Radio National Breakfast

The heavens have opened in parts of South Australia; record-breaking downfalls this week have filled dams after a long dry spell.

It is the first time many young regional children have been able to jump in puddles and experience heavy rain.

• Guest: Melanie Lewis, grazier on Tiverton Station
• Producer: Grace Stranger

It's a potentially deadly disease which few people know about.

Strongyloidiasis is caused by a parasitic worm and infects millions worldwide - including some in remote Indigenous communities here in Australia.

Dr Wendy Page lost a cherished friend and colleague to the infection and has since worked tirelessly on eradication efforts - helping drastically reduce cases in East Arnhem Land.

• Guest: Dr Wendy Page, former medical director of the Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation in Nhulunbuy and founding member of Strongyloides Australia

The United States abandoned talks with Iran over its nuclear program to launch a deadly military campaign on the country.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says military action was necessary, accusing Iran of stalling the talks, while US President Donald Trump claims Iran had restarted its nuclear program and was developing intercontinental missiles. 

So what was the state of Iran's nuclear program when the U-S and Israel fired their missiles? 

GUEST: Tariq Rauf, former head of nuclear verification and security policy co-ordination at the International Atomic Energy Agency PRODUCER: Eddy Diamond 

The Federal Government has reaffirmed its support for the US and Israeli military action against Iran.

But ministers have avoided questions on the legality of the strikes saying Australia isn't an actor in the war.

• GUEST: Andrew Wilkie, independent federal MP for Clark, and previously served as a senior intelligence analyst with the Office of National Assessments
• PRODUCER: Katie McAllister

As thousands of Australian travellers remain stranded in the Middle East , the Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has described the unfolding situation as a consular crisis.

An estimated 115,000 Australians remain in the region.

Meanwhile, Energy Minister Chris Bowen says "there will be impacts" on petrol prices - but that there's no need for Australians to "panic buy".

• GUEST: Andrew Hastie, Shadow Minister for Industry and Sovereign Capability
• PRODUCER: Isadora Bogle

The Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Australia, seeking stronger ties in areas of trade, defence, and critical minerals.

Canada's Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is travelling with the Prime Minister.

• GUEST: François-Philippe Champagne, Canadian Finance Minister
• PRODUCER: Brooke Young

US President Donald Trump has told reporters he does not know who could take over the Iranian leadership after the assassination of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

He's told reports "most of the people we had in mind are dead".

He also expressed reservations about Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former prince and son of Iran's last shah.

There have been conflicting justifications for the US-Israel bombardment of Iran, which has so far killed almost 800 people, according to Iran's Red Crescent Society.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the strikes were a response to an "imminent threat" - warning that the quote, "hardest hits" were yet to come.

Meanwhile Iran's top security official - Ali Larijani - has denied reports the country wants to return to the negotiating table over its nuclear program, as the country continues retaliatory strikes on states across the region.

• Guest: Robert Malley, former US special envoy for Iran under President Biden and lead negotiator of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal
• Producer: Pip Cook

The war in the Middle East is expanding on several fronts, with Israel carrying out a wave of strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, while continuing its air strikes on Tehran. Israeli's military says it has struck Iran’s presidential office and the building of the country’s Supreme National Security Council.

The Iranian Red Crescent Society says the US and Israeli air-strikes have killed more than 780 people in Iran since the start of the war.

Meanwhile, Iran has fired dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel, setting off air raid sirens across the country, but Israel has intercepted most of the incoming fire.

• GUEST: Hilal Khashan, Professor of Political Science at American University of Beirut 

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed there won't be an endless war in the middle east. The U-S has been in lock-step with Israel in launching the attack, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying there was an imminent threat from Iran. Both nations had been trying to negotiate a peace deal in the days leading up to the attack, so how did the White House opt for war instead?

• GUEST: Mark Mazzetti, investigative reporter focused on national security with The New York Times