Trump says US forces will 'finish the job' in Iran as Albanese defends national address — as it happened

We are closing our live blog. Thanks for joining us today as we heard United States President Donald Trump's address to the nation, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke at the National Press Club in Canberra following his own address to Australians last night.

Here are some of today's key moments:

• Trump vowed to "finish the job" in the war on Iran
• It is unclear what that would entail. Trump claimed Iran's navy had been "absolutely destroyed", "most" leaders "are now dead" and regime change was "not the goal" but had been achieved. Some experts have argued the US president is trying to create a victory narrative and eyeing a swift exit
• Trump said the US' did not need any of the oil that flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively choked off. He said other countries that rely on it "must take care of that passage"
• Albanese said the upcoming May budget would be "ambitious" and the war was "not an excuse" to delay reform
• He also announced new restrictions on gambling ads
• Albanese defended his address to the nation, saying it was the best way to speak to Australians directly and to address panic buying

— David Aidone

In case you're just joining us, here's what we've learned across the morning.

• Leaders from 35 countries, including Australia, are set to join a snap summit later today to assess how to facilitate the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
• United States President Donald Trump delivered his prime-time address to the US, opening with an account of Iran's military devastation, saying: "Iran's navy is gone. Their air force is in ruins. Their leaders, most of them ... are now dead."
• Trump has vowed to honour the 13 American military personnel killed in the operation against Iran by completing all his administration's military objectives.
• The US president claimed he had already achieved his objective of regime change in Iran, potentially creating a pathway to exit Iran.
• He also urged countries cut off from fuel supplies to buy oil from the US, saying it has "plenty" to offer.
• Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke at the National Press Club in Canberra immediately after Trump's speech, delivering his own remarks on the conflict.
• He also made several new announcements under what he's calling an "economic resilience program", including $1 billion in interest-free loans for "truckies, freight companies and fuel and fertiliser producers".
• Albanese reiterated his desire for a "voluntary, common sense approach" to the fuel crisis, urging Australians to work from home where possible and opt for public transport over driving.
• In response to questions about the May budget, Albanese said the upcoming budget would be "ambitious".
• He then announced new gambling advertising restrictions, including the banning of gambling ads on radio during school drop-off and pick-up hours.
• Asked for a response to Trump's address, Albanese was reluctant to comment on specifics, reiterating that "the action against Iran have largely been achieved and we want to see a de-escalation".
• Asked about his address to the nation on Tuesday evening, Albanese defended the material in his speech and said it was to combat a flood of misinformation.

Stay with us.

— David Smith

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivers an address to National Press Club in Canberra. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

During his National Press Club speech, Anthony Albanese rolled out several new announcements under what he's calling an "economic resilience program".

"We will make available $1 billion in interest-free loans for manufacturing and fuel businesses dealing with the economic costs of this conflict — truckies, freight companies and fuel and fertiliser producers," Albanese said.

"These firms are not just being affected by this global crisis. They are essential to Australia getting through this crisis as well."

The Economic Resilience Program will provide zero-interest loans to fuel, fertiliser, and other critical supply chain businesses impacted by market disruptions, according to an official government release.

It is part of a broader $6.15 billion package being brought forward, which also includes a $5 billion Net Zero Fund — originally due to open mid-year — to support new manufacturing investment and energy efficiency in hard-to-abate sectors, as well as a $150 million Forestry Growth Fund for timber processing and housing construction.

He said that while he couldn't "eliminate the pressures the global crisis will impose", his government can "be a buffer against the worst of it" — including positioning Australia as a destination for new jobs through the National Reconstruction Fund, permanent free TAFE, and "new incentives" for apprentices.

— Alexandra Koster

Looking forward, Anthony Albanese declared the May budget will be the government's "most ambitious" and "most important" to date.

"The scale of the challenge facing us and the breadth of opportunities ahead of us demands that ambition and that urgency — and our Australian character demands that ambition too," he said.

"We live in the best country in the world. We have a responsibility to build for the best and to empower every Australian with the opportunity to be their best as a matter of national pride."

He added the budget would also include savings, describing it as an opportunity to "outline savings, investments and the way forward".

— Alexandra Koster

Now that Anthony Albanese has wrapped up at the National Press Club, we can return to his televised address to the country from last night.

We hit the streets of Sydney today to find out what people there made of his comments. Take a look below:

— Samantha Jonscher

Asked about his address to the nation on Tuesday evening, Anthony Albanese defended the material in his speech and said it was to combat a flood of misinformation.

