US-Iran war: Iran vows revenge for deaths of key figures, base with Australian forces hit near Dubai

The US has struck Iranian missile positions near the vital Strait of Hormuz using some of the most powerful bombs in its arsenal.

US Central Command confirmed that forces deployed multiple deep-penetrator munitions against hardened missile sites along Iran’s coast.

Officials said the targets housed anti-ship cruise missiles that posed a direct threat to global shipping moving through the waterway.

“The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait,” Central Command said.

The strike comes after Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz — a critical chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply — in retaliation for the war involving the US and Israel.

Anthony Albanese and State leaders are set to hammer out a national plan to secure and distribute fuel, with a supply chain “tsar” likely to be appointed.

The Prime Minister will convene a special National Cabinet meeting on Thursday amid growing concern that the country’s fuel distribution system is too fragmented and lacks coordination.

Federal and State governments are scrambling to tighten control as global tensions threaten supply.

The Australian reported that a national fuel tracking system had been floated but it was not expected to be implemented straight away.

Currently, the Federal Government is responsible for securing fuel supplies and the States handle distribution.

Australia could face fertiliser supply issues within weeks unless more product arrives, Agriculture Minister Julie Collins has warned.

Speaking at the Global Food Forum, Ms Collins said current supplies would be enough to get farmers through the early stages of winter crop planting — but the situation could quickly deteriorate.

“This is very fluid,” she said.

Ms Collins said that there was enough fertiliser in the country, along with shipments on the way, to cover initial planting.

But she warned that the buffer may not last.

“The advice that we have is there is enough either in the country or on water to deal with the initial planting but sort of late May, June there starts to be an issue if we don’t get more supplies in,” she said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is on the verge of locking in a support package to keep Australia’s last two oil refineries operating beyond 2027.

The plan, expected to be unveiled within days, will involve subsidies for Viva Energy and Ampol to secure the future of refineries in Victoria and Queensland.

The move comes as the Federal Government scrambles to shield Australia’s fuel supply from growing global uncertainty.

Together, the two refineries produce about 20 per cent of the nation’s fuel but depend on government support to stay viable.

Australia’s refining capacity has been steadily shrinking for years.

Refineries across South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland were closed between 2003 and 2015, with further closures in WA and Victoria because of low demand during COVID.

The latest package is aimed at preventing further erosion of the country’s domestic fuel production and reducing reliance on imports.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said that two Israeli strikes on Beirut have killed at least six people and wounded 24 others.

“Human remains were also recovered from the site and their identities will be determined after DNA testing,” it said in a statement.

The strikes on central Beirut and the city’s southern suburbs were coordinated early today.

Iranian army chief Amir Hatami has threatened to launch a decisive retaliation for the killing of security chief Ali Larijani.

“At the appropriate time and place, a decisive, deterrent and regretful response will be given to the criminal America and the bloodthirsty Zionist regime,” he said in a statement.

He added that Larijani and the deaths of other “martyrs will be avenged”.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which is separate from the army, has already launched missiles at central Israel “in revenge” for Larijani’s death.

Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull believes that Donald Trump lashing out at America’s allies for not getting involved in the Iran war is exactly why Australia should be independent.

“He’s furious that America’s allies are not prepared to support him in a war that he started without their consent or ... without any consultation,” Mr Turnbull said.

“It really just underlines ... the importance of Australia being more independent, exercising our own sovereignty.”

An Iranian missile has hit the Al Minhad military base in the United Arab Emirates, where Australian forces are based, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has just announced.

He says no Australian personnel were injured in the hit, which caused a fire in an accommodation block and a medical facility.

“I’ve spoken with the Defence Minister about this and it’s important that we recognise that the Iranian regime is continuing to engage in, frankly, random attacks right across the Gulf region,” he told reporters in Tasmania.

“No Australian personnel were injured and there was no impact on Australian personnel. They are safe.”

​Read here.​

Two people have been killed in an Iranian missile attack that struck several sites around Tel Aviv.

An emergency responder for Israel’s Magen David Adom ambulance service told AFP news agency that they saw “smoke rising” from a building and “extensive damage and shattered glass”.

“We saw two unconscious casualties, with no pulse and not breathing, with severe injuries to their bodies,” they said.

Medics confirmed the deaths of a man and a woman “with severe shrapnel injuries” in Ramat Gan east of Tel Aviv.

Anthony Albanese has warned that there will continue to be economic aftershocks from the war in the Middle East.

He said that people weren’t just reading about the conflict, they were seeing the consequences in their daily lives, even though the bombs and drones were flying a long way away.

“And it is obvious but important to say that the longer this war goes on, the more significant those effects will be,” Mr Albanese said.

“Even if this is a relatively short conflict, it will have a long economic tail – just as the impact of COVID, followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine have both had an impact on your industry and on the lives of everyone right around the world.

“That is the scale of the challenge the world is bracing for – and that is the scenario we are preparing for.”