Greg Barton @gregbarton.bsky.social

The only infographic you need to see on the Iran war and global fertiliser markets.

Rahman is a father of two boys. "The hard part about their life is that one is an Australian citizen, but the other can be deported to Iran at any time." He is in Parliament today advocating to the Australian Government for permanent protection for families like his.

Meet Ferdos, recognised as a refugee from Iran yet still in limbo in Australia after nearly 14 years. Was first sent to Nauru when 10 by Australia and then evacuated here as part of Kids off Nauru. Ferdos is about to turn 24!

Even if the war ended tomorrow, we estimate that it would take at least four months to bring energy markets back to some semblance of normalcy: - it will take two to four weeks to rev up oil production, and up to seven weeks to restart Qatar's LNG plant - shippers may hesitate to transit Hormuz until there's been a long stretch without attacks or threats - once they resume, many will be in the wrong place: tankers that haul Middle Eastern oil to Asia are headed to pick up cargoes in America instead, and the round-trip voyage can take 90 days - finally, you'll have to bring refineries and regasification plants back online in importing countries, and that will take several more weeks And this is the optimistic scenario: the longer the war goes on, the longer the consequences will linger. economist.com/finance-and-ec…

Watch as Labor Party legislator Rabbi Gilad Kariv, a rabbi, links lawlessness in Netanyahu's Israel and lawlessness in the West Bank. "Do you…grasp the connection between the judicial coup d'état and the madness taking place today in the West Bank, in the name of Israel, in the name of Zionism, and in the name of Judaism?… We have lost our humanity." @KarivGilad

"These greedy gas corporations are taking the piss." "They've been price-gouging Australians for far too long, and it's time our government placed a minimum 25% gas export levy to use that revenue to help people." @larissawaters 👏👏👏 #auspol

Very excited about this! @thedigradio has a new series on Indonesia that takes a deep dive into the country's political and economic history. It's great to see Indonesia's important story brought to new audiences 🇮🇩

the strait of trump..@FinancialReview

This is horrific. Standing in solidarity with the Jewish community in the UK and praying for their safety.

It’s never been more difficult to contact people inside Iran, with the internet outage and threats by the authorities. But today I woke up to several messages from those inside about what they thought of Trump’s threat to attack Iran’s electricity infrastructure.

The verdict: True. Australia exports gas so cheaply that Japanese companies profit from on-selling our gas. Read the full piece on The Point: theaus.in/4bwkUAs

Here’s Rory Stewart talking a lot of sense about the Iran war: “We need to get out immediately. Every day this continues, it gets closer to a global economic meltdown and closer to a much bigger conflict and the beginnings of a third world war.”

Told @BeckyCNN: Reaching a deal with Iran’s current leadership will be extremely difficult. The targeted killings of senior figures such as Khamenei and Larijani have significantly radicalized the Iranian system, strengthening hardline elements and narrowing the space for pragmatic engagement. As a result, the likelihood of meaningful diplomacy in the near term is low — while escalation dynamics continue to intensify. Israel, for its part, is likely to continue its campaign, further reinforcing a cycle of action and reaction with limited off-ramps until president Trump will decide to stop.

“Settlers…” They are actually murderous thugs illegally seizing Palestinian land. bbc.com/news/articles/…

The level of Israeli settler terrorism in the West Bank over the past couple of days, not to mention the horrific months-long patterns, trends, and upward trajectory, has surpassed any known boundaries of norms that we’ve ever witnessed in the Israel and Palestine conflict. Recently, a Jewish settler was killed in a car crash. However, through the power of manipulation and lies by settler leaders, ministers, and Israeli government officials, his death was turned into a massive rallying cry for a thousand-plus settler terrorists to engage in caveman-like behavior, attacking any and every Palestinian they see, burning dozens of Palestinian villages, destroying homes, cars, beating Palestinians up, and completely ignoring the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran is raining death and destruction upon both Israelis and Palestinians using its ballistic missiles. Let there be no mistake about this terror: it is fully protected and enabled by the IDF (Israeli military); it is fully enabled, supported, and encouraged by the Israeli government; it is fully ignored and sidelined by large swaths of the “pro-Israel” community who choose, yes, actually choose, to remain silent about violence and terror from Israelis and radicalized Americans from New Jersey and Brooklyn. At some point, there have to be red lines within the pro-Israel community to say not in our name; at some point, Israel’s legitimate security needs must be separated from fascist terrorists who are the worst representation of extremist religious supremacy acting with impunity and without any fear of consequences. At some point, if you don’t want terms like ethnic cleansing, apartheid, and Judeo-fascism to be used to describe what’s happening in the West Bank, then you need to actually confront the agents of chaos, death, and instability who are acting against the interests of Israel, the U.S., the region, and any decent human being wishing to witness peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Peace requires a hell of a lot more than calling out Islamist terrorism – enough is enough! Stop killing, besieging, terrorizing, attacking, burning, and seeking to ethnically cleanse harmless civilians going about their lives in Palestinian villages and cities.

"Documenting the stories of people who are impacted by conflict feels very important, but for me, “thrill” is the wrong word. The importance of being there is that you’ve got a job to do, and that is to tell the civilian story, the impact of war."

