Australian FM calls for ceasefire in Mideast after fresh strikes

Smoke billowing after an airstrike on Iran. AP file photo via UNB

CANBERRA, July 10 (Xinhua/UNB) -- Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said on Friday that the ceasefire in the Middle East is "fraying around the edges," calling for an end to the conflict after the United States and Iran launched fresh strikes.

Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television that the world wants an end to the conflict for the benefit of civilians in the Middle East and the global economy.

"It's certainly fraying around the edges and we see continued sporadic conflict," she said.

"The world really is looking to this ceasefire to hold, to firm up. The world wants to see an end to this conflict, not just for the peoples of the region, but because of the effect on the global economy."

Wong was speaking as the United States and Iran traded fresh attacks from Tuesday night through Thursday, marking a new round of escalation.

Allegedly in response to recent Iranian attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the United States launched strikes against multiple targets inside Iran over the past days, resulting in casualties and infrastructure damage.

In retaliation, Iran launched missile and drone strikes on U.S. military bases and facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Jordan.