Albanese Presses US to End Iran War After Midterm Shock

(MENAFN) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is pushing Washington to wind down its war with Iran, citing Republican setbacks in the US midterm elections, a national broadcaster reported Saturday.

Democrats took control of the House of Representatives and a majority of governorships in Tuesday’s vote. Albanese called the outcome “very significant” and said it had dominated discussion among leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

Ending the fighting, he said, is a priority shared across the room. “Whether it be inflation in the global economy or the need to have free trade settings … every nation [at CHOGM] wants to see the war end and for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen,” he said.

He tied the conflict to mounting cost-of-living pressure at home and pledged to keep urging Washington toward “de-escalation.”

Albanese dismissed suggestions that he needed to take a harder line with US President Donald Trump. “I have said it publicly and directly [to Mr Trump] that it’s time for there to be a de-escalation,” Albanese said, adding that Australians can expect him to pursue diplomacy in the national interest.

The war began Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched a military offensive against Iran. A ceasefire took hold in April, followed by a memorandum of understanding in June as part of a push for a peace deal. Those efforts collapsed, and the conflict remains unresolved.

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