Live on Sky News.
This is Sharry Good Evening.
Tonight President Trump poised to deploy bunker busting bombs, getting after giving a run a final chance to surrender. We've got full coverage tonight Miranda Devines on the show. She reveals the pressure President Trump is under from the Maga isolationists not to help Israel, and I speak exclusively on the show live with Deputy Foreign Minister Sharan Haskell, her first interview since the.
War and Iran broke out.
We'll get the latest on Supreme Leader Kamani.
Is he likely to flee and seek exile.
Plus, a record number of small businesses are going under with the Albanezy government crippling the economy. But first tonight, Donald Trump is poised to send American buster bombers to eliminate Iran's top secret nuclear facility four Doh, some ninety meters underground. The President is making a final call on whether to take this action. He's getting advice and pressure from those around him. His administration is divided, which is in my view, a reflection on some poor appointments, including
Tulsi Gabbard as the Director of National Intelligence. A leak in the Wall Street Journal today cast doubt on the Israeli intel that suggests a nuclear weapon isn't far off. And clearly this leak came from one of those in the Trump administration who's opposed to America supporting Israel, and the propositions in the article were absurd. You trust Israeli intelligence over the word of ideological and tainted US intel
agencies any day of the week. Mossad has shown what it knows, what it can do, over and over and over again. Just think of the Hesbeler pages to the operation in Iran, to Nasraala being killed in his bunker, all based on accurate intelligence, often from deeply embedded undercover operatives. Plus, the International Atomic Energy Agency has ruled that Iran breached its nuclear obligations and is developing more Uranian enrichment than it could possibly use for civilian purposes. Both to the
Wall Street Journal league itself, that's most interesting. It shows the angry divide inside the Trump administration over whether the president should use the American weapons to penetrate Iranian mountains. It's being billed as one of the biggest decisions Trump has to make, whether to bomb Iran's top nuclear site.
To actually get it at those nuclear facilities which are buried deep in a mountain. Israel needs the help of American needs those two bombers and those bunker busting bombs, several of them, I think. And so that's the decision that Donald Trump has to make. He's under a lot of pressure, he's getting no advice from every.
Quarter, and that Miranda Divine interview coming up later. But there shouldn't be such a big decision. There are no requests for American troops on the ground, there's no request for Americans to put their lives on the line. In fact, there's very little risk given Israel has already seized control of Iranian skies and destroyed some forty percent of its missile launchers, oh and killed all of its military chiefs, including the top war chief.
Young Israelis men and women have done all the heavy lifting. It's simply the weaponry that Israel needs.
There shouldn't be such a difficult decision for Trump because he could be the president that brings peace we've never known in our lifetimes to the Middle East. And the only way you get to peace is by eliminating the terror and nuclear threat. That means actually dealing with Iran, and not by engaging in yet more deals and negotiations that everyone knows.
The ayatolders won't keep.
That's why the argument that anyone who wants to help Israel is a warmonger is so absurd, and in fact the opposite is true. Iran is responsible for more terrorism around the world than any other nation, and this includes, of course financing the massacre of innocent families on October seven, along with many terror attacks against the West and America over the years.
It also, of course.
Is behind the terror groups Humus and Hesbalah, and it will never give up its stated desire for the destruction of Israel. In the past few days, Iatola Kamani posted a chilling clip to social media showing hundreds of missiles ready to fire at Israel, with a caption, the Islamic Republic's armed forces will deal heavy blows to the evil Zionist enemy. Iran isn't hiding its intent to destroy Israel, America and the West.
It's boasting about it.
There can be no peace while Iran remains a dangerous force, and allowing Iran to continue its enrichment program is the path to a dangerous and bleique future. Taking out its nuclear sites is the only path to peace in the region, and the step after that is expanding the Abraham McCords with Saudi Arabia and perhaps other Arab nations. Trumpnetti Naho had a call after the President's Situation Room meeting.
They're in regular.
Contact and they're on the same page when it comes to the future of the Middle East. So to me, there's a lot of hand ringing going on, unnecessarily, but there are signs the United States is preparing to use its B two planes and bunker busters to take out the photo fuel enrichment plant, maybe other sites too. Americay is sending dozens of Air Force refueling jets and tankers into the region that are needed for the B two planes to operate, and the American Embassy in Jerusalem will
be closed for the next few days. And more importantly, there's also Trump's public comments. He's calling on Iran to surrender. He's still giving the Mullers one last chance. Yet Iran refuses to give up its nuclear program, even as its regime is being brought to its knees. It is crippled and their only way out now at this late stage is with more diplomacy, the carrot of a trade deal in return for giving up their nuclear enrichment program. Now, if the West agreed to this, if Trump did, it
would be a mistake. It would mean giving Iran likely billions of dollars which they'll use to finance terror yet again. And ironically, the only hope for Iran now is if Trump steps in to save them now.
