Opposition backs Israel's right to military action in Lebanon

Summary

Opposition backs Israel's right to military action in Lebanon as PM pushes back on sanction changes In short: The federal opposition has backed Israel's continued military invasion of southern Lebanon despite the signing of an MOU between the US and Iran to end hostilities. Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Ted O'Brien said Israel had a right to defend itself against Hezbollah. What's next? Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia would make its own decisions about sanctions, responding to a provision in the MOU which lifts some US sanctions on Iran. Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Ted O'Brien has defended Israel's right to continue its military invasion of southern Lebanon, despite repeated calls from the Trump administration for it to end. His comments come amid ongoing questions about a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and Iran, which includes a commitment to pause Israel's military expansion over its northern border. On Saturday, Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon killed at least 16 people including two children, bringing the death toll of the latest war between Hezbollah and Israel to 4,000 according to Lebanon's health ministry. The strikes came just hours after the MOU came into effect. In response, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz and warned that "not much" was likely to happen if "the fighting doesn't stop". Mr O'Brien said the fragile peace was being complicated by the involvement of parties which are not covered by the agreement. Although Israel is not a signatory of the MOU, the first provision of the agreement commits the US to ensuring an "immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon". "There's no doubt that when you have the likes of Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon at the moment, neither of whom are part of the agreement struck between the US and Iran, it certainly complicates things," Mr O'Brien told Insiders on Sunday. The remarks place Mr O'Brien at odds with the government, which has said Israel should not be conducting military operations in Lebanon. "Australia supports Lebanon's sovereignty — so we do not want to see occupation of southern Lebanon by Israel," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in March. Mr O'Brien said Israel had a right to defend itself from Hezbollah. "If we have a terrorist organisation still threatening the lives of Israeli people, then I think Israel has a right to defend itself," he said. US and Iran deal reshapes sanctions policy US President Donald Trump said the MOU was signed in part to avoid an “economic catastrophe”. “If you kept this going, that could have happened,” President Trump told reporters on Thursday. The agreement also includes provisions to lift some US economic sanctions on Iran. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia would not commit to lifting its own sanctions, stressing the government would make decisions as a “sovereign nation”. “Iran orchestrated attacks on Australian soil, and we do not take that lightly,” he said. The agreement leaves open the possibility of Iran introducing a toll through the Strait of Hormuz, a move Mr O'Brien warned would directly affect Australian consumers and the broader global economy. "A permanent toll would be bad in practise, wrong in principal and set a dangerous precedent for how otherwise waterways should be managed internationally," he said. Asked what message the agreement sends to other world powers, including China, Mr O'Brien said it reflects a shifting international landscape in which economic and security interests are increasingly connected. "We are in a new era of diplomacy, a new era of international affairs where security and economics are converging and are intertwined," he said. "There was no doubt that the US displayed absolute dominance militarily in Iran, but Iran was able to effectively hold the world's economy hostage through the Strait of Hormuz." He defended the Coalition's position to back the war on Iran from the outset. "If you go back to the basic principle as to why the Coalition backed the war, same as the government did, it was all about ensuring that this regime does not have a nuclear weapon," he said.