Australia news and politics recap June 24: Israel, Iran ceasefire hangs in balance as new missiles launched

Opposition leader Sussan Ley said the Coalition condemned “in the strongest possible terms” the Iranian regime’s direct missile attack on a US base in Qatar.

Ms Ley noted that US President Donald Trump said the US was provided with prior notice to prevent loss of life and injury.

Despite that, Ms Ley said this act was still a “violation of Qatari sovereinty.”

“Australia must stand firmly with our allies and partners, including the United States, in the face of such aggression,” she added.

“The Coaliation reaffirms its support for the actions taken by the United States to prevent the Iranian regime from acquiring nuclear weapons.”

Ms Ley also urged for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to attend the upcoming NATO summit in The Netherlands this week following reports Mr Trump could be seeking meetings with IP4 nations.

“Now is the time for Australia to stand with the United States and Anthony Albanese should be taking every opportunity to do so.”

Reacting to news overnight that Iran had retaliated by carrying out a missile attack on the Al-Udeid US air base in Qatar, frontbencher Mark Butler repeated the Government’s call for a diplomatic solution to encourage peace in the Middle East.

Mr Butler also revealed the Government was still trying to find ways to evacuate about 3000 Australians registered for assistance to depart Iran, and more than 1,000 in Israel.

“We’ve been trying to do all that we can, particularly in land crossings,” he told Nine’s Today show on Tuesday.

“We had a flight we thought might be able to leave Israel yesterday, but because of the security situation, that wasn’t able to happen again.

“But our foreign affairs staff are working day and night to explore every possible opportunity to help Australians get out of there.”

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