WEBVTT - Is this the most dangerous era of the Iran war? 0:00:00.680 --> 0:00:03.080 For more than a week. Donald Trump has ordered strikes 0:00:03.120 --> 0:00:06.280 against Iran in a worsening cycle of attacks, including on 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:07.680 civilian infrastructure. 0:00:07.840 --> 0:00:11.200 We hit him very hard again tonight, and we did 0:00:11.200 --> 0:00:14.800 that in honor of the probably three. It's probably three, 0:00:14.960 --> 0:00:18.200 as opposed to too great patriots. 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:21.680 Trump has defended the strikes as honoring the deaths of 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:24.720 up to three American service members in an Iranian attack. 0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:26.920 But the real goal is to get the straight of 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:31.280 Hamu's open again, something that looks increasingly unlikely. So with 0:00:31.360 --> 0:00:33.960 the region once again on a knife's edge, the US 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:37.479 appears locked back into an escalating war unless the interim 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:42.800 cease by a deal can be salvaged. I'm Ruby Jones, 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:47.440 and you're listening to seven AM today diplomatic correspondent at 0:00:47.479 --> 0:00:50.560 notice Akbasha hid Ahmed on the threat of all out 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:53.640 war and who is really in charge of what happens next. 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:07.280 It's Wednesday, July twenty two. So act by the United 0:01:07.319 --> 0:01:09.880 States has now carried out more than a week of 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:13.720 strikes on a run. American troops have been killed, Iran 0:01:13.920 --> 0:01:18.120 is attacking US bases and allied countries. Traffic through the 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:21.839 strait of a Moose has almost completely stopped. So take 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:24.520 us through what's happened over the past few days and 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:28.320 how close things are again now to and all out more. 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:35.920 It's really been stunning sort of spiral back into open conflict, 0:01:36.160 --> 0:01:39.840 not an unpredictable one. Certainly, whatever deal the US and 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:43.160 the Iranians were able to reach in June was quite shaky. 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:46.080 It depended on two sides that have more than forty 0:01:46.160 --> 0:01:48.960 years of enmity, right, and a lot of that blood 0:01:49.240 --> 0:01:53.440 extending well beyond the Trump administration. However, what's happened sort 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:56.960 of in this standar period where now is really focused 0:01:57.040 --> 0:02:00.880 on one specific issue and one specific dispute between the 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:04.080 US and Iran, which is the Strait of Hollows. That's 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:08.320 that strategic waterway between the Arabian and Peninsula and Iran's 0:02:08.360 --> 0:02:11.920 southern coast through which a large proportion about a fifth 0:02:12.040 --> 0:02:15.080 of the world's oil and gas supplies travel in a 0:02:15.120 --> 0:02:22.080 normal time of peace. That Trump administration and Iran are 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.519 arguing over how this should be operated. 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:28.240 The battle to control the Strait of Removes continues as 0:02:28.280 --> 0:02:31.639 the United States launches its seventh consecutive night of strikes 0:02:31.680 --> 0:02:32.560 on Iran. 0:02:32.639 --> 0:02:35.920 Under no circumstances and in no way, we will allow 0:02:36.000 --> 0:02:39.480 the United States, as a foreign an extra regional country, 0:02:39.720 --> 0:02:41.440 to interfere in the strait of hole mood. 0:02:41.800 --> 0:02:44.720 Breaking news, the Pentagon says two US service members are 0:02:44.760 --> 0:02:48.280 dead and a third is missing after Iranian attacks in Jordan. 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:51.680 It comes another wave of strikes against Iran, marking the 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:55.720 tenth consecutive night of attacks. Explosions have been reported. So 0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:58.000 it's pretty been a bit of an escalating tit for 0:02:58.080 --> 0:03:01.040 tap and that's what experts are contects are really worried 0:03:01.040 --> 0:03:04.080 about in a period like this where you just can't 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:06.280 wind things downd, you only keep ratchting up. 0:03:07.160 --> 0:03:09.440 And so tell me a bit more about the target's hit. 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:13.560 Because Donald Trump has long threatened the mass targeting of 0:03:13.840 --> 0:03:17.680 civilian infrastructure. Back in April, he threatened what he called 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:19.359 power plant and bridge. 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:25.840 Day, every power plant in Iran will be out of business, burning, exploding, 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:28.440 and never to be used again, I mean complete. 