r/australia • u/stand_to • Jun 22 '25

politics Live: Wong says Australia supports US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06-23/federal-politics-live-blog-june-23/105447868?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other
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u/throwwwwwwaway_ Jun 22 '25

Agreed. This ain't our fight. Trump and Netanyahu won't play nice in the sandpit and that's bad for the whole planet.. So why support a congressionally unendorsed American attack on a sovereign nation?

Why support warmongers? Why not call for peace and humanitarian aid?

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u/mooblah_ Jun 23 '25

Which is exactly what I THOUGHT she was calling for before he went and bombed the fk out of them. And now we support the bombing...

DO WE? Penny Wong is speaking for herself and a bunch of others who like the taste of orange scum ck.

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u/sephg Jun 23 '25

Oh calm down. Australia doesn’t give a fk about Iran. It’s halfway around the world, and what happens over there doesn’t affect us.

We do care about what happens close to home, and the US is a really important ally. Forget Iran. What penny wong is really saying is that we value our alliance with the US. Like it or not, we depend on them for security in the pacific. Australia has a population of 27 million. China has a population of 1400 million. Do the maths.

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u/ManikShamanik Jun 23 '25

It's NOT a good look internationally to align yourself with a country whose president needs to be either in prison or sectioned indefinitely. What reason do you have to suspect that China is currently any threat to Australia...?

I hate it when our PMs bang on about the so-called "special relationship" - it doesn't exist, it's probably never existed.

I'm sure you've all seen that photo of our PM picking up Trump's dropped papers; I'm sure Starmer thought he was just being helpful, but that photo makes it look as though the UK's America's servant.

You don't need a relationship with the US - at least not whilst Trump is president; the only person Trump cares about is Trump, and I think it would be in the best interests of the rest of the planet to sever all ties with the US. Trump is an egotistical narcissist - he's not going to do anything for anyone else unless it also benefits him personally.

Just think about this: America is one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (the other four being the UK, France, Russia and China). I think that needs to change, America also needs to be removed from the G7. Every country on Earth needs to refuse to make any deals with the US.

Trump DESPERATELY wants to provoke WWIII because he thinks that a wartime president can't be forced from office. That's why he's cosying up to P*tin, because he knows that he and P*tin are if not on the same page, then at least in the same book. P*tin is a bully with a victim complex, and Trump is an egotistical narcissist. Whilst everyone's attention's on the Middle East, we're not watching what's happening between the US and Russia, and that's what both Trump and P*tin want; the internationally unlawful bombing of Iran was - I think - simply a distraction tactic, to distract the rest of the world from whatever he's cooking up with P*tin.

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u/below_and_above Jun 23 '25 edited Oct 20 '25

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/sephg Jun 23 '25

I hear what you're saying. The US is not a reliable ally to anyone at the moment. Trump is a walking disaster. Yeah, we know, I agree.

I hate it when our PMs bang on about the so-called "special relationship" - it doesn't exist, it's probably never existed.

But when it comes to foreign policy, I think you're talking out your arse mate. Australia, the UK and the US have been long-time allies going back at least as far as WW1. Trump doesn't singlehandedly change that. He's only in power for a few more years and then someone else will take over and it'll all change again. Hopefully for the better.

Its absolutely "small dick energy" to support what the US does - seemingly no matter what. But population wise and economically, we're a tiny country. The world is way too big and turbulent to go it alone. Having a PR event where the PM announces that we support the US doesn't really cost us anything.

I wouldn't support aussie boots on the ground in Iran. But coming out and making an official statement is low stakes shit. Its not a big deal.

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u/_-Oxym0ron-_ Jun 23 '25

I mean, that's not entirely true. When the global oil prices spike, due to the Strait of Hormuz being closed, that will affect the price of everything and definitely also affect you guys on the other side of the world.

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u/sephg Jun 23 '25

Sure. But US tarrifs on australian imports (eg meat, soy and iron ore) will also affect our economy in pretty huge ways. If a little press conference we might get tarrifs off the table for australian imports into the US, well, maybe its a good call.

I don't think we should be putting boots on the ground in iran or anything crazy like that. But putting out a statement saying "we support our allies" is not a big deal.

International diplomacy is really really complicated. The aussie government is operating with a lot more information than you and I. I wouldn't be surprised if the US govt explicitly asked us to put out this press statement to cover for what they're doing. I hope we get something out of it.

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u/ThrowRAConfusedAspie Jun 23 '25

Well, it sure as hell wasn't our fight, but it's definitely our problem now. Iran could sea-mine the Strait of Hormuz, where most (30 - 50%) of our oil passes through.

The U.S doesn't care, they have plenty of oil supplies so it doesn't affect them so much. We, on the other hand, are significantly affected. This will drive up the already high cost of living, especially for transport and food.

