Australia ‘outside the tent’ with the US under Albo after ‘flat-footed’ response to Iran raid
The criticism from foreign affairs experts comes after the Prime Minister took more than 24 hours to admit “we support” the strikes on Iran’s nuclear bases, long after major partners such as the UK, India and France.
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Australia is “outside the tent” with the United States, with experts saying Anthony Albanese’s “flat-footed” response to Donald Trump’s bombing raid on Iran is a sign of a crumbling relationship that could be disastrous for trade and security.
The criticism comes after the Prime Minister took more than 24 hours to admit “we support” the strikes on Iran’s nuclear bases. He was slower to comment on the dramatic Middle East escalation than leaders all over the world, including major partners like the UK, India and France.
While UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was given advance warning of the bombing raid – less than a week after sealing a trade deal with the US at the G7 Summit – Mr Albanese confirmed on Monday he had been left out of the loop.
Mr Albanese finally spoke on the bombing shortly before midday Monday, with the PM defending the delay by saying “We aren’t a central player in this conflict, that’s just a fact”.
The PM also confirmed he hadn’t spoken to US President Donald Trump since last week’s G7 Summit in Canada, where a planned meeting between the two was scuppered when Mr Trump suddenly left the event to respond to the escalating Middle East situation.
Mr Albanese also won’t travel to the Netherlands for the NATO conference this week, with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles instead attending amid ongoing pressure from the US for Australia to ramp up its defence budget to 3.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.
Director of Strategic Analysis Australia Peter Jennings said the lack of dialogue between the US and Australian leader could spell disaster for trade and defence relationship between the countries, specifically naming the $368 billion AUKUS submarine deal currently being reviewed by the US.
“We are very definitely outside of the tent (with the US) … For Trump to leave the G7 and not call the PM, it would suggest the Americans are really unimpressed with Australia on defence and the Middle East,” he said.
“It’s meant we haven’t been able to get a solution on tariffs, in a way that Malcolm Turnbull did in the first Trump administration. The more serious issue is defence and AUKUS, we know on defence the Americans think we’re underperforming.”
He also said Australia’s Ambassador to the US, former PM Kevin Rudd, had to improve his relationships with the Trump administration.
“I think Rudd is very connected with congress, and through the Washington DC establishment, but not so much the Oval Office. And that’s probably the number one priority for any Australian ambassador in Washington,” he said.
The Prime Minister, when grilled on Monday why it took 24 hours for Australia to express “unequivocal support” for an ally – and what that meant for Australia’s relationship with the US under his government – referred to a statement released from a government spokesman on Sunday, which didn’t express explicit support for the US.
“This was unilateral action taken by the United States,” Mr Albanese said on Monday when asked if he had been given prior warning by the US of the strike.
The PM finally convened a National Security Committee meeting in Canberra on Monday morning, while Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong conducted a radio and TV blitz outlining Australia’s support for the US action.
It came the day after Opposition leader Sussan Ley issued a joint statement with Coalition home affairs spokesman Andrew Hastie voicing support for the raid.
Mr Hastie said on Monday the PM should have stood up on Sunday in the wake of the bombings, describing his response as “flat-footed”.
“I think the Prime Minister has been too slow and too silent and too passive,” Mr Hastie told the ABC.
“We need our Prime Minister to be advocating for the national interest, with Donald Trump, with NATO, with a range of partners throughout our region.”
Coalition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan also voiced concerns over what the initial response meant for Australia’s trade relationship with the US.
“The Prime Minister’s instinct seems to want to play both sides of issues. The government’s lack of conviction for 24 hours seems to be another example of this,” he said.
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott also said it was a “pity” Australia hadn’t been more supportive of the US.
“I think it is a pity that we didn’t swiftly indicate our strong support for these strikes, because there is no doubt … that America has made the world considerably safer,” Mr Abbott told 2GB.
Meanwhile, Iran is threatening to block a critical energy shipping lane in retaliation for America’s strikes on its nuclear facilities, which would push oil prices up to $155 a barrel.
The Iranian leadership has warned the “game isn’t over”, amid questions about where it had hidden 400kg of 60 per cent enriched uranium which survived the United States’ bunker busting bombs.
Tehran has so far rebuffed America’s calls for it to surrender and continued to trade strikes with Israel while its parliament approved the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial shipping route for at least 20 per cent of the world’s oil and gas.
Any successful blockade of the strait could send Australian petrol prices soaring by up to 70 cents a litre.
A months-long blockade could potentially delay any Reserve Bank interest rate cuts amid fears it would spike inflation.
President Trump said the daring strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer had resulted in “monumental” damage.
“The hits were hard and accurate,” he said of the attacks designed to wipe out Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.
US Vice President JD Vance echoed warnings from Mr Trump about retaliation, saying “it would be the stupidest thing in the world” if Iran sought retribution.
The escalation in the Middle East comes amid turbulence in the historically-close relationship between the US and Australia.
In 2023, Australia refused to send ships to the Red Sea despite a request from the US to join an operation against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels targeting cargo ships, while Mr Albanese also didn’t secure a meeting with vice president Vance when the pair were in Rome a month ago.
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