US-Iran war updates: Iranian women’s football player withdraws asylum claim amid reported threats

Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson has doubted Australia has adequate navy vessels to answer any potential US calls to help in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US President Donald Trump has called on several other countries to send ships to protect vessels from Iranian attacks and help open the critical waterway to ease the global oil supply disruptions.

Senator Paterson told Nine’s Today show on Monday that recent history showed that Australia hadn’t been able to support similar threats to global shipping due to limits within its national fleet.

He referenced the 2023 Red Sea crisis, when commercial shipping vessels had suffered attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Australia had declined a formal request from the then-Biden administration to send ships as part of a US-led multinational coalition called Operation Prosperity Guardian.

“As I understand it, there’s been no request from the United States, and we’re not anticipating one,” Senator Paterson said.

“If one came, we’d have to very carefully consider it against our national interest and particularly whether we have the relevant naval vessels available that could safely do that mission.

“You would need to have a naval vessel that’s capable of protecting itself against drone and missile attacks.

“And in 2023, when a similar request from the United States came to help in the Red Sea against the Houthis terrorist organisation, we weren’t able to provide any naval vessels because we didn’t have ones that could protect themselves that were available for that mission.”

Australia has ruled out sending ships to the Middle East to help protect vessels from Iranian attacks while travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.

It comes after US President Donald Trump called on several other countries to send ships to help open the critical waterway to ease the global oil supply disruptions brought on by his war in Iran.

Australia wasn’t listed in Mr Trump’s call to arms on social media, but countries reportedly considering helping include the UK, Japan, China and South Korea.

Labor’s Transport Minister Catherine King and Foreign Affairs and Trade Assistant Minister Matt Thistlethwaite both shut down any suggestion Australia would be joining the assisting Coalition of nations during media appearances on Monday.

“We’ve been very clear about what our contribution is in relation to our requests, and so far that is to the UAE, obviously providing aircraft to assist with defence, particularly given the number of Australians that are in that area in particular,” Ms King told Radio National.

“But we won’t be sending a ship to the Strait of Hormuz. We know how incredibly important that is. That’s not something that we’ve been asked, or we’re contributing.”

Oil prices have surged again as the US-Israeli war against Iran enters a third week, putting oil infrastructure at risk and keeping the Strait of Hormuz shut in the world’s largest supply disruption.

Oil prices extended gains at Monday’s open, with Brent crude futures jumping $US2.76 ($A3.95), or 2.68 per cent, to $US105.90 ($A151.53) a barrel after settling $US2.68 ($A3.83) higher on Friday.

US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed $US2.29 ($A3.28), or 2.32 per cent, to $US101 ($A145) a barrel, after gaining nearly $US3 ($A4.3) in the previous session.

The International Energy Agency on Sunday said more than 400 million barrels of oil reserves would begin flowing to the market soon, a record draw aimed at combating price spikes caused by the Middle East war.

Stocks from Asia Oceania will be released immediately, and those from Europe and the Americas will be available at the end of March, the agency said.

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Civilians in parts of Dubai and Doha have been urged to leave immediately after Iran’s Media Operations Centre warned the areas could be targeted within hours, according to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV.

Tehran claims US military personnel are operating from those locations and warned residents to evacuate for their safety.

The warning comes amid escalating regional tensions, with Iran insisting the sites could not become targets if US forces continue operating there.

Authorities in the Gulf are yet to confirm the claims.

US President Donald Trump’s call for major powers to deploy warships to keep the Strait of Hormuz “open and safe” has yet to draw firm commitments, despite rising oil prices and growing concern over shipping disruptions.

Britain said Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke with Mr Trump on Sunday about reopening the key waterway “to end the disruption to global shipping,” while China said it would “strengthen communication with relevant parties” to encourage de-escalation, and South Korea said it “takes note” of Mr Trump’s request.

France has previously floated an escort mission for vessels passing through the strait, but says any deployment would depend on when “the circumstances permit,” while Iran insists the route remains open to all except the US and its allies.

An Israeli military spokesman says it is planning for at least three more weeks of its campaign against Iran, while US Energy Secretary Chris Wright predicts the war will end within “the next few weeks”.

“We have thousands of targets ahead,” Israeli army spokesman Effie Defrin told US broadcaster CNN.

“We are ready, in coordination with our US allies, with plans through at least the Jewish holiday of Passover, about three weeks from now. And we have deeper plans for even three weeks beyond that,” he added.

Passover, a key date in the Jewish religious calendar, starts on the evening of April 1 when families gather to mark the liberation of Jews from Egyptian slavery thousands of years ago.

The Israeli military reports that the air force has carried out more than 400 waves of strikes since renewed hostilities began on February 28, targeting Iranian infrastructure in particular.

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More than 400 million barrels of oil from International Energy Agency emergency reserves will begin flowing soon, the agency says in its most detailed account of the rollout of the plan to combat a spike in crude prices since the start of the Iran war.

Stocks from Asia and Oceania countries will be available immediately and stocks from Europe and the Americas will be available at the end of March, the agency said on Sunday, four days after the agreement was announced.

Governments have committed to make available 271.7 million barrels of oil from government stocks, 116.6 million barrels from obligated industry stocks and 23.6 million barrels from other sources, the statement said.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has posted a video of himself getting a cup of coffee and chatting with his aide after rumours that he was dead or injured were aired by Iranian state media and spread online in Iran.

In the video, taken at a cafe in Jerusalem’s outskirts and posted on Mr Netanyahu’s Telegram and X accounts, his aide asks him about the rumours.

Mr Netanyahu responds with a pun on the word dead - which in Hebrew slang can be used to describe “being crazy about” someone or something, as he reaches for a cup of coffee.

Reuters verified the video’s location from file imagery of the cafe, which matched the interiors seen in the video.

The date was verified from multiple videos and photos of Mr Netanyahu’s visit posted by the cafe on Sunday.

The captain of Iran’s women’s national football team has reportedly become the latest player to reverse her decision to seek asylum in Australia.

According to Iranian state media, Zahra Ghanbari has withdrawn her earlier plan to remain in the country after being granted a humanitarian visa alongside several teammates last week.

Reports suggest Ghanbari is expected to travel to Malaysia before eventually returning to Iran.

Separate reports also claim her mother in Iran was questioned by the country’s Revolutionary Guard after Ghanbari and six other members of the national squad accepted asylum offers from the Australian government.

Tina Kordrostami, a councilor for the Australian city of Ryde, claimed the players were being “heavily intimidated” by Tehran, suggesting their families were being used as leverage to get them back home.

“I know families have even been detained. I know family members are missing,” Ms Kordrostami told Fox News’ “Fox Report With Jon Scott.”

The development comes after several other players also reconsidered their decisions over the weekend, with four leaving Australia after choosing to return home.