ISTANBUL: Australia has not been asked to participate in US President Donald Trump’s blockade of Iran's ports in the Strait of Hormuz, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pic) said Monday (April 13) as he urged Washington and Tehran to resume peace talks, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported, citing local media.
"We have received no requests, and they have made this announcement overnight…in a unilateral way. We have not been asked to participate,” Albanese told Channel Nine.
It comes as Albanese named current navy chief Vice Admiral Mark Hammond as the new chief of the Australian Defence Force.
"This is the US making the decision that they have. What we want is for negotiations to continue.
"We want to see an end to the loss of life and the loss of infrastructure in the West Asia. We want to see trade resume. This is having a massive global economic impact, not just on Australia. Every single country is being impacted,” he said.
Trump announced the blockade on Sunday after negotiations between the US and Iran in Pakistan's capital Islamabad ended without an agreement. Pakistan mediated a two-week US-Iran ceasefire last week.
The Iran war has disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for global crude and liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade, resulting in a severe energy shock globally.
In a related development, Albanese announced that he will travel to Brunei and Malaysia from April 14-17 to discuss energy and food security.
He will meet with Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, his office said in a statement.
Australia is one of the world’s top exporters of LNG but is largely reliant on Asia for fuel and the fertiliser needed for farmers to produce food crops. - Bernama-Anadolu
