Trump addresses the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters, Sept. 24, 2019.
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
The US has historically asked for international support when brewing conflicts in the Middle East boiled over.
Donald Trump has rolled out the red carpet for Scott Morrison in the US as part of a charm offensive aimed at shoring up the Australia-US alliance.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Just because Australia has a strong relationship with the US doesn’t mean we should take a similarly aggressive stance with China and Iran.
The attack on the Abqaiq oil facilities in Saudi Arabia has sparked geopolitical tensions but has had only a minor impact on oil prices.
Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters
Energy-wise, the fallout from the attack on Saudi oil facilities has so far been very muted. The surge in oil production in the US over the past decade helps explain why.
This week’s attack on Saudi oil facilities appears to be the latest effort by Iran to escalate tensions in the Persian Gulf to push back on the US ‘maximum pressure’ sanctions campaign.
Pavel Golovkin/EPA
Iran’s goal is to sow discord and inflict pain on energy markets, while avoiding crossing a threshold that prompts retaliation from the US. This is a fine line to walk at the best of times.
Benny Gantz: one seat ahead.
Atef Safadi/EPA
Coalition negotiations begin in Israel after neither Benjamin Netanyahu nor Benny Gantz secure a majority.
Former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has offered to help free three detained Australians in Iran, but the attacks on Saudi oil facilities have made the situation vastly more complicated.
Stringer/EPA
Iran is being accused of ‘hostage diplomacy’ by resorting to incarcerating foreign nationals at a time when sanctions are crippling its economy.
The Nasir ol Molk Mosque in Shiraz, Iran: Islamic architecture is one of the gems of Persian culture, as is its traditional music.
Wikimedia Commons
There is so much more to Iran than politics. Its traditional music carries messages of beauty, joy, sorrow and love to the world.
Shortlived alliance.
Oliver Contreras/EPA
As US national security advisor, John Bolton was too much of a warmonger for Donald Trump.
What people read online could really disrupt society and politics.
igorstevanovic/Shutterstock.com
The Russians won’t be alone in spreading disinformation in 2020. Their most likely imitator will be Iran. Also, Instagram could get even more infected with intentional misinformation than it has been.
Israeli soldiers in the Hula Valley in the north of Israel, near the Lebanese border.
Atef Safadi/EPA
Saudi Arabia and Israeli in balancing act after strikes on Iran-backed militias.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, among others, at the summit in France.
AP/EPA/Ian Langsdon
Prime Minister Scott Morrison scored a precious invitation to the annual summit, but the meeting showed little promise of solving some of the world’s most pressing problems.
Wes Mountain/The Conversation
Australia has committed to joining the US and the UK in a mission to protect oil ships in the Strait of Hormuz. But why is the Strait the source of so much tension between the US and Iran?
Steve Parsons/PA Archive
Tensions in the Gulf are a stark reminder of the choices ahead for the UK on security cooperation after Brexit.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne, and Australian Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds at the AUSMIN talks in Sydney.
AAP/Rick Rycroft
Australia is expected to announce the commitment soon as US-Iran tensions remain high.
Seized: the Stena Impero in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
Hasan Shirvania/EPA
An international maritime lawyer explains whether Iran broke the law of the sea by detaining the Stena Impero.
Ships and boats sailing toward the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed
A fifth of the world’s oil travels through the narrow waterway.
Treading water: the Grace 1 tanker was seized by Gibraltar in early July.
A.Carrasco Ragel/EPA
After Brexit, the UK will need to decide whether it supports EU diplomacy or US militarism.
Syrian tribes have found themselves on competing sides of Syria’s ongoing civil war.
Youssef Badawi/EPA
How Syria’s tribes are being used by those both for and against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, left, spokesman for Iran’s atomic energy agency, listens to a man wearing a surgical mask, an official with the Ahmadi Roshan nuclear site in Natanz, Iran, during a news conference on May 20, 2019.
IRIB News Agency via AP
Nearly 50 years old, the treaty has been signed by 190 countries – more than any other arms limitation treaty. But now Iran is threatening to withdraw.
President Hassan Rouhani came to office with an olive branch, but his hard-liners rivals now appear to be setting the political agenda in Iran.
Iranian Presidency Office Handout/EPA
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani staked his political fortunes on bringing Iran out of isolation. Now, it appears he’s losing control to hard-liners in Iran.