US President Donald Trump has ramped up his threats against Iran while taking fresh swipes at Australia and other allies for not backing his war, in a media blitz that is already fuelling diplomatic tension and economic anxiety at home.
Trump’s latest Iran deadline
At a White House press conference on Monday local time, Trump said he believes the US military is doing “unbelievably well” in the Middle East and warned that Iran “could be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night”.
He has also said that “every bridge in Iran will be decimated” by midnight on Tuesday (local time) and that “every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding and never to be used again” if Tehran does not meet his deadline.
Trump described “complete demolition by 12 o’clock” and said “it will happen over a period of four hours if we wanted to. We don’t want that to happen”.
At the same time, he has argued that Iran is an “active, willing participant” in talks and said, “We may even get involved with helping them rebuild their nation”.
Just last week, Trump declared that the war in Iran would end in the next two to three weeks and that his military would leave the Middle East by the end of the month.
Calling out Australia and other allies
During the same media conference, Trump again turned his fire on US partners over their reluctance to join offensive operations and efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Multiple NATO members including Spain, Italy and France announced last week that they were closing their airspace for American planes involved in the war with Iran.
Trump complained that NATO “haven’t helped at all”, labelling the alliance a “paper tiger” the US “didn’t need”.
“It’s not just NATO,” he said. “You know who else didn’t help us? South Korea didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us? Australia didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us? Japan.”
In a separate statement on Truth Social last month, he also declared that the US does “not need the help of anyone” and wrote: “We no longer ‘need’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance — WE NEVER DID! Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea”.
How is Australia involved with Trump’s war against Iran?
The Albanese government has not responded to this morning’s comments at the time of writing, but last month they had maintained that Australia has not received any formal request from Washington to send naval support to the Strait of Hormuz, despite Trump’s very public frustration.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said “Australia wasn’t consulted before this action was undertaken”, referring to the initial US‑Israeli strikes on Iran, and has stressed that “any further deployment is a sovereign choice for Australia”.
Instead, Australia has sent an E‑7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft and about 85 defence personnel to the United Arab Emirates after requests from Gulf countries. Defence Minister Richard Marles has said the “thrust” of those requests has been “in respect of helping to provide for the defence of the Gulf states”, with the government repeatedly pointing out that no direct ask has come from the White House.
International law expert from the University of Sydney Tamer Morris told PEDESTRIAN.TV that even if Australia frames its role as defensive, “if we’re going in to support one party in an armed conflict, then we become part of that armed conflict”.
“Even though Australia might technically not have declared war against Iran and [is] just taking a defensive approach, under the rules of war, because we’re a participant and in assistance to one side, we kind of join in that armed conflict,” he said.
Rising prices and political pressure at home
Iran’s move to effectively close the Strait of Hormuz — a narrow waterway that usually carries around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas — has already pushed up fuel prices across Australia. Diesel has climbed above $3 a litre in many areas, while regular unleaded is averaging about $2.38 per litre, with the government noting that tax components such as fuel excise and GST add up to roughly 52 cents per litre and the rest is being driven by global supply shocks.
Albanese has ruled out cutting the fuel excise, but says six tankers of jet fuel will arrive between now and April 8 from China and other suppliers.
“No government can promise to eliminate the pressure this war is causing. I can promise we will do everything we can do to protect Australia from the worst of it,” said Albanese in a national address last week.
“These are uncertain times, but I’m absolutely certain of this: we will deal with these global challenges the Australian way.
How Australia is reacting to Trump
Speaking on RN Breakfast this morning, attorney general Michelle Rowland said Australia’s position remains calling for “an urgent de-escalation of this conflict”.
“Australians and innocent people right around the world and in the region are being impacted by events that they didn’t cause, but it is having lasting impacts. It’s having impacts on our supply chains and causing real anxiety for Australians,” she said.
Rowland said the best thing Australia could do was to continue those calls for de‑escalation, noting that “it’s not the first time” Trump has made inflammatory remarks. “I think ultimately the United States will need to answer for itself,” she said
Opposition frontbencher Andrew Hastie called Trump’s first call out of Australia a “petulant post from a president under immense pressure” back in March, saying, “We’ve been a long‑standing ally of the United States … We’ve got a proud history, and I just don’t think that’s how you treat allies. I think it’s a reflection on his character more than us.”
Whether Washington listens or not, Australians are already living with the fallout and watching closely to see how far this war, and Trump’s rhetoric will go.
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