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:30.000 So is that what we're saying here? 0:03:30.720 --> 0:03:33.160 Look, the Trump administration has been quite clear about that 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:36.200 view of international law. International law, including the law of war, 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:40.480 says you cannot target civilian infrastructure. However, President Trump has 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:43.200 really openly said, well, I don't really think these rules 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:46.320 applied to the US. I don't need international law. 0:03:46.400 --> 0:03:49.360 Do you feel your administration needs to abide by international 0:03:49.480 --> 0:03:49.720 law on. 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:50.400 The global stadia? 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:52.040 Yeah, I do. 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:55.520 You know, I do, but it depends what your definition 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:57.200 of international laws. 0:03:57.720 --> 0:04:00.360 And so, yes, we are now seeing the US target 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:01.560 civilian infrastructure. 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:05.440 The Iranians have come back though, and talked about several 0:04:05.480 --> 0:04:08.200 areas of civilian infrastructure that they say have been hit, 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:13.760 including five bridges, an airport, and a railway station, and 0:04:13.800 --> 0:04:16.200 that eight people were killed in these attacks. The US 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:18.320 has not commented on these allegations. 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:22.359 Are these potential war crimes? Certainly international law experts and 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:25.880 people inside the government ruby who I've spoken with are 0:04:25.920 --> 0:04:29.200 concerned about that risk that, yes, US officials may be 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:34.400 implicating themselves in violations of international law on a daily basis. 0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:37.160 And this is that ratcheting up that President Trump has 0:04:37.240 --> 0:04:41.000 indicated part of that is what's making this escalation look 0:04:41.120 --> 0:04:44.680 so scary to observer US, because it looks like the 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:48.440 pattern of US stripes is almost targeting Iran's ability to 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:52.480 use its own forces within its territory, raising the question 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:56.680 of not only are we breaking international law here, are 0:04:56.720 --> 0:04:59.880 we moving towards an American crowned invasion of parts of 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:04.200 So is this targny of bridges about not just instilling fear, 0:05:04.320 --> 0:05:08.240 creating panic, all of that scaring the Iranians, but leading 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:09.000 to a bigger war. 0:05:09.560 --> 0:05:11.880 Well, let's talk a bit more about what the goal 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:16.240 here might be, because Washington and the Trump administration's rationale 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:20.839 it's been fluid this whole time. It was initially presented 0:05:20.880 --> 0:05:25.240 as preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, destroying its 0:05:25.320 --> 0:05:30.760 missile industry and navy, giving Iranians an opportunity to overthrow 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:34.360 their government. What is the administration actually saying now about 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:36.520 what it's trying to do, what it's trying to achieve. 0:05:37.120 --> 0:05:40.280 It's so important that you brought up this previous administration 0:05:40.440 --> 0:05:44.560 argument of freeing around and advancing principles of human rights 0:05:44.600 --> 0:05:47.359 and the idea of perhaps any other regime change away 0:05:47.440 --> 0:05:50.599 from this really autocratic regime in Iran, which of course 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:54.039 has killed hundreds of their own people, if not thousands 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:57.200 in protests just earlier this year. A lot of that 0:05:57.279 --> 0:05:59.760 language has been abandoned and said. What we've seen in 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:02.320 this period is a race to the bottom by the 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:04.360 US and also by Iran, by the way, which has 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:08.120 targeted civilian infrastructure in Arab countries across the region, like 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:12.000 water desalination plants really essential. So what we're seeing and 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:15.200 said is it might makes right approach from both sides. 0:06:15.240 --> 0:06:19.000 So the Trump administration has given US reporters who are 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:22.760 constantly pressing the White House in the State Department for explanations. 0:06:23.480 --> 0:06:26.520 The basic thing seems to be President Trump can't at 0:06:26.520 --> 0:06:29.800 go of the idea that more military pressure will lead 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:34.760 to more concessions from the Iranians. Now, initially what he 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:39.280 wanted concessions on was the nuclear enrichment. That's totally off 0:06:39.320 --> 0:06:41.200 the table now and that kind of speaks to the 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:44.960 bigger moment of crisis we're in where now what the 0:06:45.000 --> 0:06:47.760 concessions Trump wants over the Strait of hor moves. 