"One of the things that's occurred in recent weeks during this global crisis is the amount of misinformation that's out there now," Albanese said. "They used to get their information from Seven or Nine or ABC or 10 or SBS ... there would be a consistency about it.

"Now they're getting it on their device. It's telling them all sorts of things that aren't true.

"So I took the opportunity to talk directly to the nation. That is more important than ever because the nature of noise that is out there, the conspiracy theories that are out there ... which we can't do anything about."

He said the message was intended to put out facts and show that his government had "a plan".

"There's no need for people to go and fill up jerry cans and put them on the back of utes," he said.

"And that's why directly talking to people is an important opportunity — and I think was worth three minutes and 17 seconds to do so."

— Alexandra Koster

One of the journalists has asked whether Anthony Albanese can admit that the national address may have caused anxiety instead of quelling it, referring to a social media comment underneath the national address video.

"Being told hours in advance that our national leader is going to address us ... can cause a lot of anxiety for people thinking that it's going to be something dire for eight hours," the Facebook commenter reportedly said.

Albanese said he believes it was the best way to speak to Australians directly and address panic buying.

"The truth is that the demand, the demand spike in fuel, had occurred, was continuing to occur," he said.

"I respect everyone's right to have a comment and a view, but a social media post didn't stop the, in some cases, 100 per cent increase in demand on fuel that had occurred."

Ongoing airstrikes in the Middle East have spurred public panic with Australian motorists bulk-buying petrol and diesel, leading to localised shortfalls.

However, the government has remained adamant that supply has not been interrupted, with six cancelled shipments replaced with nine from another provider.

— Ewa Staszewska

Asked about United States President Donald Trump's address — particularly his call for allies to "take care" of the Strait of Hormuz — Anthony Albanese said it was "hard to comment" given his own speech just came minutes later, but made it clear he wants to see the conflict de-escalate.

A journalist watches Donald Trump's address before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke at the National Press Club in Canberra. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

"The objectives that President Trump outlined at the time of him [Trump] launching the action against Iran have largely been achieved and we want to see a de-escalation," he said.

"We want to also see it taken into account the economic costs that this is having right around the world."

Pressed again on Trump's speech later in the session, Albanese said he hadn't yet seen it.

"I haven't seen, to be fair, the timing of President Trump's speech. I'm reluctant to talk about the content of his speech, but I've been pretty consistent about this as well — that we need to account for what the end point is here and what the objectives are."

— Alexandra Koster

Minutes after the gambling reforms were announced, the prime minister was pressed about why the recommendations of the Murphy report had not been adopted in full.

This includes addressing harm minimisation, a levy to fund online gambling and a national regulator.

"Government can be informed by committees, but the government determines positions," Anthony Albanese said.

Albanese has defended the government's position, stating a full response to the report will be delivered when parliament returns in May.

"Some of it is about the Murphy report, but the Murphy report isn't when it started and ended," he said.

The PM said he thinks his party has the "balance right", saying these are significant reforms, including halving the number of ads.

"It's the most, to be clear, significant reform on gambling that has ever been implemented."

— Ewa Staszewska

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has used his National Press Club address to announce new gambling advertising restrictions.

"Between 6am and 8:30pm, we will cap the number of TV ads for agencies at a maximum of three per hour, we will ban all gambling ads on radio during school pickup and drop-off," he said.

"And we will ban online advertising unless the user is verified as being over 18 and has the ability to opt out.

"Just as importantly, we will block illegal offshore gaming sites and ban online Keno-type products, the so-called pocket pokies … and we will keep building on the success of Betstop, promoting and strengthening a program that is changing lives."

The government will legislate the changes imminently, which are expected to begin from 1 January 2027.

It falls short of the late Peta Murphy's recommendation to outlaw gambling advertisements altogether, almost three years after the committee she led tabled 31 recommendations to parliament.

Advocates and independent senator David Pocock called any plan outside a full ban "half arsed".

— Ewa Staszewska

Albanese says the upcoming budget will be "ambitious".

Questions have been swirling about how the war in the Middle East will impact the 12 May budget, which was expected to contain significant reform.

"International uncertainty is not an excuse to delay or hold back reform," he said.

Typically, the first budget of a new term of government is where tough decisions are made.

"It is our government's most important budget to date, and it will be our most ambitious," he said.

"It has to be the scale of the challenge facing us and the breadth of opportunities ahead of us that demands that ambition and that urgency."

— Ewa Staszewska

Anthony Albanese goes on to outline the steps his government is taking to keep Australia functioning amid rising fuel costs and supply pressures.

