25 June 2025

ALAN HAYES

 

THE bombing of IRAN was inevitable! Trump has a long history of anti-Muslim animus. In January 2017, just days after his inauguration as President of the United States, Trump issued the first iteration of his signature Muslim Ban policy and has since continued to perpetuate an attitude that equates all Muslims with terrorism.

 

Political violence, violent rhetoric and bigotry are the weapons most used by Trump and his administration, so, it comes as no surprise to witness America’s descent into civil conflict and authoritarianism. But the game being played out in America is only part of the nation’s decline: the capital flight, the chaotic decision-making, the rising yields on Treasury bonds, the accelerating shift of innovation to China, and the wrecking of US global soft power. It is visibly an empire in freefall, ruled by an unstable autocrat who half accepts the logic of imperial decline and half rails at it.

 

But Trump will never be persuaded by reason; he has a grand plan of being the imperial overload, despite having an obvious cognitively impaired attention span that usually gives out after five minutes. Yet the rising surge of violence in America from Trump’s own administration, including the use of masked agents to seize people off the streets, and the illegal deployment of the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles, is just a precursor to the machinations of an irrational warmonger and the man who would be king.

 

Trump has made it extremely clear to the world that he wants dictatorial rule over America and that his rule should extend beyond the 2028 US presidential elections -  remember Melanie Trump saying: “2028 anyone”.

 

Though the 22nd Amendment prohibits Trump from being elected president again, it does not prohibit him from serving as president beyond January 20, 2029. The reason for this is that the 22nd Amendment only prohibits someone from being “elected” more than twice. It says nothing about someone becoming president in some other way than being elected to the office.

 

It’s the stuff of nightmares and MAGA dreams: a third Trump term.

 

Even Trump, notorious for bending norms and breaking laws, couldn’t possibly circumvent that clear constitutional stricture, right?

 

Don’t be so sure - with Trump, where there's a will there's a way.

 

Around the globe, when rulers consolidate power through a cult of personality, they do not tend to surrender it willingly, even in the face of constitutional limits. And Trump, of course, already has a track record of trying to remain in office beyond his lawful tenure.

 

If Trump decided he wanted to hold onto power past 2028, there are at least four paths he could try:

 

• He could generate a movement to repeal the 22nd Amendment directly.

 

• He could exploit a little-noticed loophole in the amendment that might allow him to run for vice president and then immediately ascend back to the presidency.

 

• He could run for president again on the bet that a pliant Supreme Court won’t stop him.

 

• Or he could simply refuse to leave — and put a formal end to America’s democratic experiment.

 

It would seem that Trump is already considering all four scenarios.

 

As we reported last week, Trump’s obsession is as old as history itself – dominating the people he governs with chaos, fear and panic and inflaming democracy with the torch of the American militia.

 

And while Trump continues to torch the rule of law in the United States he moves another step closer to dictatorship, with utter disregard for the American nation’s foundational principles.

 

Captain America flexes his muscles

 

Let us not forget Trump’s takeover of the military – in February of this year, he took decisive action by firing America’s top general and removing others in an effort to ensure he had a fully compliant Pentagon. This was essential for his future warmongering, since it has been suggested and reported that Trump may have been planning the attack on Iran for some time. The US vassal state of Israel has, without doubt, certainly primed the target over the past weeks.

 

The US officially joined Israel’s bombing campaign against Iran last weekend with a series of strikes that, according to Pentagon officials, did “severe damage” to the country’s three top nuclear sites. Yet as fears rose of more dangerous escalations, the Trump administration has tried to emphasise that it did not intend to enter an all-out war with Tehran.

 

Trump has claimed that the three nuclear facilities — Isfahan, Natanz and Fordo — had been “completely and totally obliterated,” but top Pentagon officials said it was too soon to know for sure whether Iran still had some nuclear capability.

 

One senior US official acknowledged that the heavily fortified site at Fordo had not been totally destroyed. Two Israeli officials said that Iran had removed equipment, including uranium, before the attack.

 

The Trump-Israel attacks on Iran will most likely kick off a more dangerous phase in the war. And, despite the verbal diarrhoea pouring fourth from Trump’s mouth, it’s very possible that the weekend military strike could harden Iran’s resolve to build a nuclear weapon.

 

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the “strongest terms” on Sunday, accusing Washington of betraying diplomatic efforts and asserting that Iran reserved “all options” to act in self-defence. He vowed that Iran would defend itself, and did not discount that his country's actions could lead to an all-out war.

 

The Trump Administration desperately tried to ‘spin’ to the world what a successful and vital American strike it had been, while also trying to claim the US had not caused/entered into a prolonged conflict, fears of devastating escalation in US-Iran conflict echo across the world.

