SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned a “severe, decisive and regret-inducing punishment” would be coming over Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s killing.
The branch of Iran’s armed forces, which answered only to Khamenei, issued the statement after state media acknowledged the 86-year-old leader’s killing.
The IRGC stated it would continue the path of its leader and defend his legacy, standing firm against internal and external plots and delivering what it described as a ‘lesson-giving punishment’ to aggressors against the Islamic homeland.
The Australian government listed Iran’s paramilitary guard as a state sponsor of terrorism in November last year.
AP
The family of Australia’s most decorated Winter Paralympian is among those stranded at airports in the Middle East, where one person has been killed and several others injured inside Abu Dhabi’s and Qatar’s international airports as Iran continues its missile strikes in the region.
The wife and two children of six-time Paralympian Michael Milton, who were due to fly from Doha to Venice, have described the terrifying moment they received emergency warnings to stay inside, while still on the plane.
Milton’s wife, Penni, was looking out the window when she noticed the flight begin to circle over Kuwait. Without internet connection, she and two children – Angus, 17, and Matilda, 19 – couldn’t figure out what was going on.
The flight then returned to Doha, where emergency alerts in Arabic started pinging on travellers’ phones. “I’m thinking, sitting in an airplane on a tarmac in a major international airport is probably not a good place to be,” Penni said.
Read the full article here.
Qatar Airways, a partner to Virgin Australia, has extended the suspension of its flights at least until 5pm (AEDT).
“Qatar Airways flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace,” the airline said.
“Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace.”
Further updates on flights are expected after 5pm, with passengers encouraged to check the airline’s app or website for the latest flight information.
Rob Loxton, an Australian based at Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah marina, told ABC News that he checked out of his accommodation to move further inland after missiles soared overhead.
“I had a pretty tall apartment [building], so a few missiles literally went over my building, so I thought better be safe than sorry [and] booked a hotel,” he said.
Loxton said he heard loud noises and the building “reverberated”.
“That was definitely the sign to probably get out of there,” he said.
Dubai authorities confirmed the Burj Al Arab hotel was damaged by debris when a drone was intercepted, and missile debris sparked a fire at the luxury Fairmont hotel.
“It was all a bit of a shock,” Loxton said, having received no warning of an attack.
“Until I see a … larger escalation and I think there is an actual threat [for] me and my partner, then I would probably think of leaving. But as of right now it’s really hard for me to make the decision right now with such little information”.
The Australian government said Australians in the United Arab Emirates should shelter in place during strikes. It raised its travel advice for the UAE to “Do Not Travel”.
The Australian government has used careful language to explain its support of the US-Israeli strikes on Iran.
In his statement last night, Anthony Albanese said the government supported the US “acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security”.
That statement went further than those of French and British leaders, whose initial remarks warned about the danger of a wider regional conflagration.
On Sunday morning, Albanese and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong reiterated Australia’s support for any action that might stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Both emphasised the Iranian regime’s role in funding terror aroun the world.
But Albanese and Wong deliberately avoided justifying the strikes on the basis that they might force regime change. They also refrained from speaking in specific terms about the methods used by the US and Israel.
The pair expressed hope that the Iranian people could take their destiny into their own hands, but did not link the strikes to an attempt to topple the theocratic government. Wong also called for adherence to international law.
Labor opposed former prime minister John Howard when he supported the US attempt at regime change in Iraq in 2003, a conflict that proved the difficulty of replacing governments in the Middle East.
Fires broke out at luxury hotels and at least one air traveller was killed after Iran unleashed a barrage of strikes on usually tourist friendly cities across the Middle East.
A traveller was killed in Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport when a drone was intercepted, sending debris falling into the airport, authorities said. Seven people were injured.
Dubai International Airport experienced an “incident” in which four people were injured. An airport concourse sustained minor damage.
Dubai authorities confirmed the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel was damaged by debris when a drone was intercepted.
Missile debris also sparked a fire at the luxury Fairmont hotel. A video posted by British influencer Will Bailey showed black smoke billowing from the hotel as holidaymakers watched on from a nearby beach club.
Kuwait’s airport was also struck in a drone attack, and four people were wounded in Dubai when a hotel was struck, Reuters reported.
Iranian state news agencies are now reporting the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported there would be 40 days of public mourning. The report comes after the head of Khamenei’s public relations, Seyed Mehrdad Seyyed Mahdi, called claims of his death “psychological warfare”.
The Greens have come out hard against the US-Israel strikes on Iran.
The party’s foreign affairs spokesman, David Shoebridge, said on social media that “Australia’s support of Trump and Netanyahu’s illegal attack is disgraceful”.
“We cannot bomb our way to peace,” he said.
Liberal shadow treasurer Tim Wilson criticised Shoebridge’s comments on X: “That the Greens oppose the United States and Israel ending a regime that brutally subjugates women, murders homosexuals, and exports terrorism tells you everything about their priorities.”
The United States and Israel clashed with Iran at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday where the UN chief and many countries urged a halt to the attacks and a return to negotiations, to prevent the conflict from spreading further into the region and beyond.
Amir Saeid Iravani, Iranian ambassador to the UN, told the council that the airstrikes had killed and injured hundreds of Iranian civilians, which he called a war crime and a crime against humanity.
He did not mention or comment on President Donald Trump’s statement that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes.
The US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, insisted the US military action was lawful.
“Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he told the council.
AP
Australia supports the US in acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told media in Sydney.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “was responsible for orchestrating attacks on Australian soil”, Albanese said.
“His passing will not be mourned,” he said.
The Australian government had previously linked two antisemitic attacks – including the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue in 2024 – to the Iranian regime.
“I understand this is a very difficult time for the tens of thousands of Australians with loved ones in the Middle East. The days ahead are going to be difficult. They are uncertain,” Albanese said.
“My government’s priority remains the safety of Australians in the region.”