The Wall Street.
Journal editorial today makes the point that this is also a matter of deterrence for the United States, with Beijing and Russia watching closely. It says, if the US won't help one of its strongest and most loyal allies finish the job of eliminating Iran's nuclear threat in uncontested airspace, the message to China will be that there is no
chance the US will defend Taiwan. But if Trump helps Israel in force his own red lines against Iran's nuclear program, he can send a message that American deterrence means something again.
And this is a powerful argument.
So let's take a look at the weapon that's at the heart of this discussion. These are the B two stealth bombers, which can carry two thirteen thousand, six hundred and seven kilogram thirteen six hundred and seven kilogram GBU fifty seven bunker buster bombs, and this is the only weapon capable of penetrating the mountains in Iran to reach the nuclear facilities of four Dough underneath Mount Alvant.
Which is south of Tehran.
And this is how these weapons looked during a Testril in twenty seventeen. Well, now the American media is reporting that it's a thirty hour round trip from the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri where these weapons are housed, and reporters are stationed outside to be the first to know if there's movement.
We've been out here waiting seeing if it's going to take off. But this is a very special plane. It is a stealth bomber, and as you pointed out, it can carry a bunker buster bomb.
But given there's media there, this would give Tehran at least fifteen hours advance warning, which is an ideal and could even be highly problematic. Well, I asked my sources about this today and they told me that there are actually already B two bombers in the region, far closer than America. So perhaps those reporters will be waiting there a long time. Now, there's no logical case against America using these weapons on around nuclear sites that it refuses
to dismantle. The reason for the indecision simply comes down to Trump's own power base, the isolationists and the Mega movement, who claim that America First means not being involved in any foreign wars.
Well.
Donald Trump's former Press secretary, Kaylee mcinnaney obliterated this argument on Fox News Today, where she is now a host.
How is Bannon and the folks that you mentioned and the people advocating for just sitting back and taking it easy, how are they any different than Biden's foreign policy. Biden's foreign policy was I say don't and Putin does. I say don't, and the Taliban takes over Afghanistan, I say don't, and two global wars start on my watch. That is the Biden FORIGMN policy. That is, by no definition America first.
Auran has had five decades, five decades, almost half a century to talk, and what they've done instead killed six hundred nine American troops in Iraq. What they've done is put an assassination plot on President Trump's head. What they've done is take American hostages and reac havoc on the world. America First is not sitting in a beach chair and using words. It's taking decisive action. When we can take out four doh the one swoop of an airplane.
She's excellent, and that's perfectly articulated, and it seems the international community now agrees with her. Well aside that is from out pathetic anti Israel Albanese government, but otherwise there are no public objections to taking out the nuclear facility from international leaders, none at all. In fact, the German Chancellor publicly acknowledged that Israel is doing what he described as the international community's dirty work, as Iran is the
source of so many terror attacks. Well, Trump should be encouraged to take this action to create a safer future. It would be a legacy defining moment for his presidency while providing something no other president has ever been able to, something that still plagues Bill Clinton to this day, creating a pathway.
For peace in the Middle East.
This is a test of Trump's character and courage. The young Israelis who put their lives on the line don't hesitate, and neither should he. Trump should claim his role in history as the president who stood with Israel to obliterate Iran's nuclear program. He should do his part to bravely defend the West and return America to its rightful position as leader of the free world. This is his moment and he should seize it.
All right.
A lot coming up on the show tonight, A big show, as I said, Exclusive interview with Israel's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sharen Haskell later plus Miranda Devine coming up. But now let's jump straight into it with our panel labor Agend Graham Richardson and filling in for Michael kroger Sky, the news host Caleb Bond.
Welcome to you both.
Now, I actually want to start with the fact that I'm being inundated with emails and messages from Australians who are stranded in Israel or their family members, and they're shocked that the Albanezy government is doing almost nothing to help them evacuate the war zone. So the Albanezi government rushed to bring Guarzans here, but they aren't doing enough for Australian citizens in Israel, and I presume it would be the same for Australian who are in Iran.