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:50.480 And we've pivoted. Now what we're doing is assuring that 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:54.000 oil and gas and other products can flow through the 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:57.720 Strait of Horror moves whi or without Iranian cooperation, and 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:02.240 we've continued to degrade their offensive military capabilities. The President 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:06.159 is always looking for the diplomatic off ramp. President Trump 0:07:06.200 --> 0:07:09.440 wants to end it with a peaceful agreement with Iran, but. 0:07:09.440 --> 0:07:12.720 It takes so any sort of settlement would just address 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:16.880 the street, leaving open those underlying issues and disputes between 0:07:16.920 --> 0:07:19.800 the US and Iran, and leaving open a question of 0:07:19.880 --> 0:07:22.040 would the US go back to an attack, which from 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:25.520 the Iranian standpoint, they're saying, well, why not just escalatee 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:28.640 fully right now rather than wait six months or a 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:32.000 year for another joint US it's really attack over the 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:35.000 nuclear program over there are other problems with US. 0:07:36.760 --> 0:07:39.720 So the administration says it wants to keep the straight 0:07:39.800 --> 0:07:42.160 upon moves open, and it says it can do that 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:44.200 with or without Iranian cooperation. 0:07:44.600 --> 0:07:47.080 If they're ready to do that, that's the way it'll end. 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:50.960 If not, we will continue to show a sure flow 0:07:51.280 --> 0:07:54.600 of traffic through the strait without Iran's cooperation. 0:07:54.440 --> 0:07:57.640 But shipping remains at a fraction of its normal level. 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:01.200 So can the US actually for its way to having 0:08:01.280 --> 0:08:02.320 this straight open. 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:04.560 Look, Ruby, I have been talking to a lot of 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:07.960 military officials, service members in the region and American troops 0:08:07.960 --> 0:08:10.440 who are being deployed and more are traveling through the 0:08:10.480 --> 0:08:13.680 region at this moment actually to sort of ramp up 0:08:13.720 --> 0:08:17.560 the American presence. They are our feeling that they're equipped 0:08:17.560 --> 0:08:20.480 for the mission that the Administration is putting out there 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:24.600 and sort of implicating them in and making them vulnerable 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:26.880 in so a lot of people on the ground who 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:29.440 are being told, yes, you're going to do this to 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:31.600 sort of take back control of the Strait of Hormos. 0:08:32.600 --> 0:08:34.599 This was ever an issue prior to this war. This 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:37.679 was a war of choice in which the Trump administration 0:08:38.240 --> 0:08:41.080 chose to create a new status po in the region, 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.480 fail to do so, and is now trying to go 0:08:44.600 --> 0:08:48.400 back to a pre war approach of free navigation that 0:08:48.600 --> 0:08:52.600 most analysts, most observist belief is not coming back. I 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.280 don't think that the way the trade gets resolved is 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:59.280 through some US application of pressure. It's most likely through 0:08:59.320 --> 0:09:02.200 a new deal between the US, Iran and some of 0:09:02.240 --> 0:09:05.280 the US aligned countries of the region or mand cutter 0:09:05.559 --> 0:09:09.719 unized our memirates that anything within that would not take 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:12.959 us back to February twenty seventh, before Trump launched this war. 0:09:13.120 --> 0:09:16.120 So effectively, he's accepting a loss. 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:30.839 Coming up. Donald Trump and the Madman theory. Akbay, You've 0:09:30.840 --> 0:09:34.280 reported on Trump's use of the mad Man theory, So 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:38.439 the idea that Iran will concede because it can't predict 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:42.840 how far he will go. Who is actually shaping policy 0:09:43.000 --> 0:09:46.720 inside this administration, and how much of this strategy comes 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:48.400 down to Trump's impulses. 0:09:48.800 --> 0:09:52.280 The President certainly has a really strong conviction that a 0:09:52.320 --> 0:09:55.920 madman approach works. He thinks that it has made him 0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:59.240 successful in business, has made him successful in politics. If 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:02.280 you look at a ideological shifts on so many issues, 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:05.480 I mean, abortion, gay rights, a whole range of things, 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:11.200 he's really flip flopped. People around him ruby are trying 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:15.320 to influence his thinking that they're also very sort of 0:10:15.360 --> 0:10:17.560 driven by their own agendas, right, So you look at 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:20.200 someone like Secretary of State Mark or Rubio