Australia fuel supply secure, Anthony Albanese announces with new taskforce; Esmail Khatib killed in Israeli strike; Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar oil facilities targeted

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is uncertain how long the conflict in the Middle East will last but says the primary objective of the US and Israeli effort, to undermine the development of nuclear weapons by Iran, has been progressed.

“We’ll continue to argue for a de-escalation. It’s not certain, that’s the truth, how long this will last, but I’m hopeful that you can see an end point,” Albanese told a press conference in Hobart.

“The objectives of denying Iran the opportunity to have a development of a nuclear weapon have been secured.

“Iran’s ability to engage in attacks in the region have also been undermined by this process as well. So we’ll continue to monitor, continue to engage … but we’ll continue as well to call for that de-escalation,” Albanese said.

Despite stating that Iran’s ability to attack neighbours had been undermined, Albanese lamented attacks from Iran on 12 countries in the region, which he labelled as “unprovoked”.

“There is no justification whatsoever for Iran undertaking these attacks,” he said.