Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie says Australia cannot join any more US ventures in the Middle East, after Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government supported the White House in its military attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
US President Donald Trump yesterday revealed the US had attacked three sites in Iran, including the key complex of Fordow, prompting Iran’s leaders to pledge a response.
Trump’s actions have split onlookers, with many world leaders calling for de-escalation and diplomacy instead of further violence.
Lambie said the bombing operation, launched less than three days after Trump said he would take up to “two weeks” to decide whether or not to intervene in Iran, had destroyed any trust between the US and Iran.
She told Today the “bottom line” was that the US had re-entered a theatre of war in the Middle East, which ran contrary to Trump’s campaign promises and public stance as an anti-war president.
“You just put your shoe in the water there, your toes in the water there, and you’re back in that war,” Lambie said.
“But what I will say is this – we certainly can’t back you up this time, and we don’t owe you anything.”
Lambie said Australia’s military was not “fit for purpose” to be involved in a war.
“It’ll be 10 years before this country can commit troops that are fully fit, ready to go,” she said.
“We’ve got no idea where this is going, we’ve got no idea where this is going to end up, and on the other side we have Ukraine and Russia still going on.”
The federal government yesterday issued a statement calling for de-escalation following the US bombings.
Speaking on Today, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said this morning that the government supported the strikes.
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“We support action to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Wong said.
“And that is what this is.”
But she maintained calls for diplomacy to resume, saying nobody wanted to see another full-scale war in the Middle East.
