Israel-Iran conflict as it happened: Trump to hold talks with Iran next week; NATO chief defends calling US President ‘daddy’

Thank you for joining us today as we continued our live coverage of the conflict between Israel and Iran, where the ceasefire remains in place, despite early accusations from both sides of violations.

Here’s a look back at some of today’s developments:

• According to the CIA, reliable intelligence confirms that Iran’s nuclear program suffered significant damage from US air strikes, with new information pointing to extensive destruction. Meanwhile, Trump has intensified his criticism of journalists questioning the full extent of the damage.
• On Truth Social, Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial a “witch hunt”, with the trial to resume next week.
• NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte defended US President Donald Trump’s use of the F–word in relation to Iran and Israel and characterised the act as that of a “daddy [who] has to sometimes use strong language”.
• At the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump announced nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran are scheduled for next week. UN Secretary General António Guterres “very much hopes” the talks will end the conflict.
• Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has again called for humanitarian aid entering Gaza to be cut, describing the assistance to starving Gazans as an “absolute disgrace”.

We’ll be back in the morning with more live coverage of the situation in the Middle East.

Turkey supports NATO’s decision to more than double its defence spending target to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035 and is already exceeding the previous 2 per cent benchmark, a Turkish defence ministry source said on Thursday.

NATO allies on Wednesday agreed to raise their collective spending goal to 5 per cent of gross domestic product over the next decade, citing the long-term threat posed by Russia and the need to strengthen civil and military resilience.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the ceasefire between Israel and Iran to be made permanent during a press conference at the NATO summit.Credit: Getty Images

“Turkey is above the 2 per cent target criterion under the Defence Spending Pledge,” the source said.

“As NATO’s second-largest army, Turkey is among the top-five contributors to the alliance’s operations and missions.”

The source said Turkey had fulfilled all its NATO capability targets and was continuing to invest in defence industry development and research. It plans to expand a layered air defence network across the country, centred around its national “Steel Dome” project.

“We are investing in air defence systems, hypersonic, ballistic and cruise missile capabilities, unmanned land, sea and air systems, as well as next-generation aircraft carriers, frigates and tanks,” the source said.

The new NATO target includes at least 3.5 per cent of GDP for core defence spending, with the remainder to be spent on security-related infrastructure to improve civil preparedness and resilience.

Reuters

As of today, 148 Australians have boarded repatriation flights out of Tel Aviv following the reopening of Israeli airspace.

Diplomats and Australian Defence Force personnel assisted 148 Australians and their immediate family members to leave Tel Aviv on two ADF-operated departure flights.

Australians on a bus taking them to a repatriation flight from Israel on Tuesday.Credit: Kate Geraghty

In preparation for the second flight, Australian consular staff contacted more than 300 people who had registered to leave with the group taking up 29 seats on that flight.

About 4000 Australians and their family members have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as wanting to leave the region. Of those, about 3200 are in Iran, and 1100 in Israel. DFAT is considering carrying out more assisted departures from Israel where there is demand and provided conditions remain safe.

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has again called for humanitarian aid entering Gaza to be cut, describing the assistance to starving Gazans as an “absolute disgrace”.

Earlier this month, Australia slapped Ben-Gvir and fellow far-right government minister Bezalel Smotrich with sanctions, accusing the men of inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The pair now faces freezes on their assets and travel bans from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom.

“What is needed in Gaza is not a temporary halt of the ‘humanitarian’ aid, but a complete cessation of it,” Ben-Gvir said in a post to X.

The Israeli minister said it has now become “clear” that Hamas is controlling the quantities of food and goods entering Gaza, “which contribute to its survival”.

“When I warned and alerted, and sadly the only one who voted a month and a half ago against allowing the aid, which was clear to me would give oxygen to Hamas, there were those who mocked me and claimed that ‘the aid entering the northern Strip would only be for 10 days’,” he wrote.

“Stopping the aid will quickly advance us toward victory. I will demand from the prime minister that in the next cabinet meeting, the issue of allowing aid into the [Gaza] Strip be brought up for a renewed vote.”

France’s military took part in efforts to stop Iranian drones targeting Israel before this week’s ceasefire, the country’s Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said late on Wednesday.

“I can confirm that the French army intercepted less than 10 drones in the last few days during the different military operations conducted by the Islamic Republic of Iran against Israel, either by ground-to-air systems or via our Rafale fighter jets,” Lecornu said during a parliamentary debate on the situation in the Middle East.

Lecornu said Iran had launched about 400 ballistic missiles and 1000 drones towards Israel during the 12-day conflict.

Reuters

A Palestinian children’s rights group has reported the death of a 13-year-old boy who it says was shot in the back and killed by Israeli forces.

Ammar Motaz Mostafa Hamayel, 13, was killed on Monday while out on a walk with a friend near Ramallah in the West Bank, according to documents collected by Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCI-P).

The DCI-P said Israeli forces were concealed behind trees and opened fire on Ammar and his friend.