 

The world reacts

 

As the slanging match of warnings between Tehran and Washington continued apace, the rest of the world had been reacting - UK, France and Germany releasing a joint statement on Sunday urging Iran “not to take any further action that could destabilise the region”.

 

The Gulf states expressed serious concern at the American strikes on Iran amid fear of retaliation against US military bases in their countries and Qatar’s foreign ministry declared: “The current dangerous escalation in the region may lead to catastrophic consequences at both the regional and international levels.” The statement said Qatar was calling on all parties “to exercise wisdom, restraint, and to avoid further escalation”.

 

Saudi Arabia has also expressed “great concern” at the escalation and stressed the “need to exert all efforts to exercise restraint … and avoid escalation”.

 

António Guterres, the UN secretary general, posted on social media: “I am gravely alarmed by the use of force by the United States against Iran today. This is a dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge — and a direct threat to international peace and security. There is a growing risk that this conflict could rapidly get out of control — with catastrophic consequences for civilians, the region, and the world.”

 

Meanwhile, Russia has described the American strikes as “irresponsible”, a “gross violation of international law” and a “dangerous escalation” - from a country who invaded the Ukraine without provocation.

 

And what about Australia’s reaction - a nameless Australian government spokesperson called for de-escalation .

 

“We have been clear that Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile program has been a threat to international peace and security,” a government spokesperson said. “We note the US president’s statement that now is the time for peace. The security situation in the region is highly volatile. We continue to call for de-escalation, dialogue, and diplomacy.”

 

Who knew what?

 

The UK wasn’t involved in Trump's military strike on Iran, but knew in advance, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said in the immediate aftermath.

 

What about France? After “noting with concern” the strikes, the French foreign minister said France had taken no part in the planning or execution of the bombings.

 

And Australia, allegedly a key US ally? Were Australian signals facilities like Pine Gap used as part of the attack? The US has publicly made it clear that the attack on Iran "were unilateral strikes".

 

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong's answer was that the Australian people couldn’t be told … “we don’t comment on intelligence matters”, she said.

 

Albanese said at a Press conference last Monday afternoon that Australia weren't "a central player in this conflict, that's just a fact.”

 

Albanese opened the press conference by saying “the world has long agreed that Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon. And we support action to prevent that.

 

“The US action was directed at specific sites central to Iran's nuclear program. We don't want escalation and a full-scale war. We continue to call for dialogue and for diplomacy.

 

“We are deeply concerned about any escalation in the region and we want to see diplomacy, dialogue and de-escalation. We've been upfront about the challenge facing the international community – that is, dealing with the threat posed by any Iranian nuclear weapons program and dealing with the risk of regional escalation.

 

“Australia called upon Iran to come to the table and abandon any nuclear weapons program. Iran didn't come to the table, just as it has repeatedly failed to comply with its international obligations. We urge Iran not to take any further action that could destabilise the region.”

 

Albanese was asked to confirm or provide any details to whether Australia has provided any military support via our bases in the region or indeed any signals support via our joint facilities here in Australia.

 

“Well, we don't talk about intelligence matters, but we confirm, of course, that this was a unilateral action by the United States.”

 

The Albanese government is a government that continually talks about transparency and talks about being upfront with the Australian people. So, why won’t the Prime Minister tell the Australian public if a facility like Pine Gap was used in this attack? Was information that's been garnered there used as part of the attack on Iran? And why did it take Australia, America’s alleged closest ally, twenty-four hours to express unequivocal support for this action by?

 

Anthony Albanese maintains that Australia wasn’t briefed by the US before the Iran attack. If that is so, what does that say about our relationship with the US?

 

Fears of reprisal?

 

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the parallel military, commercial and political organisation that protects Iran's clerical regime, said in a statement: "Aggression by the terrorist American regime has pushed the Islamic Republic of Iran — within its legitimate right to self-defence — to activate options beyond the understanding and calculations of the delusional aggressor front. The invaders of this land must now expect regrettable responses."

 

Donald Trump issued a warning on social media that any Iranian retaliation against the United States “WILL BE MET WITH FORCE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WAS WITNESSED TONIGHT.”

 

US officials remain on high alert for any potential retaliation inside the United States with the Department of Homeland Security warning in a statement on Monday that the “Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States.”

 

When questioned about the ‘probable’ terror threats on home soil, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sought to allay fears about an increase in terror threats in Australia.

 

“Look, we are constantly monitoring (the threat),” Albanese said.

 

“The ASIO Director-General and our security intelligence agencies are constantly engaged in monitoring. There’s been no change in any of the advice that has been issued.”

