US Politics Live updates: ‘Do I annihilate them?’: Trump weighs ending Iran war with one major strike

The ruling parties in Russia and Germany have fared very differently after elections in the two countries.

In a widely predicted result, the ruling United Russia dominated the nation’s first parliamentary election since the Ukraine war started, according to early returns released on Monday.

With some 58 per cent of the precincts counted, United Russia had nearly 58 per cent of the vote for the 225 deputies apportioned by party lists, according to Russia’s Central Election Commission.

The tightly controlled balloting included residents of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed after the war began in February 2022.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suffered a bruising electoral setback in two state elections on Sunday, in what he admitted was a “disaster” for his CDU party.

Projections by public broadcaster ARD indicated that Merz’s centre-right CDU came in with just 4.9 per cent in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania - the lowest result since World War II for the party in any state.

The anti-migration, Russia-friendly Alternative for Germany, or AfD, party made significant gains.

In early trading, Australian shares are down as investors react to the increasing likelihood of an interest rate rise this month.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped by 0.5 per cent on Monday morning, despite a solid performance on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq put on 0.4 per cent, and the S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent.

Australian traders are increasingly confident the Reserve Bank will lift rates to 4.6 per cent when its board meets on September 28-29.

Protesters in Texas are gathering at the scene of a shooting by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer that left a man wounded.

The unidentified man was in serious but stable condition at a hospital after being shot once in the torso on Sunday (Monday AEST) in the state capital Austin, reports The Associated Press.

City police officers were not involved in the operation or the shooting, which occurred after a traffic stop, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said.

A dark blue Toyota Corolla was parked under an overpass with damage to its passenger-side door and what appeared to be bullet holes. It was later towed away.

Ukrainian ⁠President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday (Monday AEST) he had spoken to Donald Trump and the two agreed to hold talks in New York this week.

Zelenskyy wrote on X that the pair’s planned discussions “could change a lot” in terms of achieving a peace deal in the war with Russia.

“An important conversation, and we got through a lot. We agreed to meet in New York, and this meeting could change a lot. There is diplomatic momentum.“

The meeting would likely be held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, which both leaders are scheduled to attend.

Earlier in September, US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff spoke to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy in a renewed push to clinch a peace deal.

Continuing Middle Eastern unrest has been cited by Australia's largest bank in its changed forecast of an interest rate hike next week.

The CBA previously tipped a rise in November.

But on Monday it said market pricing and comments by Reserve Bank officials backed a rates rise to 4.6 per cent.

The CBA also highlighted the impact of the Middle Eastern conflict and rising oil prices.

"The damage to the East‑West pipeline in Saudi Arabia, the increased activity of the Houthis and continued restraint of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has raised the price of oil and refined products.

"Higher diesel and petrol prices locally do raise the risk of higher inflation in Australia both immediately and through second round pass through."

A majority of American voters believe Donald Trump is harming the national economy, according to a new poll.

The rising cost of fuel and other essentials since the start of the Iran war remains the biggest challenge for Republicans approaching the midterm election, the NBC survey of 1000 voters revealed.

A majority (55 per cent) of those surveyed said they believe Trump’s policies have damaged the economy. That’s up from 48 per cent in March, before the Iran conflict triggered the price of consumer goods to spike.

But even with voters increasingly unhappy about Trump, the Democrats are no shoo-in to seize control of Congress in November.

The poll showed the Democratic Party hold a five-point lead, way less than the 12-point advantage the party enjoyed at this point before the 2018 election during Trump's first term.

Back to the Middle East, and Iran is warning the United States and its allies against launching any major new offensive against the regime.

Top officials say they have details a fresh strike was being prepared, reports Reuters. They did not provide details about the source of the information.

Iran’s military central command told state media any new attack would spark drawn out retaliation against American bases and interests, and that US regional allies would be considered parties to the war.

The Iranian warning follows a new security alert from the US State Department, warning Americans there was potential for increased tensions in the Middle East.

It urged US citizens to be wary of potential flight changes and closures of airspace.

Ukraine has fired more than 1000 drones at Russia, targeting a major oil refinery on the final day of the country's parliamentary elections.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin described the wave of drones as the “largest ever” drone attack on the Russian capital, with Russian air defences shooting down 450.

He said the attack had damaged the Moscow oil refinery and a residential building. The strike killed two people and wounded 20.

Writing on social media, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had fired missiles and drones to hit oil and logistics facilities.

“These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine,” Zelenskyy said, referring to the financial pressure that Kyiv hopes to put on Russia’s economy.

Welcome to our rolling coverage of US politics, the war in the Middle East, and other global affairs.

US President Donald Trump announced on Sunday (Monday AEST) the massive arch he wants to build between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC would become a “top grade military complex”.

Writing on social media, he says the 75 metre-high ceremonial arch will have the rapid ability to house and deploy large numbers of drones, plus snipers on both the roof and plaza areas.

It is another example of how Trump is insisting that his initiatives to beautify the White House and the city are also serving a defensive purpose.

Trump has been describing the new White House ballroom a “military complex”, arguing it is vital for national security purposes.