‘Not immune’: Australia reacts as Iran-United States’ peace deal nears
The Albanian government has reacted to reports that a peace deal between US President Donald Trump and Iran could be finalized soon, with a Minister warning Australia is “not immune” to global impacts.
On Sunday morning, Mr. Trump said a deal with the Islamic Republic was “substantially negotiated” after talks with allies such as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Israel, with which the United States has begun war.
The deal comes more than a month after a ceasefire put a halt to tit-for-tat attacks that damaged regional oil infrastructure and sent global oil prices soaring after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Asked about the deal, Deputy Technology Minister Andrew Charlton told Sky News the government had “long been calling for de-escalation in Iran”.
“We are calling for negotiations on key issues, and this is because we know that the longer this crisis lasts, the greater its impact on the global economy will be,” he said.
“Australia is not immune from these global economic impacts.
“In fact, Australians have been feeling these effects at the petrol pump since the crisis began.”
But Mr Charlton said there were “a number of issues that still need to be worked out” between the US and Iran.
“So the sooner this crisis is over, the sooner we can get through the resolution of some of the long-standing problems and the sooner we can get the economy back up and running to fuel Australians – people will feel it at the gas pump,” he said.
In a post to Truth Social, Mr. Trump said the deal with Iran was “largely negotiated, contingent on its finalization among the United States, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and various other countries, including the United States’ Gulf allies.”
“My meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu went very well.
“The final aspects and details of the agreement are currently being discussed and will be announced shortly… Other elements of the agreement, the Strait of Hormuz, will be opened.”
The closure of the strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s crude oil travels, mostly to Asia, has sparked a spike in fuel prices and panic over future supplies, including crude to refineries in Southeast Asia, as well as diesel and fertilizer to hard-hit countries in the developing world.
