☕️ Why did the U.S. strike Iran?

It’s been a big weekend of news, with the U.S. and Israel launching an attack on Iran and killing its longtime supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

We have an explainer on everything that happened below, or you can also listen to today’s podcast.

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The Victorian Government has announced it will introduce legislation to remove the use of ‘good character’ references during criminal sentencing.

Currently, judges in the state can consider letters from friends and family when sentencing an offender.

The move follows similar announcements in NSW, the ACT, and Queensland.

A character reference is a formal letter addressed to the judge in a criminal case, submitted to mitigate an offender’s sentence.

These references are typically written by the offender’s friends, family or colleagues and outline their personal qualities, prior reputation, criminal history (or lack thereof), and any achievements or community contributions.

In Victoria, the use of character references is already banned in certain child sexual abuse cases.

The Victorian Government is now proposing to ban character references across all criminal cases in the state.

Judges would still be able to take other factors into account, including the likelihood of reoffending.

Victoria’s Attorney-General Sonya Kilkenny said the reform is aimed at abolishing a system that “compounds the trauma” and “diminishes the experience” of victim-survivors.

The Government is likely to introduce a bill to Parliament mid-year.

Your Reference Ain’t Relevant is an organisation campaigning for the reform across several jurisdictions.

In a statement to TDA, co-founder Harrison James described the move as “not just a technical change to sentencing law” but a “cultural shift”.

“We have to ask ourselves who are we as a society if we allow serious offenders to be described in glowing terms in courtrooms while victims sit metres away... Australia is beginning to confront that.”

Earlier this month, NSW passed similar legislation. It came after a 2024 Government-commissioned review into the use of ‘good character’ evidence found the practice to be “deeply re-traumatising”.

In December last year, the ACT introduced a bill to scrap its use in child sexual offences cases. Additionally, in May last year, Queensland also moved to limit the circumstances in which sex offenders can rely on it during sentencing.

Reporting by Achol Arok.

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The U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran on Saturday, killing the regime’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In a video statement, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed a “major combat operation” in Iran to “defend the American people”.

It comes after indirect nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran ended last week.

In response, Iran said it would “give a lesson to [Israel and the U.S.] that they have never experienced in their history.“

Trump had been threatening to attack Iran for weeks, amid ongoing negotiations between the two countries and internal uprisings.

Let’s unpack those two things.

Indirect negotiations: This week, the U.S. and Iran ended a round of indirect talks to limit Iran’s nuclear capability.

While the mediator of those negotiations said “significant progress” had been made, there was no deal reached.

Amid those talks, Trump had said the U.S. would “have to make a meaningful deal” with Iran, “otherwise bad things happen.”

He previously suggested a 10-day window for the regime to respond.

Internal uprising: In December, the largest civilian protests in Iran since the 1979 Revolution kicked off.

Demonstrators called for the end of the Iranian regime. Local health officials told media that an estimated 30,000 protesters have been killed.

Amid these ongoing events, on Saturday, the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran.

Following initial reports of an attack, Trump said: “Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”

On Saturday (local time), the U.S. President confirmed the regime’s Supreme Leader had been killed. Since the 1979 revolution, the Supreme Leader has held almost all decision-making powers in Iran.

Trump said 48 Iranian leaders have been killed in total. He also has said he is open to speaking to Iran’s new leadership.

Iranian state media also reported that 100 children were killed at a school next to a naval base in Minab.

The regime has responded with retaliatory strikes across the Middle East, striking Israel within hours.

Nine people were killed from a missile strike on a residential building in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh.

The UAE Defence Ministry said one civilian was killed by Iranian strikes in a residential area. The country also intercepted “a number of missiles.”

In Iraq, two military personnel were killed and three others wounded by Iranian strikes, as reported by Reuters.

Bahrain confirmed a U.S. Navy base and residential buildings have been struck.

The Pentagon has said that three American soldiers have been killed amid the ongoing conflict.

Shortly after the first strikes were confirmed, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “We support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security.”

He added: “Australia stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against oppression.”

On Thursday, the Australian Government told the families of diplomats to evacuate their postings in Lebanon and Israel.

Smartraveller has put Iran, Israel and Lebanon on its ‘Do Not Travel’ list “due to the volatile security situation, armed conflict, civil unrest and terrorism”

The airspace has closed above multiple Middle Eastern countries.

Virgin Australia flights to the Qatari capital, Doha, have been cancelled, while 89% of all flights from Dubai International Airport have been grounded.

Reporting by Emily Donohoe.

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Reporting by Emma Gillespie.