"Keeping Australia moving means keeping our truckies on the road, our miners and tradies on site, making sure essential workers can be there for the people who count on them, and making sure our farmers and growers and producers can keep getting their food and fibre into supermarkets and onto ships for export," he says.

He says he's encouraging a "voluntary, common sense approach" to the fuel crisis, urging Australians to work from home where possible and opt for public transport over driving.

Albanese also reiterated the fuel excise has been cut in half for three months — which he says will save drivers 26c a litre — and announced agreements with states and territories to deliver a further reduction in fuel tax by "returning their GST windfall to Australians".

— Alexandra Koster

With barely a pause after Donald Trump's address, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken to the National Press Club in Canberra to deliver his own remarks on the conflict.

Albanese opened by describing the war in the Middle East as a "testing time" for Australia, while drawing a clear line between sympathy for the mission's original goals and active involvement in the fighting.

"The war in the Middle East has caused the biggest increase in petrol and diesel prices in history," he says.

"Australia is not an active participant in this war. We did express support for the original objectives, preventing Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon and degrading its capacity to endanger its neighbours despite its indiscriminate attacks across the region.

Anthony Albanese said it was "not clear what more needs to be achieved" in Iran. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch

"Now those objectives have been realised. It's not clear what more needs to be achieved, or what the endpoint looks like.

"What is clear is that the longer the war goes on, the more significant the impact on the global economy will be — not just the price of fuel, but everything that relies upon fuel."

— Alexandra Koster

Donald Trump also drew comparisons to US involvement in previous conflicts, boasting that this time it had "eviscerated" Iran in just 32 days.

"It's very important that we keep this conflict in perspective. American involvement in World War One lasted one year, seven months and five days. World War Two lasted for three years, eight months and 25 days."

"The Korean War lasted for three years, one month and two days. The Vietnam War lasted for 19 years, five months and 29 days. Iraq went on for eight years, eight months and 28 days."

He then praised what he called a "powerful" and "brilliant" military operation.

"We are in this military operation so powerful, so brilliant, against one of the most powerful countries for 32 days, and the country has been eviscerated and essentially is really no longer a threat."

— Alexandra Koster

Donald Trump has urged countries cut off from fuel supplies to buy oil from the United States of America, adding that America has "plenty" to offer.

"The United States imports almost no oil through the Hormuz Strait, and won't be taking any in the future. We don't need it," he said.

He also hinted toward other countries stepping up to manage the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 25 per cent of the world's oil passes.

"The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage ... They must grab it and cherish it."

"They can do it easily, we will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on."

Australia relies heavily on imported oil from Asia — much of it sourced from Gulf nations and shipped through the strait.

— Alexandra Koster

The US president claims he has already achieved his objective of regime change in Iran, potentially creating a pathway to exit Iran.

"Regime change was not our goal," he said.

"We never said regime change, but regime change has occurred because of all of their original leaders' death.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in initial US-Israeli strikes on 28 February. Source: Getty / Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran

"They're all dead. The new group is less radical and much more reasonable."

That comment appears at odds with US allies, including Australia, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese telling a closed-door Labor meeting earlier this week that regime change "hasn't happened".

Albanese said history shows the difficulty of it "ever occurring".

— Ewa Staszewska

Donald Trump vowed to honour the 13 American warriors killed in the operation against Iran, by completing all its military objectives.

"Every single one of the people, their loved ones, said, 'Please, sir, please finish the job', every one of them," he said.

"And we are going to finish the job. And we're going to finish it very fast. We're getting very close."

Some experts have argued the US' goals in its war on Iran are unclear.

He said that "we are going to hit (Iran) very hard" over the next two to three weeks.

"We're going to bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong," he added.

- Ewa Staszewska

Turning to Iran's naval forces specifically, Trump declared the fleet had been "absolutely destroyed".

"That means eliminating Iran's navy, which is now absolutely destroyed, hurting their air force and their missile program at levels never seen before, and annihilating their defence industrial base," he says.

Trump claimed the Iranian navy had been destroyed. Source: Getty / US Navy

"We've done all of it. Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone."

Trump went on to repeatedly claim the US has "decimated" Iran — militarily, economically and "every other way".

— Alexandra Koster

United States President Donald Trump has opened his long-awaited prime-time address to the US with a sweeping account of Iran's military devastation.

"Tonight, Iran's navy is gone. Their air force is in ruins. Their leaders, most of them ... are now dead," Trump says.

"Their command and control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is being decimated as we speak. Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces.

"Very few of them left. Never in the history of warfare has an enemy suffered such clear and devastating, large-scale losses in a matter of weeks."

— Alexandra Koster