Richo, the government should be doing more, shouldn't they?
Yeah, the government should be doing more. I think there's an obvious gap here where that needs to be filled and needs to be filled quickly.
Caleb, this is a highly dangerous war zone.
I mean, it's pretty irresponsible of the alban Easy government. You know, my friend Joel Bernie from Ajak, he's managed to get two groups of people out of Israel by evacuating them to Jordan, making sure they're met safely on the other side.
Am An Easy government's not doing that.
Yeah, And for those people, and I know a number of them have been involved, it's been a bit of a trape's home. But that's part of the deal. I mean, it's not easy to get someone out of a war zone, but it's easy for a government to do it that it is for a private organization to do it. And of course a space over Iran is pretty much closed at the moment. That's a different matter, but Israel is not. How hard can it be to get a few planes in there or to a nearby country like Jordan, get
people over the border and get them out. If you really wanted to do it, you could do it. It takes logistics, it takes time, and it takes money. We've done it before. It's not like these options aren't available to us. So it doesn't say that there's no obvious reason why you couldn't just do it now. Send the planes over there, get it done, get them out there.
And they couldn't send them to Bengurian Airport because that is shut. But you're right, they could, of course to Jordan or even potentially Egypt.
But Jordan, I would say, is safer.
Richo, just on the broader question of what I've been speaking about tonight, But the whole world is waiting to hear what Trump does. It does make sense for America to back in Israel just to finish the job the last ten percent, doesn't it?
Yeah, it does.
I can't see a reason why, well, we can't go along that line. Look, you muck around with these things too much. What it requires is decisive people who make big decisions and make them quickly. Not easy to do, but must be done.
No, indeed, well perhaps not easy for some to do. Caleb.
Why is the Albanezi government so out of step with the rest of.
The world here? I mean, they can't praise Israel.
They're finally using some harder language against Iran, but they're certainly not endorsing Israel's campaign, not explicitly.
I feel like they've been caught on the hop almost because of course we know that the attitude they've taken to the war throughout the entirety of this war. And so you come to a point like this, which is a pretty clear moral decision to be made for anyone in the West, which is that Iran, in one way or another, should not be able to have nuclear weapons, and that for the greater good of the entire world, let alone the West, it should not be allowed to
have nuclear weapons. And I feel like Pennywong and Anthony ALBANIZI reached a point now where they feel like if they were to say, well, actually, Israel is doing something good for the world now, it would negate everything else they have said throughout the war.
And so they find.
Themselves in this difficult position of thinking they have to be consistent in everything they've said to this point. You know, they can admit, look, we haven't been on board with Israel the whole time, bat on this point specifically, we agree with what they are doing, which is for the benefit of the West. If they can't even concede that it is absolute weakness, which probably goes to it.
It is it goes to.
Part of the reason that Donald Trump didn't want anything to do with it exactly.
And on that point, Richo, I mean, we know Trump skipped his meeting with alban easy to deal with Israel and Iran.
That's understandable.
But now we hear that India's Neurandra Modi got a phone call from Trump. So did Mexico's president Claudia Scheinbaum. No phone call for Alban EASi. So Richard, this is just further humiliation, isn't it.
Yeah.
I wish I could describe it in a better way, but I think it's it is pretty humiliating. And I hope we can get through this difficult period of relations with the US because it's not helpful to anything. We rely on them for so much and you can't take them for granted. You've got to handle them very carefully.
Well, Richard, now Albaneze is talking about, you know, possibly a meeting on the sidelines of NATO. Well, rich O, why can't he just visit Washington? I mean, is it the case that Rudd seriously can't actually get a meeting in Washington in the overal offers.
It might be possible. I mean, I mean, Rudd's a very unpopular character everywhere, and he has insulted personally the United States President, which is something to do, but he's done it, and that puts US in a pretty difficult position.
You know.
Really, why we got somebody in there as the ambassador who.
Can't talk to the president.
At any time, Why we got back It's what Australian needs, is an ambassador and president's door get straight in. That's what Australian needs because that's the importance of the friendship and of being allies. But it is working.
I completely agree with you, and you know well, I even broke the story that Rudd had called Trump a village idiot. And yet I think you could have the best possible ambassador that I mean, Scott Morrison or Greg Norman could be the ambassador. And I still think now the problem is Albanesi and Pennywong's foreign policy, the fact that it is so removed from anything the US would stand for, so removed from our own values.
