran’s proxies in Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.”
Let’s not forget Iran fired missiles at Israel last year. If they had a nuclear weapon I suspect they would probably fire that at Israel. We are at the point where the Board of Governors of the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] on June 12 passed a resolution condemning Iran for having this 60% enriched uranium and that they are in breach of their Non-Proliferation Treaty. This is where we are at. You can understand, I think, why Israel has taken this action.
Iranian strikes against Israel took place following targeted attacks by the Israeli military, including the assassination of senior Iranian military officials.
When pressed on whether Israeli is acting in compliance with international law, Hastie said he could not comment.
I’m not an international lawyer. I couldn’t comment. I’m looking at the facts in front of me. And I’m sure Prime Minister Netanyahu weighed up his options and decided to take the course. People can judge for themselves. We are in this situation, have to deal with the world as it is, not as we wish it to be.
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Updated at 00.39 BST
‘Diplomacy will probably fail’ in Iran-Israel conflict, Hastie says
Diplomacy is “probably” going to fail and the US will likely strike Iran, the shadow home affairs minister, Andrew Hastie, says.
Speaking with ABC Insiders host David Speers, Hastie was asked repeatedly whether the Coalition would support the US striking Iran and its nuclear facilities.
Hastie said the world was at a fork in the road where diplomacy could short-circuit an escalation in Israel’s war on Iran by drawing the US into the conflict.
There is potentially a settlement through diplomatic means where Iran surrendered the program and subjects it to water-tight inspections by the atomic agency or settlement by force, where the nuclear facilities are destroyed by the Israels and the US, potentially with a strike from a B-2 bunker-busting bomb. That is where we are headed. Hopefully we can get to a point where Iran willingly submits to those conditions. I doubt it. My fear is this escalates further.
Hastie said there was some “open-source intelligence” about the Iranian nuclear program which suggests it remains a threat, adding “Iran is a deeply ideological regime, committed to the destruction of Israel”.
I suspect diplomacy will probably fail and we will see a strike of some sort. The next two weeks, it will be tough for innocent people caught in the war.
US intelligence agencies says Iran has not yet decided to construct a nuclear weapon. There have been consistent claims that Iran was months or weeks away from building a nuclear bomb for the last decade.
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Updated at 00.36 BST
Dan Jervis-Bardy
With the prospect of a potential meeting with Trump at Nato ruled out, it’s unclear when Albanese will secure a sit-down with the US president.
Marles was confident the meeting would occur soon.
I’m sure the meeting will happen in the not too distant future. But I’ll remind you that almost immediately (after Trump’s election win), the prime minister is speaking with the president by phone. He’s had a number of phone calls, beginning the process of establishing a rapport between the two of them, and we continue, at ministerial level, on an official level, to have more constant contact with the United States.
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Updated at 00.23 BST
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Marles will represent Australia at next week’s Nato summit after Anthony Albanese decided against travelling to the Hague in the hope of securing an elusive face-to-face-meeting with Donald Trump.
Albanese’s scheduled meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit was abruptly cancelled after the US president rushed back to Washington to deal with the Middle East crisis.
Trump reportedly called other world leaders with whom he cancelled meetings – but that list apparently didn’t include Albanese.
Marles denies Australia has a “problem”, with Albanese still yet to secure in-person talks with Trump since his return to the White House in January.
He replied “no, we don’t”, saying Trump’s decision to leave the G7 was understandable given the escalation in the Middle East conflict.
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Updated at 00.17 BST
The shadow home affairs minister, Andrew Hastie, will speak to ABC Insiders host David Speers this morning.
Defence minister Richard Marles has spoken to Sky News about the government’s efforts to evacuate Australians from Iran and Liberal MP Dan Tehan is also doing the rounds on Sky.
We will bring you all the latest as it happens.
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Updated at 00.03 BST
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The defence minister, Richard Marles, is up on Sky News in the first of the Sunday morning political interviews.
Marles has provided an update on the number of Australians attempting to leave Iran and Israel amid the latest conflict between the two nations.
As of Sunday morning, he said there were 3800 Australian citizens – 2600 in Iran and 1200 in Israel – seeking government assistance to evacuate the countries.
Marles said the government had a civilian charter plane on standby but it couldn’t yet depart because the airspace over Iran and Israel remains closed.
So we really are poised to provide whatever assistance we can in the event that airspace opens.
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Updated at 00.22 BST
Good morning
Welcome to another Sunday morning Guardian live blog.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, says nearly 4,000 Australians have applied for government assistance to leave Israel and Iran. Marles said the Australian government had a charter plan on standby to assist in an evacuation but it could not depart as the sky over Iran remains closed.
New South Wales police have found the body of an 81-year-old man in the Moruya area after midnight on Saturday. Police found the body in a white ute after a search of the area but are not treating the death as suspicious at this stage.
I’m Royce Kurmelovs and I’ll be taking the blog through the day.
With that, let’s get started …
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