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TRANSCRIPT:
- Iran launches retaliatory strikes at Israel and US bases in the Middle East
- WA's Premier reassures the Muslim community, after a man is charged over a planned terror act
- The NRL season opener to kick off with a double-header match in Las Vegas
Iran has retaliated against joint US and Israeli strikes by sending missiles to targets across the region.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards says they struck 14 US bases in the region including in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE, and hit vital military centres of Israel, in what a spokesman called a swift response to the US-Israel military strike.
Explosions have also been seen in the sky over Tel Aviv, as Israel's defence system intercepted missiles reportedly fired by Iran.
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Israel and the United States have declared their aim in launching strikes against Iran is to unseat the Ayatollah's regime.
Reuters has reported Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is not in Tehran and has been transferred to a secure location.
Still, US President Donald Trump has published a video on Truth Social saying the time had come to take action against the regime after years of its support for brutality and terror.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also published a video saying the Ayatollah's ousting was their aim.
"The objective of the operation is to put an end to the threat from the Ayatollah regime in Iran... This operation will continue as long as necessary."
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A number of world leaders have expressed support for the missile strikes against targets in Iran.
While EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has called for maximum restraint following the strikes, citing the need for ensuring nuclear safety; Iran's exiled prince, Reza Pahlavi, has welcomed them, describing them as a humanitarian intervention.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, has declared that Iran's 'violence and arbitrariness led to the US-Israel attacks.
Australia's Prime Minister has released a joint statement with Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong that says they see little alternative to what is now happening.
"For decades the Iranian regime has been a destabilising force, through its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, support for armed proxies, and brutal acts of violence and intimidation... We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security."
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Air travel across the Middle East and beyond has been severely disrupted following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Thousands of passengers have been stranded, as airlines prioritise safety amid a rapidly escalating regional conflict.
India has suspended multiple international services, after its aviation authority warned regional airspace was vulnerable at all altitudes.
Several Middle Eastern countries including Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE have closed their airspace.
Russia has halted flights to Iran and Israel; while major international carriers such as British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France have cancelled or rerouted services.
In New Delhi, Shahnawaz Alam says his flight to Dubai is among those cancelled.
"I got to know when I came here that my flight had been cancelled. I can't go to Dubai. I have travelled this far from very far away. Have spent 25 USD on the fare. I am a worker, not a rich man."
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West Australian Premier Roger Cook has met with Muslim community members to reassure them of their safety, after a man was arrested on Friday for allegedly targeting mosques.
Mr Cook says the news shocked Australians, as well as members of the Muslim community.
"We will do everything we can to continue to make sure, that they can fully express their religion, their faith, their culture, and a community which is tolerant and welcoming and safe."
Jayson Michaels is facing five charges, including acting in preparation for a terrorist act.
Police say a joint counter-terrorism team began investigating 20-year-old Michaels in January, after it received intelligence about encrypted communications concerning white supremacist ideology, anti-Muslim ideology, and antisemitism.
Imam Mohammad Shakib from the Perth mosque says divisive rhetoric has to stop.
"Islamophobia has become so normalised it's become mainstream. We hope that going forward, we as a community will be able to work together to build a better Australia, to build a better state, by understanding one another, by helping one another."
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Social justice group Pride in Protest has reacted furiously to being expelled from the Mardi Gras parade, which took place in Sydney on Saturday night. [[Feb 28]]
Organisers of the iconic event told the group it was not welcome because of their social media posts about Jewish LGBTIQ+ group Dayenu that it said breached the parade's code of conduct.
Mardi Gras CEO Jesse Matheson says the group had labelled Dayenu 'pro-genocide' in posts on Instagram.
Pride in Protest spokesman, Evan, has called the the exclusion deeply hypocritical.
"We reject those claims of harassment and vilification. And to be quite frank, it is a political beat-up. Because if safety concerns, if harassment concerns were real, then the fact that police who bashed protesters not long ago in this very space are being allowed to march - I myself was pinned down by three police. Why is that valid? It's not."
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To sport and in rugby league ... The N-R-L season opener is taking place in Las Vegas with a double-header match.
In the first round, it will be the Knights versus Cowboys, while the Bulldogs will play the Dragons this afternoon.
When Canterbury run out onto the turf, they will likely do so with their same best 17 from the end of last year.
That will include Cameron Ciraldo, who has a sense of stability at the club that's now in a position to show off the complete package.