Would you agree with that, Caleb?
I think so.
And of course, something we often ignore with Kevin Rudd, notwithstanding the fact that he has insulted Donald Trump for is that there are many people within the Republican Party who respect him for his knowledge on China and have actually sought his knowledge on China. So there are people who could tap Donald Trump on the shoulder and try
through Rudd to organize these sorts of things. But when it comes to Albanizi, I think Trump is trying to maneuver him quite cleverly on the matter of defense spending. And the longer he draws this out, the longer he makes Albanesi wait, the more he will make Albanesi sweat. And so when they finally get into a room, whether it be on the sidelines of NATO or in the White House, which is where he should be. I mean, for heaven's sake, the Prime Minister is in Canada right now.
Why can't he pick up the phone and organize a meeting at the White House in the next few days. He's in the region. But when Trump finally gets him in a room, he wants to have made him sweat long enough that he can get some concessions out of the man.
Yeah.
Indeed, well, speaking of the g and just by the way, The point is Australia and ALBANIZI are so irrelevant. So you know, Trump's not thinking about us, and yet we think about him all of the time. I mean, speaking of the G seven, there's only one moment that stole the show, and that's the footage of Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney rolling her eyes at a manual maccran.
It's of course gone viral, have a.
Look, nothing official yet they haven't turned on the microphones and sometimes you can pick something up in the side conversations.
But I mean, Richard, this is just brilliant footage. We're all rolling our eyes at Macron.
It is brilliant footage.
Jungle, I say, I don't think you very often see something that is insightful as that is, and in what say, is embarrassing in some respects for some people. I think it's great vision and I wish we could.
Get more of it.
No, indeed, I mean calyb she's actually quite popular.
When you think of her as a leader.
I think she's brilliant. I mean her party, not necessarily her own personal popularity would sort of been up and down since she was elected in twenty twenty two. But the polling in Italy shows that her party has increased its share of the vote since she was elected in twenty twenty two, so she is popular over there. I mean, she's the closest thing we have to a modern Margaret Thatcher. Really, I thought we might have had a few female leaders in the UK that could measure rapt to thatch it,
but they never quite seem to get there. Georgia Maloney seems to be the closest. You know, she's taken on the things that people in Europe are worried about, particularly immigration. She's a straight shooter and it's not the first time we've seen her have a reaction like that. I mean, we don't know what she was talking to mccron about, whether she was rolling her eyes it's something that she had seen to her, or whether they were gossiping about something he.
Could have made some kind of correct she was just agreeing with him rolling.
But she's previously admolished Joe Biden for showing up to a meeting late. Like she's not afraid to say what she thinks, and it's not often these days that we get a world leader like that. Donald Trump, of course, is one of them. Georgia Maloney is another you know where she stands, and I think that's a great virtue.
I know, And it's so funny with foreign policy in the middle of a wall where Donald Trump's tweeting everything, and.
I mean it's quite I mean the idea, mind it, the idea that someone could post something on social media and then hundreds of thousands of people get in their cars and drive out of a capital city like Teyran. I mean, you would never have thought twenty years ago this could exist.
Right exactly. But also it's just how everything's changed.
I mean, normally there's bureaucrats mulling over the wording that a president would say publicly, and he's just tapping it out. I mean, at some point today there was probably about I don't know, ten or fifteen or something of his posts on truth socials.
It was obviously up late at night telling everyone what he thought, telling around what he thought.
And some people say that's dangerous, but I think actually having the unfiltered views of a leader is good because normally what we get is what the bureaucrats want a leader to tell us.
This is reality, all right, got to go, all right? Rich O Calebon We'll see you back at ten o'clock to night.
Pleasure.
Thank you now.
Just a week before Israel began to destroy Iran's nuclear sites, New York Post columnist Miranda Devine spoke with Trump about this very topic.
And I would have said a deal would be made.
Something happened to them like, Oh, I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, Maybe China instincts about things.
You think China took them out.
No, I don't think.
Jana has anything to do with it. I just think maybe that maybe they don't want to make a deal. What can I say? But and maybe they do.
And now the President is poised to help Israel. And I spoke about this with Miranda a little earlier. Miranda's so good to have you on the show again. We saw Trump quit the G seven rush back to Washington to call an emergency meeting in the Situation Room. What do we know about what was discussed in the outcome of that emergency meeting.