and Vice 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:23.199 President Shady Vance, who have differing views on the war 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:26.240 to a degree, Advance being a little more skeptical of 0:10:26.240 --> 0:10:28.640 the war than Rubio. They're also both trying to set 0:10:28.679 --> 0:10:31.120 themselves up to take the mantle from Trump. So the 0:10:31.200 --> 0:10:34.400 question then becomes, are they giving Trump their best advice 0:10:35.000 --> 0:10:37.319 or are they giving Trump the advice they think he 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:41.040 wants to hear to get his endorsement for the Republican 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:43.760 presidential primary in the future. And these are kind of 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:46.400 the factors that are drawing what's around him from people 0:10:46.440 --> 0:10:49.600 I know who are briefing him in the room with him, 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:54.640 he is personally often more hawkish than those around him, 0:10:54.880 --> 0:10:58.640 including even Rubio, a longtime hawk on around Trump's kind 0:10:58.679 --> 0:11:02.120 of determination to Devin straightest strength is very very much 0:11:02.200 --> 0:11:04.560 driving the show right now. And then of course that's 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:09.480 a sectary of defense speed. Heags at again very very 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:13.480 interested in this idea of if we just apply more force, 0:11:13.600 --> 0:11:16.720 we'll get better results. But I really draw this out 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:20.360 to kind of pre Trump patterns in US foreign policy 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:23.640 in that presidents have not been asked to read in 0:11:23.679 --> 0:11:26.640 their war making power for a very very long time, 0:11:26.880 --> 0:11:29.600 especially in the kind of post nine to eleven era 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:33.280 where wars have dragged on in places like Yemen, Pakistan, 0:11:33.400 --> 0:11:37.920 Somalia without any check and without any clear strategic rationale, 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:41.360 while causing huge strategic and human cost. 0:11:42.000 --> 0:11:44.040 So when you look at what's happening and the fact 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:47.760 that neither Iran or the US appear willing to accept 0:11:48.120 --> 0:11:51.560 the other's terms, is there still an off ramp here 0:11:51.640 --> 0:11:56.360 or are we looking at this escalating open ended war scenario. 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:58.920 That's a real cost, you know. I mean, hundreds of 0:11:58.920 --> 0:12:03.120 Iranians have lost their life already, including many civilians including children. 0:12:03.720 --> 0:12:07.360 Iran is in a deep, deep economic crisis. So there 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:10.160 are voices within Iran saying we need to reach some 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:13.720 sort of concession with the US. On the American side, 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:17.199 the price is not quite being felt yet. Yes, more 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:19.760 service members have been killed. It's now come out that 0:12:19.800 --> 0:12:22.920 the Pentagon was not releasing some of the injuries among 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:25.520 American troops. I think that's going to become a bigger 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:30.959 story and a bigger concern of our Americans safe. It's 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:34.600 raising bigger questions about US basis. But no, I think 0:12:34.720 --> 0:12:37.319 right now we're not in a season of an off ramp. 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:40.400 While we do know that a new diplomatic framework has 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:44.760 been proposed by Cutter, one of the regional mediators, there's 0:12:44.760 --> 0:12:47.839 no kind of indication that it's sort of feasible. I mean, 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:51.480 there's no sense that either the Trump administration or Iran 0:12:51.880 --> 0:12:54.320 wants to be seen right now as shaking the other 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:55.000 side's hand. 0:12:55.920 --> 0:12:58.400 And I found this isn't just the US's war. Trump 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:01.960 has brought his allies, which includes Australia, with him. So 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:05.600 how surprised do you that those relationships seem to be 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:11.160 holding up despite the increased chaos and the changing objectives 0:13:11.280 --> 0:13:11.880 of this war. 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:16.559 I am truly as like a diplomatic correspondent in DC 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:22.120 now for almost fifteen years. I'm truly shocked by the 0:13:22.320 --> 0:13:25.640 degree to which foreign partners are willing to embarrass themselves 0:13:25.640 --> 0:13:28.680 for Donald Trump's foreign policy. And I continue to be shocked. 