Shadow Home Affairs Minister Andrew Hastie has been commended for his response to a heckler who interrupted his speech following US strikes in Iran.
The 42-year-old former SAS commander on Sunday said the Coalition backed the bombings of three nuclear facilities, carried out by the Trump administration overnight.
‘We do support the United Sates, and the Albanese government should be supporting the United States as well,’ Hastie said at a press conference.
Later in the speech, Hastie said the Coalition also stands in solidarity with the Iranian people, who are oppressed by the country’s authoritarian regime which ‘sponsors terrorism’.
A protestor in the crowd was then picked up on news microphones yelling, ‘Oh come on, the United States of America is the most terrorist country in the world’!
Other crowd members turned on the woman and told her to keep quiet. Hastie, however, refused to silence the woman and let her continue.
‘It’s a free country,’ he told the crowd. ‘She’s allowed to say what she likes.’
Footage of the moment quickly spread online, where the Liberal MP for Canning was praised by viewers for his response.
Shadow Minister for Home Affairs Andrew Hastie on Sunday delivered the Coalition’s response to US bomb strikes against Iran (pictured)
Hastie’s speech coincided with a gathering at the Hands Off Iran rally at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne on Sunday
‘(He was) level-headed, well-spoken,’ one person said.
Another agreed, saying they thought Hastie appeared ‘very tolerant and professional with the protester’.
‘He’s seen the worst of the worst,’ a third wrote, referencing Hastie’s time as a troop commander in the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR), ‘so one protester matters little’.
In his speech, Hastie declared support the US strikes, describing them as justified in the current security climate.
‘We do not want war, but we believe this was a necessary action to take by the United States military.
‘President (Donald) Trump gave the offer of negotiations and over the last two days, the Iranians have not taken up that offer.
‘So the coalition stands in solidarity with the Iranian people. We regret the loss of life in Iran and Israel and we hope for a peaceful settlement going forward.’
He also criticised the Albanese government’s stance on the conflict.
Iran’s involvement in the conflict between Israel and Palestine has been met with air strikes from the United States as the war escalates between Israel and its neighbours (pictured: Haifa, Israel, following an Iranian strike)
Israel and Iran have traded volleys of missile strikes (pictured: The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting building after it was hit in an Israeli strike)
‘I think they’ve been far too ambiguous,’ he said.
‘The United States is a close ally. The United States has a key role in reestablishing order and peace in the Middle East.
‘Iran by contrast is a regime that sponsors terrorism. It sponsored Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. It’s taken actions against Israel.’
The United States launched air strikes on three nuclear facilities inside Iran over the weekend.
The attacks marked a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel.
President Donald Trump confirmed the US launched air strikes on three nuclear facilities inside Iran on Sunday morning (Australian time).
The strikes came after years of hostility between Iran and Israel intensified into open aerial conflict earlier this month.
Iranian officials said the facilities hit were at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan – key sites in the country’s nuclear program.
US President Donald Trump confirmed the US was behind air strikes reported in Iran on Sunday (above)
Commentators on international law and the Greens criticised the strikes as illegal under international law.
A spokesman for the Albanese government urged ‘de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy.’
‘We note the US President’s statement that now is the time for peace,’ a statement read.
‘The security situation in the region is highly volatile.’
