Prabowo’s Middle East peace gambit is long on theatre, short on strategy
The weapons are fast and devastating, driven by big bucks and high tech. They're being used in a war of religions that's almost 14 centuries old. Both sides have recruited God. A man of war from Southeast Asia thinks he can bring reason to bear. He can't.
Recent articles in World
5 March 2026
International law or ‘might is right’? Australia’s choice on Iran
The US and Israeli strikes on Iran have not been legally justified under international law. As the Trump administration pushes an increasingly unilateral approach to global power, Australia faces a choice – defend the UN Charter or remain silent.
5 March 2026
How long can Israel sustain a military conflict with Iran?
Public support for Israel’s war effort contrasts with doubts over its long-term military and economic sustainability.
5 March 2026
We have been here before – and we never learn
From Afghanistan to Iraq and Libya, repeated military interventions have weakened rather than strengthened US power. With new strikes on Iran launched without congressional authorisation, the pattern of executive overreach and strategic miscalculation deepens.
5 March 2026
Australia’s shameless support for the US attack on Iran makes us gullible, duplicitous, or both
For Anthony Albanese – as well as Mark Carney and Keir Starmer – to go along with Trump and Netanyahu’s cynical ploy negates any sense of moral authority we possess – a catastrophe for the rules-based order.
5 March 2026
War on Iran signals urgent need for Australia to end risky imported oil dependency
The widening conflict in the Gulf has exposed Australia’s extreme reliance on imported oil. With minimal fuel reserves and a $12 billion annual diesel subsidy to mining, energy security has become a national security emergency.
5 March 2026
You don’t have to like Iran’s government to oppose this war
After the killing of more than 150 schoolchildren in southern Iran, memories of a visit to Isfahan in 2018 return with painful clarity for Eugene Doyle. Beyond governments and geopolitics are ordinary families, whose children now bear the cost of escalating war.
4 March 2026
The US-Israeli attack on Iran is also an assault on the United Nations
The US–Israel war on Iran is a direct breach of the UN Charter and a blow to international law. But the attempt to impose global hegemony and hollow out the UN will ultimately fail in a multipolar world determined to resist domination.
4 March 2026
Another poor US intelligence call?
As the US strikes Iran while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, questions grow about selective enforcement of international law and a long record of flawed intelligence assessments.
4 March 2026
War is the opiate of the Israeli masses
Israel has once again entered war to solve its “existential problems once and for all”. History suggests those promises of total victory rarely survive contact with reality.
3 March 2026
If Iran resists, the global economy will pay
Western governments, including Australia and New Zealand, have backed US and Israeli strikes on Iran. But the decision risks economic catastrophe, regional escalation and the further erosion of international law.
3 March 2026
Trump and Netanyahu want regime change, but Iran’s regime was built for survival. A long war is now likely
The US–Israel strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader have pushed the Middle East into open war. But regime change in Tehran is far from assured and the conflict could trigger prolonged regional instability with global consequences.
3 March 2026
‘Insane this is legal’: Bettors make huge profits from suspiciously timed wagers on Iran war
Newly created accounts made around $1 million betting on the precise timing of US strikes on Iran, prompting calls for investigation into whether prediction markets are being used to profit from war.
Catch up on other sections
More from World
28 February 2026
From Whitlam to Andrew – the Palace and the politics of concealment
19 February 2026
The world is drifting back towards unconstrained nuclear danger
18 February 2026
US attitude towards Vietnam remains imperialist, not capitalist
17 February 2026
How Iran’s current unrest can be traced back to the 1979 revolution
16 February 2026
Handshake diplomacy with Prabowo won’t secure shared values
15 February 2026
Who will prosecute Geoffrey Robertson's peerless plan for peace?
11 February 2026
When peaceful protest is allowed to work, democracy works
11 February 2026
Herzog greeted by mass protest despite limits on marching
10 February 2026