Several Labor MPs have privately expressed alarm over the Albanese government's immediate and unreserved support for US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which some believe may breach international law, according to sources within the party. The concerns were raised during a meeting of Labor's left faction shortly after the first strikes in February, which triggered a broader regional conflict.
The government issued a joint statement from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Defence Minister Richard Marles within hours of the attacks, stating support for US actions to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The statement did not reference international law or acknowledge that Iran was being bombed, prompting unease among some MPs who questioned the rush to endorse what they consider legally questionable strikes.
During the left faction meeting on 2 March, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy fielded questions on behalf of Wong, who was absent. Sources confirmed a 'robust' debate took place, with MPs raising concerns about the omission of international law and the lack of explicit condemnation of the bombing. The government's swift endorsement contrasted with its more cautious response to a similar US strike on Iranian nuclear sites in June last year, when it waited nearly 24 hours before offering support.
Unease is not limited to the left faction; some right-faction members have privately worried about how quickly Labor aligned with the Trump and Netanyahu administrations. The party's grassroots anti-war group, Labor Against War, plans to circulate a motion condemning the strikes as an 'illegal act of aggression' and arguing that the war demonstrates how AUKUS locks Australia into supporting US military adventurism.
The motion, to be put to branches in New South Wales and Victoria, says the decision to support the war is a grave mistake that breaches the Australian Labor Party's constitution and platform, contrasting with the party's principled opposition to the 2003 Iraq war. The government has maintained that it is up to the US and Israel to explain whether the attacks complied with international law, drawing criticism from legal experts including UN special rapporteur Ben Saul, who argue the strikes violated the UN Charter.