#Iran War Update No. 23 (focus on Iranian strategic narrative): 🔹President Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening to target Iran’s electricity infrastructure if it does not comply. This marks a move toward direct pressure on civilian infrastructure as leverage. 🔹Iranian military leadership, including the Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters and de facto war commander Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, responded by threatening to target energy, water, and ICT infrastructure across the region. This establishes a clear escalation ladder in which attacks on Iran’s infrastructure would trigger region-wide retaliation. Also, for the first time, the threat of horizontal escalation is being explicitly made (not just energy but also other types of civilian infrastructure). 🔹Iranian statements also indicated that the Strait of Hormuz would be fully closed if energy infrastructure is targeted. This suggests Tehran is prepared to escalate from selective disruption to full closure of the strait. 🔹Iranian officials confirmed that ships can transit the Strait only through coordination with Tehran, with reports that fees (reportedly 2 million USD) are being imposed on passage. This is yet another sign of a shift toward formalizing control mechanisms over the waterway rather than simply threatening closure. 🔹Iranian missile strikes continued, including earlier successful attacks near Dimona and Arad, prompting internal assessments that Israeli air defenses are under strain. This perception appears to be reinforcing arguments within Iran to continue and intensify operations rather than accept a ceasefire. 🔹Iranian analysts seem to confirm external assessments of a shift in targeting patterns toward smaller or less-defended Israeli locations. This suggests an adaptation to Israeli air defense deployments, which are believed to be concentrated around major urban centers. 🔹Separate reports indicate that Iranian strikes are also expanding geographically, including targeting Israeli units near the Lebanese border. This points to an effort to link pressure on Israel’s northern front with Hezbollah’s operations and help the Lebanese group intensify its attacks. 🔹Iranian analysts stated that in latest attacks on Israel heavier warhead ballistic missiles were used in place of cluster munitions that were common in the past week. They argue that the shift is aimed at maximizing direct impact in response to rising civilian damage inside Iran. 🔹Israeli airstrikes continued in Lebanon, reportedly targeting infrastructure such as roads and bridges linked to Hezbollah supply routes. This indicates a continued effort to constrain Hezbollah’s logistics as the fighting is going on across the northern front. 🔹Iran’s representative to the United Nations claimed that Jordanian territory has been used for attacks against Iran. This raises the possibility that Jordan could be drawn into the conflict more directly if such claims are used to justify retaliation. 🔹There were also unconfirmed reports that strikes on southeastern Iran may have involved the use of Pakistani airspace. If verified, this would represent a significant escalation with potential implications for Pakistan’s involvement. 🔹Iranian operations against Kurdish insurgent groups in Iraqi Kurdistan continued, including reported strikes in Sulaymaniyah. This reflects ongoing concern in Tehran about internal security risks and potential secondary fronts. 🔹In Iraq, reports suggest that U.S. and NATO forces sought a temporary ceasefire to reposition forces, with Iraqi militias conditionally agreeing. This highlights the fragile and transactional nature of the security environment on that front. 🔹In the meantime, Iran-backed armed groups such as Harakat al-Nujaba reiterated threats to target regional energy infrastructure if Iran’s facilities are attacked. This reinforces a coordinated deterrence posture across Iran-aligned actors. 🔹Tensions between Iran and the UAE are expected to escalate further after a senior Emirati official publicly described Iran’s leadership as “terrorists.” This rhetoric suggests that the UAE front may become more volatile. 🔹GCC states have reportedly warned Washington against targeting Iranian energy infrastructure, citing the risk of retaliation against their own facilities. This indicates growing concern among regional states about being drawn more deeply into the conflict. 🔹Iranian state media outlined six conditions for ending the war, including guarantees against recurrence, closure of U.S. bases, compensation, and a new legal regime for the Strait of Hormuz. These demands reflect an effort to translate battlefield dynamics into long-term structural changes in the regional order. 🔹Iranian strategic discussions increasingly include targeting ICT and data infrastructure, particularly in GCC states hosting major tech investments. This suggests a potential expansion of the conflict into the digital and economic domain. 🔹Reports indicate that attacks – including cyberattacks – on Iran’s energy infrastructure have already affected water and electricity systems. This reinforces the trend toward targeting civilian systems to increase internal pressure. 🔹The Iranian Red Crescent reported over 81,000 damaged civilian structures, including schools and medical facilities. The scale of damage highlights the growing civilian impact of the conflict. 🔹Russia reiterated opposition to strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities following attacks on Natanz, warning of legal and safety risks. 🔹Oil prices remain elevated above $112 per barrel despite U.S. decision to waive sanctions on Iranian oil stranded at sea. This indicates that energy disruptions are persisting despite attempts to stabilize supply. 🔹There are reports that the United Kingdom has deployed a nuclear submarine to the region. The move follows earlier reports of an attempted Iranian missile strike on Diego Garcia. This suggests the potential for deeper British involvement if escalation continues. 🔹Overall, Trump’s ultimatum over the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s explicit threat of massive retaliation have effectively tied the next phase of the war to energy and maritime control. This creates a situation in which any escalation decision on either side could immediately translate into a deeper crisis across the Persian Gulf and beyond.

"That won’t solve the all too real and perennial hatred that is antisemitism. Actually, it will fuel it. It already has fuelled it, and the sooner our public conversation reflects this the better."

Markets are complacent as Iran war threatens global economy abc.net.au/news/2026-03-2… via @ABCaustralia

Israeli police need to step up and counter this Jewish extremism. The problem is, they take orders from a Jewish extremist in Minister of Security Itamar Ben Gvir