 

Later in Monday’s press conference, Albanese touched on the possibility that Aussies travelling in the Middle East could become targets of attacks: “Obviously we’re opposed to any action against Australians or indeed against anyone else.”

 

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she was reviewing advice for Australians travelling to the Middle East.

 

A token payback

 

Iran launched short- and medium-range ballistic missiles at Al Udeid, a US air base in Qatar that serves as the forward headquarters for US Central Command and has 10,000 military and civilian personnel. The attack appeared calculated to send a message, while limiting the war’s chances of spiraling out of control.

 

Officials said that Qatar and the US had received advance warning of the attack, but have not said through what channels. Three Iranian officials said that Tehran needed to strike back at the US, but also wanted to allow both sides a possible exit ramp.

 

Trump’s first public comments since the attack indicated that he does not plan to retaliate.

 

“I want to thank Iran for giving us early notice,” Trump said on Truth Social, adding that Iran had “gotten it all out of their ‘system,’ and there will, hopefully, be no further HATE.” In addition to there being no US casualties, he added, “very importantly, there have also been no Qataris killed or wounded.”

 

A White House official said the Trump administration had been anticipating a response from Tehran. “We knew they'd retaliate. They had a similar response after Soleimani,” the official said, in reference to the Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in 2020.

 

Throughout Monday (our time) Trump posted a series of frantic messages on Truth Social, including the totally calm: “EVERYONE, KEEP OIL PRICES DOWN. I'M WATCHING! YOU'RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY. DON'T DO IT!” Then finally posting: “CONGRATULATIONS WORLD,” he declared in a final post. “IT’S TIME FOR PEACE!”

 

Not withstanding Trump's big announcement, at the time of the Grapevine publication, neither Iran nor Israel had made any comments about a pending ceasefire.

 

And, so it begins

 

Despite the UK, Europe, Gulf countries and even Russia condemning the bombing of Iran, the Albanese Government's support for the illegal bombing of Iran by United States President Donald Trump, effectively cheering along - albeit not as enthusiastically as the Coalition - is unprincipled, contrary to international law and another blow to international peace. But when Iran retaliated, striking back at a US air base in Qatar, the Australian government condemned the action.

 

In an interview yesterday on ABC Breakfast, Federal Minister for Health Mark Butler said: "We condemn the attack on the US base in Qatar by Iran.

 

"We made it very clear through the Prime Minister yesterday that we expect Iran to now return to the table and de-escalate this very volatile dangerous situation." he said.

 

However, the decision to side with Trump and Netenytanu, reckless warmongers, over the people and peace will follow the Albanese Government for decades to come.

 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has made clear that there is no evidence Iran was moving into a nuclear weapon capability.

 

The Australian Government's decision to support the US bombing could have quickly dragged us into another brutal US war in the Middle East. Trump's claim to have bombed nuclear sites in Iran is a blatant breach of international law.

 

Senator David Shoebridge, Greens Spokesperson of Defence and Foreign Affairs, said: “Foreign Minister Penny Wong has been actively misleading the Australian public by repeating Trump's talking points on Iran’s nuclear capabilities. It is 2025, and we are watching the lie of Iraq’s ‘weapons of mass destruction’ repeat itself.

 

“The Albanese government’s refusal to even discuss the involvement of US bases in Australia, such as Pine Gap and North West Cape, once again prioritises their secret military ties with Donald Trump over their democratic responsibilities to the Australian people.

 

“The last bombing of Iran has demonstrated clearly to millions of Australians what a danger AUKUS poses to our independence and why the government must withdraw from this toxic deal.

 

“The Albanese Government's failure to uphold international law by implementing meaningful sanctions on Israel despite the genocide paved the way for this recent attack.

 

“The history of US wars in the Middle East shows that you cannot bomb your way to peace or democracy.”

 

The world has changed, and taken a turn for more violence, instability and chaos and the primary cause of that global chaos is the country that used to be Australia’s security guarantor. A country that is now ruled by an irrational and unstable autocrat.

 

Australia should avoid Trump and his administration like the plague, instead of accelerating our military integration, to the extent that Minister for Defence Richard Marles has committed Australia’s “geography” to a US war with China. Our government has declined to ever publicly discuss this strategy.

 

It’s time to walk away from a collapsing US empire, from the fascist autocracy that now rules it, and to rethink and strategise our alliances with Britain and Europe.

 

Albanese's attempt to curry favour with the Trump regime is not in Australia's best interests. If the war between Iran and Israel escalates, our government's support for the US bombing raid could well put a target on the back of every Australian.

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