As the US chooses destruction over diplomacy in Iran, Australia has to decide between principle and prostration

‘It is a pity the Albanese government is not yet ready to assert and advocate the moral dimension of the “good international citizenship” that Labor governments love to talk about.’ Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The bully of the Middle East, as President Trump called Iran, has had its nuclear enrichment facilities bombed by the world’s premier bully. The irony is not lost on anyone, except perhaps Australia. In an especially anodyne statement, a spokesperson for the Australian government echoed American claims that “Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security”, and backed in Trump’s admonition that “now is the time for peace”.

Little Sir Echo whimpers again, this time through a mouthpiece.