0:13:28.679 --> 0:13:32.040 I mean, the cost that this war has had on 0:13:32.080 --> 0:13:36.320 the global economy, on growth rates is just tremendous. And 0:13:36.360 --> 0:13:39.360 certainly when I hear from officials is that's still resistant 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.679 to the idea of openly challenging Trump. All of that said, 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:46.040 I also hear that governments, including Australia are kind of 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:49.600 quietly hedging their debts and building these relationships that are 0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:53.800 outside their US dependents, right, so not just relying on 0:13:53.840 --> 0:13:56.480 the US as their partner. And I think you'll see 0:13:56.520 --> 0:14:00.360 more of that if Trump, as expected, do very in 0:14:00.360 --> 0:14:03.079 the US midterms. I think you'll see more of allies 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.000 kind of openly challenging him the way that that's Spain 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:09.160 and some countries have so far. And certainly you've seen, 0:14:09.720 --> 0:14:11.800 you know, you've seen some European leaders speak up a 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:15.120 little bit about international law, that it's been a position 0:14:15.160 --> 0:14:18.080 of fealty largely, and does. 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:21.440 The level of unpredictability here mean we're in the most 0:14:21.560 --> 0:14:23.680 kind of unstable era of this conflict. 0:14:23.720 --> 0:14:27.240 At the moment, what's scary is that President Trump has 0:14:27.400 --> 0:14:31.720 genuinely considered a huge range of escallations. And also the 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:34.720 Iranians have a lot of options for estallation that we 0:14:34.840 --> 0:14:37.920 haven't seen them activate so far. So of course Trump 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:41.360 could go for ground invasion, he could go for even 0:14:41.400 --> 0:14:45.520 broader and bigger bombing campaigns, and the Iranians could pursue 0:14:45.560 --> 0:14:48.400 targets not just in the Middle East but beyond that. 0:14:49.040 --> 0:14:52.160 So yes, I think with the breakdown and with the 0:14:52.200 --> 0:14:56.040 real distrust, particularly on the Iranian side, and the kind 0:14:56.080 --> 0:14:58.520 of lack of direction on the US side, the US 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:01.080 side just doesn't see to have a clear understanding of 0:15:01.120 --> 0:15:04.440 where they want to go. For a while, the idea 0:15:04.480 --> 0:15:07.280 was like in Venezuela, we want to pick a partner 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:09.680 in Iran and work with them. But who would that 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:12.280 be at this point when the US has been sort 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:15.120 of perceived as a traitor on the Iranian side, And 0:15:15.160 --> 0:15:17.760 I think then the fundamental questions of kind of broader 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:20.720 US policy in the region are still open, right, So 0:15:20.760 --> 0:15:23.200 you still don't see an answer to the US policy 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:26.040 in Gaza and answered to the US policy in Lebanon, 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:29.360 you see in Yenen where the Iran Bakthuti militia has 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:33.120 opened up another front potentially by saying we're going to 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:35.880 block the other key energy route out of the Middle East. 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:38.320 So it's not just about the US in Iran. This 0:15:38.480 --> 0:15:43.160 is now actually a regional war and the US administration 0:15:43.200 --> 0:15:45.200 really needs to sort of take the reins of it. 0:15:45.920 --> 0:15:50.440 I spoke with one really well well connected official last 0:15:50.440 --> 0:15:52.240 week and I said, sort of, who is going to 0:15:53.280 --> 0:15:55.120 Who's going to deal with this? And they said, well, 0:15:55.680 --> 0:15:57.840 some grown up has to come out and take charge 0:15:57.840 --> 0:16:00.000 of it. And the question is who, And I think 0:16:00.000 --> 0:16:01.400 we're sort of reading for that answer. 0:16:03.320 --> 0:16:05.480 Akbar, Thank you so much for speaking with me. 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:06.640 Thanks slut Ruby. 0:16:19.480 --> 0:16:22.560 Also in the news today, analysts are warning oil prices 0:16:22.600 --> 0:16:25.200 could climb back above one hundred US dollars a barrel 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:27.480 and hit Australians at the fuel pump as new fronts 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.440 open in the Middle East. In response to Yemen's Hoothy 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.880 rebels threat to block Saudi oil shipments, Saudi Arabia says 0:16:33.920 --> 0:16:36.880 it will keep the waterway open and respond to any attacks. 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:40.520 Oil prices have already climbed to a one month high, 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:43.760 with Brent krude settling at just under ninety US dollars 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:48.280 a barrel, and Muslim and multicultural groups have welcomed parts 0:16:48.320 --> 0:16:51.200 of the Albanzi government's long awaited response to a national 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:54.480 report on Islamophobia, but say it doesn't go far enough. 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:57.800 The government has accepted thirty five of the report's fifty 0:16:57.800 --> 0:17:02.680 four recommendations, including an Edgecation task force, new requirements for universities, 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:06.240 and expanded AFP community layers and teams, but it hasn't 0:17:06.280 --> 0:17:09.360 agreed to an independent review of counter terrorism laws or 0:17:09.359 --> 0:17:13.960 inquiries into Islamophobia and anti Palestinian and anti Arab racism. 0:17:14.720 --> 0:17:17.359 I'm Ruby Jones. This is seven am. Thanks for listening.