We don't really know, other than you know.
President Trump obviously is very open about, you.
Know, the things that are going through his head. He speaks to the media all the time.
He's done that today, he's commented on truth social you know, saying that the Eye Toller is safe for now, but we know where he is, that we have full control of the skies. I guess he means Israel does, and that, you know, unconditional surrender from the Iranians.
That's always what he's want. He's wanted to have this deal. He doesn't want to be at war.
Israel has done a brilliant job of shaping the battlefield and they, you know, Donald Trump has been at pains to say America was not involved in that, but to actually get it at those sort of nuclear facilities which are buried deep in a mountain. Israel needs the help of America needs those B two bombers and those bunker busting bombs, several of them, I think. And so that's the decision Donald Trump has to make. He's under a
lot of pressure. He's getting advice from every quarter. And I'm sure that since he's run on peace through strength, he doesn't like war.
He's tried to end war. However, he's always been very strong.
I interviewed him last week and he again reiterated that Iran is not going to get a nuclear weapon. He said, we would like to do a deal with Iran. We want Iran to prosper. We can help them do that, we can give them trade, but they are not going to get a nuclear bomb and a nuclear weapon, and they're either going to not have it the nice way or it's going to get ugly. And he said, I would rather do it the way that doesn't have people getting killed, and so that's his philosophy.
And so I think the most you're.
Going to see from America is certainly not going to be a regime change situation. There's zero appetite for that in America now and certainly in the MAGA movement, certainly with Donald Trump, he has been very down on George W. Bush and the rest of his cabinet who took a part of RAQ. So that won't be happening. But what you might see there are all these carrier groups and
other military equipment is moving into that neighborhood. So what you'll probably see is just a single strike on the nuclear facilities in Fordoh.
And then you know America will no longer be involved.
That's it, Yeah, And that's all Israel really needs is help with that particular strike, as you say, to destroy the Photo nuclear facility.
That's deep underground. Marada.
I think it's interesting you mentioned regime change, and while that's not the explicit goal, Iranians, of course would be better off not living under the brutal dictatorship of Ayatola's law and to go back to a situation pre nineteen seventy nine when they had freedom and they had human rights. But of course that's ultimately up to the Uranians. Now, you mentioned that Trump is getting advice from all quarters,
and there's the two philosophies. The one traditional conservative Republicans, who of course think the United States should assist Israel in defense of Western civilization.
But then there's this new school of thought.
The isolationist arm of the Magawing who don't want to get involved. This is really the first time we're properly seeing it play out, and it does seem like the president's ton is that right?
I think he's pretty resolutione. You know, he makes the point that peace through strength does not mean that Iran gets a nuclear weapon. And you mentioned JD. Vance and Mike Krkaby, who's the ambassador to Israel, and both of them have made statements. One Harkabee sent along private text message to the President which the President then truth doubt
and JD. Vance wrote his own quite long message on X and both really were saying the same thing, which is that Donald Trump has earned the right to be trusted. Mike Krkabee says, you know, you're getting advice from all quarters.
I believe that you are the man. You know, he's a very religious Christian man.
I believe that you are the man that God has put here in this place, and blah blah.
Along those lines.
But he's not telling him one way or the other. And neither is jd Vance, at least publicly. And I don't think really, I mean, Donald Trump is neither one nor the other.
And he said that in his last term.
In his first term, he said, you know, I'm not a hawk and I'm not a dove.
I'm a common.
Sense person and I just treat everything on first principles. And that served him very well in his first term. I mean, he was tough, he got rid of solomony. But on the other hand, he refused to do a strike that John Bolton desperately wanted.
John Bolton talks about being so bitterly.
Disappointed in his book that he went home to get changed so that he would have the evening in the situation room having fun watching people die, and Donald Trump, while he was off getting changed, changed his mind. He didn't want one hundred and fifty Iranians to be killed in retaliation for you know, a drone that wasn't manned, an unmandrone of America being shot down. So he just is very infuriating to the neo cons, to the Hawks.
But nobody controls him. Tucker Carlson doesn't, JD. Vance doesn't, Lindsey Graham certainly doesn't. He has to make this decision on his own. It's a very lonely decision and it's incredibly momentous, and I'm very glad that it's Donald Trump who's in this position now, who's making that decision, because he's shown to.
Be very wise in the past.
When he left office after his first term, run was on its knees, it was broke.
It didn't have the money.
