James Glenday, Host: The Foreign Minister Penny Wong joins us now from Parliament House. Minister, welcome back to News Breakfast.
Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Good morning. Good to be with you, James.
Glenday: Now I understand you've made statements elsewhere this morning, but I'm going to ask you anyway. Do you definitively support the United States carrying out these military strikes?
Foreign Minister: James, the world has long agreed Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon. And we support action to prevent that and that is what this is. And let me remind you why the strikes are on facilities which are designed for the purpose of a nuclear program. We know that the UN nuclear watchdog has said that Iran has enough heavily enriched uranium to enable it to, enough for several nuclear weapons. So, we like others in the international community, do not want Iran to get a nuclear weapon.
Glenday: You've been calling for de-escalation for days though. Had you wanted the United States to pursue more diplomacy before taking this action?
Foreign Minister: I was on, I think, your program and many others saying that Iran needed to come to the negotiating table to avoid further escalation. That Iran needed to do what the international community has been seeking for it to do for so long, which to comply with its non-proliferation obligations and to return to the table to ensure that this did not escalate. But where we go now matters, James, and I want to say again, it is right to call for diplomacy and de-escalation at this point because we do not want to see an escalation and a full-scale war in the Middle East. That would be devastating for the people of the region, and it would be a bad thing - it would be obviously highly disruptive to global stability.
Glenday: We share a lot of intelligence with the United States. Have you seen any clear evidence - privately, publicly - that Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear bomb?
Foreign Minister: First, I don't comment on intelligence matters, but I already referenced the International Atomic Energy Agency's public statements about the state of Iran's uranium enrichment program. I mean, that is a public statement by the body that is charged with looking at the way in which states deal with nuclear material.
Glenday: Do you know if any American facilities in Australia, for example, Pine Gap, were used to help carry out these strikes?
Foreign Minister: James, again, we don't comment on intelligence matters. We certainly don't comment on the sorts of matters you're asking me about. What I would say though is the US has made clear, publicly, these were unilateral strikes.
Glenday: And are you confident they were in accordance with international law? There are some people saying, well, they're not sure that, they're basically arguing that some of these strikes might have been illegal.
Foreign Minister: I think it's important to remember that the facilities that were struck only exist for the purpose of Iran's nuclear program. That is what we're talking about. And the world has long agreed that Iran is not in compliance with its international obligations when it comes to nuclear material. And the world has long agreed that it is not in the interest of collective peace and security for Iran to gain access to any nuclear weapon.
Glenday: I think people waking up this morning might be wondering what all this means for them back home here in Australia. Does this escalation in this war raise the security risk here, do you think?
Foreign Minister: Well, we always will take advice from our security agencies, we're very conscious of that. But I would again say to Australians, firstly, in relation to travel, I have asked my department to consider whether any further changes in travel advice are required for any location. And so please make sure you stay close to the travel advice if you are considering travelling. Secondly, in relation to domestic security, we obviously take our advice from agencies. What I would say to Australians is it's very important that we guard against any feelings about the conflict, any aspect of the conflict being brought here to Australia.
Glenday: Will you be taking any pre-emptive steps to boost security at embassies, maybe public places as well?
Foreign Minister: We always keep those sorts of issues under consideration at these sorts of times.
Glenday: All right. Finally, Minister, I just want to ask, we know that a lot of Australians are still stuck in Iran. What are the chances of repatriation flights at the moment? Or are you essentially having to get people out by land?
Foreign Minister: Look, it's a very difficult situation on the ground and it is very fluid, it changes very quickly. And regrettably, because of the escalation in military action, we weren't able to continue land border crossings out of Israel at this stage. There are reports of airspace being opened for a short period into Israel. If we are able to do so, we will therefore put, see if we can get a flight in and out. Obviously that is very fluid, but that is what we are seeking to try and arrange if possible. And we've provided information to people on the ground. It's obviously difficult, but we'll see what we can do.
In relation to Iran, the situation is even more serious. Obviously, all airspace is closed also. We have deployed Australian personnel to the Azerbaijani border, so if Australians do make it to that border, there are Australian officials there to assist. And we have been urging Australians to leave if it is safe to do so. Obviously, it's a very difficult situation.
Glenday: Do you know how many people are still in Iran who want to leave?
Foreign Minister: About 1,300 in Israel and about 2,900 in Iran have registered with us as being in country and seeking to leave.
Glenday: All right, the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong. We appreciate your time on this very busy morning.
Foreign Minister: Thank you. Good to be with you.