The United States and Israel launched a military attack on Iran on February 28, 2026, according to multiple reports. Iran retaliated with missile and drone strikes against Israel and US military facilities in the Gulf region. The Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed due to hostilities, impacting global oil supply, and more than 1,800 people have been killed in the conflict, including US service members and civilians. This escalation has triggered a regional war, affecting supply chains and humanitarian aid.
Legal and international relations experts say the US-Israeli attacks lack legal justification under international law. The International Atomic Energy Agency stated there was no evidence of a structured nuclear weapons program in Iran at the time of the strikes. Trump administration officials offered conflicting explanations for starting the war. Iran's nuclear program has been a point of contention, with Iran pursuing it since at least 1957.
We want to see a broader de-escalation of these hostilities with a broader group of countries than just the direct belligerents involved.
Israel on Wednesday carried out its largest attack on Lebanon since its war with Hezbollah began, killing at least 254 people and wounding 837, according to major media reports. Israel stepped up attacks after the ceasefire, including into very built-up areas. The assault prompted Iranian officials to warn Tehran could withdraw from the ceasefire agreed with the US this week, multiple reports indicate.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese initially supported the US-Israeli strikes but later shifted to calling for de-escalation, according to research. Albanese urged Israel to stop its attacks on Lebanon and raised concern over its intensified military campaign on Beirut and the country's south after the ceasefire in the Middle East. He called on Hezbollah to cease attacks on Israel and reiterated his government's belief that the Middle East ceasefire must include Lebanon.
We stress that that cannot be achieved unless we're in a position that Iran's ability to acquire a nuclear weapon, develop a nuclear weapon, and to export terrorism, is ended. So that process must lead to those outcomes.
Albanese confirmed Australia's military surveillance aircraft would remain in the region for at least another month beyond its initial deployment. Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong said it was disappointing that US and Iran peace talks had failed. Wong added that any escalation in conflict would have an even greater human cost and further impact the global economy.
Albanese and Singapore's counterpart Lawrence Wong signed an agreement to keep supplies of fuel and liquid natural gas flowing between the two countries, major media reported. Leaders agreed to a legally binding addendum to their free trade agreement on essential supplies such as energy. Albanese will this week travel to Brunei and Malaysia, which are other key suppliers of Australian fuel, as well as urea for fertiliser, according to multiple reports.
Carney said the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which were 'showing tremendous restraint,' should become involved in the de-escalation process.
Albanese spoke positively about 'middle powers' forging new areas of cooperation amid tumultuous global geopolitical circumstances. He said he saw parallels with a recent increase in engagement with Canada, including the visit to Australia by its prime minister Mark Carney and the finalisation of a free trade agreement with the European Union. Increasing focus on the 'middle powers' concept has come amid global tensions precipitated by tensions between the United States, China, Russia and other major powers, major media reports indicate.
The Canadian and Australian prime ministers called for a de-escalation of the Iran war but added the Iranians must never gain a nuclear weapon. Canada's Mark Carney and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese discussed the war during their meeting in Australia's capital, Canberra, according to major media. Questioned by a reporter, Carney could not rule out the Canadian military ever becoming involved in the conflict, multiple reports state.
The world wants to see a de-escalation and wants to see Iran cease to spread the destinations of its attacks.
The meeting came after news that a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean and Turkey said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran before it entered Turkey's airspace, major media reported.
Australia and Canada agreed to deepen cooperation on critical minerals and other areas, according to research. Carney is in Australia on a trade-focused, three-nation visit that began in India last week, major media reported. Carney addressed the Australian Parliament on Thursday and will fly to Japan on Friday, multiple sources said.
We're seeing Gulf states, that have not been involved, attacked across the board, including the attacks on civilian and tourist areas as well. But we also want to see the objectives achieved. I want to see the possibility of Iran getting a nuclear weapon removed once and for all.
Iran's Assembly of Experts appointed Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to research.
The conflict escalated into a regional war, affecting supply chains and humanitarian aid, research indicates.
You've asked a fundamental hypothetical in a conflict that can spread very broadly. So one can never categorically rule out participation. We will stand by our allies when it makes sense.
What specific evidence or intelligence prompted the US-Israeli attack on Iran on February 28, 2026, has not been disclosed. The current status and operational details of the Strait of Hormuz closure and its impact on global oil markets are uncertain, though its closure has disrupted supplies. International response gaps include a lack of detailed UN or IAEA measures and unclear reactions from major powers to economic impacts.
The era of ever-expanding free trade is over.
Albanese said the latest trade challenges were unlike traditional barriers or 'sanctions tied to strategic competition', in a veiled swipe at both the United States and China.
It goes deeper than that. This is about ongoing threats to the safety of global shipping routes, and the physical destruction of oil and gas infrastructure across the Middle East.
So, even if we were to wake up tomorrow to the welcome news that this conflict was over, there would still be a long economic tail to reckon with.
All of this underlines a simple reality. The stable, predictable world of ever-expanding free trade is gone – and it will not be returning any time soon.
Over the years, I acknowledge that from time to time we've had our differences on policy, just as the companies in this room are not always on the same page as each other. And because we do not have to agree on every aspect of every issue to build a constructive relationship, in the national interest.
That's what matters – especially right now. In uncertain times, Australians expect all of us to put the national interest first, to put our country first.
Carney referred to Australia and Canada as 'strategic cousins' and warned of the 'global architecture now breaking down from consecutive crises'.