To fund those proxies that attacked Israel on October seven. Israel has now completely degraded. Hezbola, Sirius gone. You know, the Iranians are all alone, and they're at the week as they could possibly be. So, you know, if we want to get rid of that those nuclear facilities, that the time is ripe.
Yeah, exactly. I just want to ask you less about the Middle East. But where you think this emerging philosophical and ideological difference takes the Republican Party. Do you think this is going to be a deepening rift moving forward?
I think it just depends how things pan out. Again, this is about trusting Donald Trump. This is what jd Ants has said that everybody needs to do. Trust his instincts. Same with Mike Huckabee, the ambassador. Trust his instincts, and they haven't set him wrong yet.
And so you know, if look, if Aram turns.
Into World War three and as a disaster, of course, I mean that's you know, his presidency, his place in history, you know, but I mean, who cares. That's small beer compared to the catastrophe. But if he handles this like I think a few presidents could and actually just limits it and manages to help Israel get rid of this nuclear threat to the world, and you know that there is not too much bloodshed and that you know, the Iranian people figure out their own future, but at least
it's not a nuclear future. They can do whatever they like, but they can't have a nuclear weapon that threatens everybody in the reading and ultimately all of us.
So if he manages to do.
That, and I think the chances are good, then I think that he is. You know, he's already very powerful among the MAGA group and then the Republican Party. I think he will just no one will doubt him in the future, but it's very difficult next few days. I wouldn't want to be him, and he does look, you know, uncharacteristically somber and.
Burdened by these concerns. He takes it very seriously.
I just finally want to ask you about President Trump missing the meeting with Anthony Albanesi. He obviously had to rush back to the situation room, but clearly it was a snub as well, and he must have very little regard for Alberanisi.
And who would blame him?
I mean, the Australian Prime Minister speaks with more disdain and hostility about the Trump administration than he does about China.
Well, what's your view on this?
Look, I honestly don't think that he gives Anthony Albanzi a second vote. The reason he came back was because of Iran. It certainly wasn't to snub Anthony Albansi. I don't think he cares less about him.
I do think it's.
A pity that Australia doesn't have a better relationship with the Trump administration. I think it's very unfortunate that Anthony Albanesi made those comments previously. But I would think that for America's sorry, for Australia's sake, that he and Kevin Rudd and everybody else in the Albanese government would be pulling out all stops to make amends for any of their past statements.
It honestly isn't something that's brought up.
And I do think that Joe Hockey did a great job as ambassador. He really cultivated Donald Trump, played golf with him, played golf with his cabinet members, played golf with his chief of staff even and there were a couple of really hair moments for Australia that could have hurt Australia, and Joe Hockey papered them over, managed to iron them out.
Miranda, thank you so much for your time, really appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
Well for more in our coverage.
Now let's cross live to Israel, where I'm joined for an exclusive interview by Deputy Foreign Minister Sharon Haskell. Sharen, thank you very much for joining us at there's extremely busy time for you.
Can you tell us tonight, Sharon, Can you tell.
Us tonight how badly, of course morning for you, tonight for us? How badly have the nuclear sites been damaged? And how much more does Israel have to do here?
So Israel's operation were extremely extraordinary and very successful. We were able to eliminate almost most of their era defense systems and so we have quite a lot of control of the skies in your That gave us a good range of operating in Iran as well, including prior operations. And in that you know, two of the major nuclear war program sites Natans where they're enriching the uranium was damaged and it is fund the conversion facility was damaged as well. There's still a lot of work that we
need to do. There's still more targets, military targets that we need to actually eliminate in order to severely damage to make sure that their nuclear war plan and their nuclear war program is eliminated and is put very far back. And that's what we're doing right now.
Can you tell us why it's critical that the far Door fuel enrichment facility is destroyed.
Well, this is a major fundamental stone in the nuclear military program as well. But it's not just the military nuclear program. I want to also remind you that we have a major double existential threat. The nuclear program is only one of them. The ballistic missile program is another one, I mean, and they need both of them in order to actually have a nuclear weapon that can threaten humanity. Now, during the last few months they actually accelerated it heavily
during negotiations, meaning they deceived the international community. They were using the efforts of negotiation, the diplomatic efforts, in order to advance their war nuclear program goal. And we've seen that. I mean, they right now have enough enriched uranium for almost ten missiles, okay, ten nuclear warheads. Three of them were produced just in the rose recent months when the negotiations were actually taking part. We know who they are,
we know what their goal is. It's been declared also by the IAEA just two weeks ago showing how they violated the agreement on purpose as well. There was a motion that was voted on as well that proved how Iran is deceiving and what was the result of that. They said that they will build another enrichment plan as well.
