Today
US eyes Iran attack; Musk interviews Trump; Airtrunk’s $20b tax test
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
- 39 mins ago
US ready for Iran attack on Israel ‘as soon as this week’
“We share the same concerns and expectations that our Israeli counterparts have with respect to potential timing,” national security spokesman John Kirby says.
- Trevor Hunnicutt and Michael Martina
Yesterday
US orders armed submarine to Middle East as tensions mount
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin also ordered the Abraham Lincoln strike group to hasten its deployment to the region, as Israel prepares for Iran’s attack.
- Updated
- Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
This Month
Support for Hamas may not bar Gazans from Australia: ASIO boss
The federal Opposition says social cohesion could be at risk if Labor offers Hamas supporters a safe haven.
- Andrew Tillett
Trump’s campaign says its emails were hacked
The former president’s team accused Iran of stealing sensitive internal documents, a day after Microsoft warned of foreign interference in the US election.
- Bill Barrow
Britain issues alert for Iran, Lebanon airspace as risks rise
Egypt issued a similar warning, as Western and Arab nations are seeking to head off a major regional conflict in the Middle East.
- Updated
- Joanna Plucinska and Rajesh Kumar Singh
- Opinion
- Monetary policy
The Fed will not let markets dictate a rate cut
The US central bank reacts to the sharemarket only when volatility threatens financial stability. For the moment, there is no evidence that this is the case.
- Barry Eichengreen
US personnel wounded in attack against base in Iraq, officials say
It was unclear whether the attack was linked to threats by Iran to retaliate over the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
- Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
Netanyahu clashes with security chiefs on Hamas deal
The Israeli PM is openly at odds with the defence establishment over an agreement that could ease soaring tensions in the region. Analysts blame domestic politics.
- Neri Zilber
PM not tough enough on Iranian envoy: Libs
Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi has hit out a “Zionist plague”, describing Hamas’ commitment to the “wiping out” of Israel by 2027 as a “heavenly and divine promise”.
- Phillip Coorey
Israel braces for attack as US urges Gaza ceasefire
Benjamin Netanyahu told a cabinet meeting “Israel is in a multi-front war against Iran’s axis of evil”.
- Alicia Diaz and Jon Herskovitz
Top US general heads to Middle East as tensions mount
Israel and Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets and the US sent aircraft and warships to the region, amid fears Iran and its proxies will attack in the coming days.
- Updated
- George Styllis, Ahmed Vahdat and James Rothwell
20,000 missiles, drones: What a new Israel war could look like
The country’s military capabilities have evolved since it last fought Hezbollah, but so have those of the Iran-backed “axis of resistance”.
- Updated
- Raya Jalabi, Malaika Kanaaneh Tapper and Andrew England
Iran arrests dozens in hunt for suspects in killing of Hamas leader
Iran has begun a sweeping investigation into the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, with its intensity a sign of how damaging the security failure was.
- Farnaz Fassihi
Israel working with US, UK as retaliatory strike from Iran looms
Israel, the US and UK are coordinating the readiness of their military forces to respond to an expected strike by Iran.
- Dan Williams
- Opinion
- Middle East tensions
Iran is playing a dangerous game
There are plenty of reasons to be suspicious of Benjamin Netanyahu’s motives. But Tehran has an even uglier strategy to disrupt the Middle East.
- Thomas Friedman
Hamas leader killed by remote controlled bomb smuggled into room
An explosive device hidden in a heavily guarded complex where Ismail Haniyeh was known to stay in Iran was what killed him, according to an investigation.
- Updated
- Ronen Bergman, Mark Mazzetti and Farnaz Fassihi
‘You don’t embarrass the New Yorker in Trump’ says military adviser
Chris Miller, a former acting secretary of defence and Project 2025 contributor, says the AUKUS military alliance will be fine if Donald Trump wins the election, but Vladimir Putin could be in a jam.
- Kevin Chinnery
Israel’s spies take their revenge with twin assassinations
Israeli security officials view the deaths of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders as a redemption of sorts.
- Neri Zilber, Raya Jalabi and James Shotter
Hezbollah leader says war with Israel has entered a ‘new phase’
As he often does, Hassan Nasrallah kept his comments vague, vowing a “very-well studied retaliation” without saying what form it would take.
- Abby Sewell and Kareem Chehayeb