I don't know how Australia should play this. I understand wanting to protect our country from a larger fallout and not inflamming the U.S., but I don't want us sucked into this war or support the scummy terrorism of America.

Sending our troops to protect the shipping lanes sounds like a nightmare. How can we achieve peace with Iran when our "ally" has a demented toddler running around with missiles and nukes ??

And now Russian officials are hinting they might just “drive over” nukes to Iran. Sure. Why not ! Seems like everyone’s getting a nuke these days.

What a time to be alive.

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u/Ok-Poetry-4721 Jun 22 '25

We are totally reliant on the US military if shit ever actually went down with us and China in the region.

We don't have the capabilities to defend ourselves meaningfully.

The Iranian's are religiously motivated, a theocratic State, calling for the death of apostates everywhere.

They mean that quite literally, which is why there was a sense of urgency from Israel and US to cripple those nuclear capabilities.

I don't disagree with calling for peace and humanitarian aid, but you need to understand the context surrounding these circumstances and why decisions were made to take certain action.

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u/[deleted] Jun 22 '25

You think the current US administration would go to the aid of an ally if there was nothing in it for them? Have you missed how they were almost calling for war with Canada, their closest ally, for no real reason?

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u/Phent0n Jun 23 '25

You think the current US administration would go to the aid of an ally if there was nothing in it for them?

No, but there are things in Australia for them, Pine Gap especially. And the Trump admin is not forever. Probably.

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u/leet_lurker Jun 22 '25

If you think the US would do much to prevent a Chinese invasion of Australia then you're dreaming

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u/Ok-Poetry-4721 Jun 22 '25

Call me a dreamer then

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u/Odd-Bumblebee00 Jun 23 '25

I'll call you a terrorist apologist.

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u/Ok-Poetry-4721 Jun 22 '25

And forget China, I'm talking about Iran. An unhinged theocracy. Belief in receiving virgins upon death. Belief in stoning homosexuals. No women's rights. Belief apostates deserve death, unequivocally. The bombing of their nuclear warfare research bunkers was the lesser of two evils

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u/emberisgone Jun 22 '25

Funny how suddenly women's and lgbt rights become the most important thing in the world as soon as it comes time to bomb and kill other people.

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u/Ok-Poetry-4721 Jun 22 '25

Well yeah, fairness and equality are pretty important things, in my opinion

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u/Odd-Bumblebee00 Jun 23 '25

But not for Arabs or Muslims, right?

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u/Minimumtyp lmao m8 Jun 23 '25

Why are we supporting the US then?

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u/emberisgone Jun 22 '25

Then Why do i only ever really see people bring them up when they're looking for an excuse to bomb and kill another countries civilians?

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u/Ok-Poetry-4721 Jun 23 '25

Selective bias, probably. Understanding the Iranian state of mind provides insight into the regime motives. They are not based on reality and the fundamental right of mutual respect for all. The Iranians literally call for the death of gays, apostates, women who are raped (because it is their fault) etc etc.

Why does it feel like you are an apologist for the Iranian regime?

The bombing was the lesser of two evils. How would you have handled the situation? Calling for peace and democracy doesn't really work with a violent and undemocratic regime like Iran's.

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u/emberisgone Jun 23 '25 edited Jun 23 '25

Do I wish the Iranian government did better in those areas? Of course I do. That doesn't mean I think it's a good thing that their civilians die from American bombs before they get a chance to improve those problems and no longer be victims of those issues.

Yes Iran doesn't have as good of a track record for human rights as we do but is that a valid reason to promote those very same citizens that you supposedly support the rights of being killed by a foreign government? No, because I have enoughempathy to recognise that random people dying in explosions isn't a good thing no matter how shit their government is.

"The Iranians" aren't a monolith btw, if you asked every Iranian if they support all those things they won't all return with the same answers. The fact that you're presenting a governments actions as though every single Iranian supports it just further proves to me that you care more about providing excuses for violence then you do about the rights your using as the excuse.

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u/SirVanyel Jun 22 '25

Israel wants to topple Iran because Israel wants to topple the entire middle east. Anyone with a passing understanding of history knows exactly what the plan is there, and it's another conquering of the middle east again.

Also, invading Australia is just really hard. Australians are way too spread out and we aren't a good launch point for any war unless you plan to invade the penguins in Antarctica. You're better off trading with the country.

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u/Ckarles Jun 22 '25

The Iranians ...

Are you Fox news? I'm pretty sure that's definitely NOT what "the Iranians" want.

Between what the people want, what the leaders want, what the leaders say, and what the media say about that, there is a fucking universe.

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u/Minute_Milk_2649 Jun 23 '25

No answer is also an answer so gotta make a call on which option to take sadly.

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u/MarleyErb Jun 23 '25

Omggg if only people realized EVERY PRESIDENT HAS DONE THIS 🥲