It's extraordinary that there's anyone calling for America to return to the negotiating table with Iran.
Scharan, I just want to ask you.
The President said that Supreme later KMANI won't be killed. For now, is Israel considering taking him out?
Look, we have.
Two declared goals of warning. This is what we've set for our army. To destroy the nuclear military program, which is an existential threat, and to destroy the ballistic missile program, which is an existential threat as well. During that, in both of these double existential threat, we've eliminated the leadership of both of these military programs terrorist programs. And as we said, you know, this is not one of our goals,
but we do see how Iran. You know, while we are targeting military facilities uh uh, terrorist facilities uh and and military elite, they are actually targeting on purpose high civilian population areas.
So this is not.
Right now one of our aim but if they push it, you know, we cannot promise what will happen.
Also afterwards, all right, there you go, leaving on the table the possibility of taking out the Supreme Leader.
Sharan Hau School really appreciate your time. Thank you very.
Much, Thank you very much.
All Right, we've got to take a break and after the break, a record number of businesses have gone under over the past year.
That's coming up. Welcome back.
We'll almost seven thousand businesses in New South Wales have become insolvent in the past year. There were also over five thousand insolvencies in Victoria and more than three thousand in Queensland. Just as Labor want us to believe the economy is doing better, numbers like this reflect the real.
Pain our business sector is in.
And joining me now is Business New South Wales Chief executive Daniel Hunter. Judo Bank chief economist Warren Hogan. Welcome to you both, Daniel. These figures are confronting. It's very sad. What are small business owners telling you about the pressure they're under.
I think you've heard the nail on the head there that it is actually supreme pressure that they are under.
At the moment.
What we've seen is nearly half a percent of all businesses in New South Wales going to insolvency in the last eleven months.
That's the highest it's been for.
Fifteen years here in New South Wales, and that's a really big problem. They're facing increased cross pressures down coupled with consumer demand, which is really well documented has been down. People don't have the money to spend anymore. But it's those unnecessary costs that we really worry about. The insurance costs are really increasing for small and medium businesses.
For example, workers compensation bills.
Are going up and looking at going up by fifty percent again in the next three years. There is reforms for full government on those sorts of things, but it's just cost on cost on cost, and that's really hard to pass on to consumers at the moment.
Welllarren, when you see numbers like this as an economist, I mean, what do they tell you about the overall health of the economy.
Yeah, well it tells you it's not great because we've had this massive expansion in the size of government, particularly in the last three years, but gradually for the last eight And of course when the government does this and we haven't seen this since the early seventies, it leaves less for the rest of us, and of course businesses are competing for available workers and of course the cost
issues that Daniel rightly pointed out. We might have consumer price inflation down at three percent, but business cost inflation is at least five, if not more. And the only recent consumer price inflations at three is because businesses have had to wear it in margin squeeze, that is, they've had to not pass on those costs, and of course
that effects profitability. So we're going to continue to see this because the government's growing and has grown at such a rate that it's squeezing out the private sector I think business.
We're also seeing new data revealing that nine million Australians it's hard to actually believe this, nine million Australians currently have less than one thousand dollars in savings. I mean, Daniel, this is extraordinary. You have to wonder how people are surviving, how they're providing for their children, their families.
Yeah, that's really deeply concerning at a personal level for everyone that that many people are on the brink. But again it comes back to our consumer demand. People don't have the money in their back pockets, so they're not spending, and then that.
Creates a larger impact. People aren't going out, or.
If they are going out, they're only going out once a month.
They used to go up two or three times a month.
They're not going to the movies as much, or only buying one cup of coffee, et cetera. And it's just putting squeeze on a lot of people. And it's not just employed people. You know, we've got business owners here who are taking the risks, really putting themselves out there and to lose everything. Back to the insolvency discussion, it's really difficult out there.
I think it's tougher than what people think.
Indeed, and Warren, Yet we heard the Treasure of Jim Chalmers today say that the budget is unsustainable.
I mean we know that he said it, that it's unsustainable. So it seems that tax heights are likely going to be on their agenda.
You know, people are doing it so tough and they get it could face more taxes.