The soldiers detained Ammar at the scene of the shooting for about two hours before handing him over to an ambulance crew who brought him to hospital where he was pronounced dead, the group said.

“Ammar was walking with his friend when Israeli forces opened fire on him suddenly and without warning, striking him in the back, indicating he was turned away from the soldiers and posing no threat to them,” DCI-P said.

The group said Ammar was the 29th Palestinian child to be killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank so far this year.

Good evening, and thank you for following our live coverage of the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Here’s a brief overview of the latest developments:

• The ceasefire between Israel and Iran remains in place, despite accusations from both sides of violations.
• According to the CIA, reliable intelligence confirms that Iran’s nuclear program suffered significant damage from US airstrikes, with new information pointing to extensive destruction. Meanwhile, Trump has intensified his criticism of journalists questioning the full extent of the damage.
• NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte defended Trump’s use of the F–word in relation to Iran and Israel and characterised the act as that of a “daddy [who] has to sometimes use strong language”.

• At the NATO summit in The Hague, Trump announced nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran are scheduled for next week. UN Secretary General António Guterres “very much hopes” the talks will end the conflict.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with Trump at the summit, praised the US strikes for weakening Iran’s nuclear and drone capabilities.
• On Truth Social, Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial a “witch hunt”, as it resumes next week.
• NATO leaders have agreed to increase defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035, though Spain says it cannot meet this target. Australia also plans to boost its defence budget.
• In Beirut, Hezbollah supporters gathered outside the Iranian embassy, waving flags from Iran, Lebanon, Hezbollah, and the Amal movement, celebrating what they saw as Iran’s victory over Israel in this month’s brief, 12-day conflict.

A Hezbollah supporter takes a selfie while waving a Hezbollah flag as he stands on a tree outside the Iranian Embassy in Beirut.Credit: AP

• In response to a request from the NATO summit, Australia will send up to 100 personnel and a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft to Europe in August to assist Ukraine with both humanitarian and military efforts.
• Flights assisted by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are continuing from Tel Aviv. About 4000 Australians have requested evacuation assistance, and those in Iran have been advised to travel to Azerbaijan before returning home.
• Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir confirmed that Israeli commandos operated deep inside Iran during the conflict, helping to secure operational freedom for Israeli forces.
• Iran’s mission to the UN declared that Israeli and US “threats, intimidation and use of military force” proved to be “futile”, although a Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed the country’s nuclear facilities had been “badly damaged” in the American strikes.

Stay with us for the latest updates on this unfolding situation in the Middle East.

Liberal MP and shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser says the Liberal Party would support the government to introduce legislation that would help list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.

“I’m one of the great opponents of the Iranian regime,” he told Afternoon Briefing.

“I’ve called on previous occasions for Australia to reconsider diplomatic relations with Iran. I don’t want to see the prolonging of this regime in power. I think the key thing about the regime today is to try to disarm it.”

Leeser said Iran must come to the table and cease its development of nuclear weapons.

“We want to see Iran abiding by IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] processes. I think that’s the key thing and I think that’s the next step here,” he said.

“We want to see peace in the Middle East. The whole point of achieving peace is disarming Iran, we don’t want a nuclear-armed Iran.”

Back to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte awkwardly referring to US President Donald Trump as “daddy” in praise of his brokering of the Israel-Iran ceasefire.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has offered her thoughts on the matter, joining the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program where she says the description from Rutte was probably a “step too far”.

Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui

“I don’t know, mate. Far be it from me to disagree with the General-Secretary [sic] of NATO,” she said.

“I think the situation between Israel and Iran is much more serious and has more far-reaching consequences than a schoolyard fight, which I think was the context for the comments.”

McKenzie said the thus-far intact ceasefire was a positive sign, and accused the Iranian government of being a backer of “state-sponsored terrorism”.

“This is not only an illegal regime, but one that has been incredibly immoral as well,” she said.

The first Australian minister to endorse US President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities over the weekend wasn’t the prime minister or foreign minister. It was Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek, who happened to have the 6.45am breakfast TV slot on Monday.

“We do support the strikes and I know the foreign minister [Penny Wong] is going to be on your program later this morning to go into more detail,” Plibersek said dutifully.

Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong and Tanya Plibersek all spoke in support of the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities.Credit: Monique Westermann

The prominent member of Labor’s Left was then joined by two of her factional colleagues, Penny Wong and Anthony Albanese, who reinforced the government’s decision.

It was a far cry from two decades ago, when all three MPs signed a letter to George W. Bush, protesting against the war in Iraq.

“The ALP firmly believes that international conflict should, wherever possible, be dealt with peacefully and through international co-operation under the auspices of the United Nations,” reads the letter, which Plibersek delivered personally to Bush’s national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, during the president’s visit to Australia in 2004. “When all attempts for a peaceful resolution have been exhausted, United Nations sanction is vital if force is to be used,” it continued.

Read more on this story from Nick Bonyhady here.