In brief
- US President Donald Trump has accused Iran of shooting down a US military helicopter.
- Despite Iranian demands, Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government is "very worried" about the human and economic impact of war as the United States renews strikes on Iran.
It comes after US President Donald Trump vowed on Wednesday to respond after he accused Iran of shooting down a US military helicopter the previous night.
During the US strikes, Iranian media reported at least two series of explosions along Iran's southern coast near the Strait of Hormuz.
Following the strikes, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi threatened retaliation.
"Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the US opted to test our determination. Our Powerful Armed Forces will leave no attack or threat unanswered. Leave our region if you want to be safe," Araghchi posted on X.
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Hours later, Iranian forces fired "long-range missiles" and "targeted and destroyed four major targets" in Jordan, including F35 fighter nests at an air base and the US command centre in Al-Azraq, the country's Revolutionary Guards said in a statement quoted by IRNA news agency on Wednesday.
The hostilities extended to other countries in the Middle East, with air raid sirens sounding in Bahrain after the Guards said they had struck another US base there.
Albanese told ABC News Breakfast he was once again calling for a de-escalation.
"We are very worried both about the human impact, of course, that comes with war, but also that the economic impact that is having a massive effect on the global economy will get worse rather than better.
"We want to see a de–escalation because of the impact, not just in the Middle East. We're a long way away, but we are impacted here each and every day."
Asked if the government would extend the fuel excise cut, introduced in April following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, Albanese said the government would "make the assessment".
Albanese did not say whether he had been briefed by Trump before the US' attack, but said the uncertainty was creating great difficulties.
"The advice that we follow, and on many occasions that has been declared, we have a caveat of course which is that it is uncertain," he said.
"That is creating a great degree of difficulty as well when economic markets respond to these news statements that are made in the United States and other places as well".
After the downing of the Apache attack helicopter, Trump said he had been informed "that last night the Iranians shot down one of our highly sophisticated Apache Helicopters while patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz".
While the crew members were uninjured, "the United States must, of necessity, respond to this attack," he said.
Earlier, he said negotiations to end the war in the Middle East were in their final stages.
Trump's comments were followed by a statement on X by Araghchi.
"The Strait of Hormuz is NOT international waters but shared between Iran and Oman ... Foreign forces in proximity to our territory are at constant risk on account of their own human errors, plain accidents, or potentially being caught in crossfire," he said.
"To reduce risk, best solution is for them to leave. We prefer language of diplomacy but speak other languages too," he added.
On Trump's orders, US forces later carried out "proportional" strikes against Iran in response to the downing of the helicopter, the US military said.
American forces "began launching self-defense strikes against Iran, at 5.00pm ET (7.00am AEST) today at the Commander in Chief's direction, in response to yesterday's downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter," US Central Command said in a post on X.
The Apache helicopter is the second crewed aircraft that Washington has confirmed was shot down by Iran during the war, following the loss of an F-15 fighter plane in April.
The downing and the prospect of a US response pose the latest threat to a shaky ceasefire in place since 8 April, as the US and Iran struggle to negotiate an end to the conflict.
The escalation comes a day after Iran and Israel halted attacks that threatened to reignite the regional war, which was sparked by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February.
Iran has insisted that a halt to the war must include a truce in Lebanon, which was drawn into the war when Hezbollah militants fired rockets at Israel on 2 March.
Israel responded with an extensive campaign of airstrikes and a ground invasion that has killed more than 3,600 people. Exchanges of fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah have not stopped despite an ongoing truce.
Oil prices fall
Iran fired missiles at Israel on Monday in response to strikes against Lebanon's Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of Beirut, before Israel struck back despite Trump's efforts to dissuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from doing so.
The Israeli leader said of Iran that the "fire on that front is contained" hours after Iran said it had stopped its military action.
But both sides warned they could resume hostilities, even as Trump indicated diplomatic efforts were progressing.
Iran and Israel "were going back and forth and now they both agreed through me to stop and we're in the final throes of what will be a very, very good deal", Trump told reporters earlier on Tuesday.
When asked whether a deal would take days or weeks, he said it would take "two or three days".
Following Trump's comments, oil prices fell around 5 per cent to below US$90 ($128) a barrel.
The conflict has severely disrupted shipping via the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil usually passes, while Washington has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
Lebanese city evacuates
Despite Iranian demands, Israel has kept up its attacks on Lebanon, where it is fighting Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, Lebanon's health ministry said an Israeli airstrike on Tyre killed at least eight people, with the Israeli military warning the entire city to evacuate shortly after the strike.
Lebanon's National News Agency reported a "heavy strike" on Tyre, and raids on more than a dozen other locations across the country's south.
A correspondent from the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency saw residents of Tyre, including those from the Christian quarter, fleeing and heavy traffic heading north after the Israeli warning.
— With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse.
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