Australian interests are not advanced by supporting US attacks on Iran. 

Formal Australian government support for recent US military strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran is inconsistent with key principles of international law and diplomacy and are deeply unhelpful in realising a peaceful resolution to this crisis. Australian support sends a dangerous message to the international community that Australia backs military aggression over dialogue and further erodes global disarmament norms, said the Nobel Peace Prize winning group the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Australia.

Instead of aligning with nuclear-armed states acting outside the law, Australia should act independently to uphold international law and negotiated outcomes and urgently move to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

Australia, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has a responsibility to press for diplomatic solutions to nuclear concerns, not endorse illegal attacks on fellow parties to the treaty, including Iran. In a flagrant breach of the rules-based international order, the United States has violated these principles and set a dangerous precedent in targeting Iranian facilities instead of pursuing negotiations. A pre-emptive attack on a sovereign state and a direct strike on nuclear infrastructure protected under international law is not something Australia should support.

ICAN condemns any further escalation by any party and calls for Australia to:

• Cease political support for military action of any party to the conflict.
• Refuse any military, logistical or technical support for US attacks on Iran, for example by refuelling B2s in Australian airspace or assisting with targeting via Pine Gap.
• Sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
• Support and engage with international calls for an urgent return to diplomacy and negotiation as the most credible pathway to resolution.

Before her deeply disappointing support for the American attacks, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has more helpfully called for de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy. ICAN Australian supports this approach and urges the government to adopt one further D – disarmament. 

Australia must not allow nuclear weapons to be used as a pretext for launching another devastating war. Australia must reject this logic and refuse to support any action that fuels war under the banner of nuclear threat. We cannot bomb a path to peace and our government must act to reduce nuclear risks, not inflame them.