Yeah, he didn't say it was unsustainable before the elections, So I mean, I think this just reveals the politics. It's already started at this stage of the game. The speech today, and yes, the reality is is that we already have the highest income tax burden in the world. We're seeing the super operation system cracking and they're trying
to change that. And of course it all comes back to the fact that they've unleashed this whole wave of government spending programs, which, although admirable and we'd all like to see as much done to help as many as we can, there's affordability issues and of course functioning of the economy, so you know this is unsustainable. I've been
talking about this for a long time. The recognition of it by the Treasure though, doesn't give me any heart, because I don't think what he said today is going to get the job done.
The Charmers is also planning a round table for August to deal with productivity.
Daniel, if you were given a seat at the table, what would you be suggesting that the government do.
I look, my wish would be tax reform, meaningful tax reform. We haven't seen it here in Australia since the Howard era. We've got some really forward thinking state governments here in Australia, or labor governments here in New South Wales and South Australia. I think they would be keen to get around the table and look at removing some of those really inefficient taxes.
And it needs large scale tax reform.
So we really would love to get rid of things like stamp duty, emergency services levies, things like that that really don't promote growth and don't route promote productivity.
So that would be my much meaningful tax reform would be a.
Good one, Warren, what do you think the government should do to lift productivity?
What's the biggest issue?
Well, the most alarming part of the speech, and it was the finish of it from the Treasurer said it won't fail because of a shortage of ideas, opinions and choices. It won't be a shortage of courage. It'll be a shortage of consensus. And I agree with him, but of course he's spilling out a whole bunch of solutions that aren't going to fix it because they're not even recognizing the problem. And the problem is that we have a completely different demographic situation to what we had for the
last sixty years. We have labor shortages, and of course that means we have got to get our workers into the most useful parts of the economy. But at the same time, the government's expanding in a very labor intensive way through the care economy, and it's just crushing business. The availability of labor is the biggest issue for business, on top of the cost issues and the tax issues. So the issue that I see is that they want a consensus, but they're not even addressing the core problem.
They're not even recognizing it. And of course the policies they're pursuing, the strategy they have for the last three years, is completely at odds with the problem and the situation we face. So I am very, very worried that this roundtable is just going to be another political talk fest, not actually getting us to the point where we're all on the same page about the problem we're solving.
Yeah, indeed, and of course the unions will be part of that as well, Right, Warren and Dan, you'll appreciate your time tonight. Now after the break, Iranians flee Tehran as many hope for a regime change. An Iranian activist will join me next. Well, there are major traffic jams as Iranians flee Tehran after warnings.
From America and Israel.
It's a tough time, but many Iranians are still hoping for regime change. Iranian activist Elaheair Jammalie joins me live from London, olaheare, thank you for your time.
Look when you look at.
The footage of Iranians evacuating their city, it's undoubtedly tough. How will they cope again? Do you think the prayer for regime change is a common sentiment in Iran?
Good afternoon and good evening to the Australians.
Thank you for having me on your program tonight.
What I have to say what Iranians are currently facing is.
There only and one and only imminent.
Chance for taking action against this regime because the regime is currently at its weakest. Iranian people have been asking and asking the international community to back them in this move against the regime for years.
For multiple years, there has been multiple.
Uprisings in Iran where Iranian people did not have access to any sort.
Of power against this regime.
Their uprisings were met with massacres and killings of Iranian people up until a few days ago. Even the day before the war began. Five days ago, mojile hed Corecor, an innocent Iranian man was executed.
From the people who were kept in prison since the Massamini Iranian National Revolution that's started in twenty twenty two.
So what we are witnessing right now is.
The lights of Iranian people for regime change as they are forced into experiencing and.
Becoming human shields for this regime.
We have witnessed over the past five days that Israel is not intent on killing Iranian people.
Sibian life have been taken in this horrible situation that my country is currently facing.
But this was a war that the Islamic Republic welcomed to Iran by.
Making every making sure every morning the chance of death to Israel and death to America are echoing throughout the cities and throughout the schools, whether it is a primary school or my school, and.
All of its universities.
In every single mask or public space, the Islamic Republic uses to push forward its propaganda and it's only it's nice for regime change.
Indeed it is.
And let's hope Iranians rise up. Elahair, appreciate your time. Thank you so much.
All right, we'll be back after this quick break.
We're out of time. Big show tomorrow night, don't miss at eight o'clock.
Here's poor Murray