By Grace Crivellaro and Tess IKONOMOU in Canberra

Australia is being urged to make it clear it does not support Donald Trump’s rhetoric in his war against Iran after he threatened to destroy “a whole civilisation”.

Nationals leader Matt Canavan said he did not support the language used by the American president.

“It’s incumbent on us to implore our friends in the United States to de-escalate this and de-escalate it fast,” he told ABC Radio on Wednesday.

“It’s gotten out of hand very quickly, as these things often do … now’s the time for Australia to, and the prime minister, to make it very clear that we can’t support this type of approach to any kind of conflict.”

Overnight, Mr Trump warned Iran to accept his terms for a deal to end the war or else “a whole civilisation will die tonight”, ramping up his threats to bomb civilian infrastructure such as bridges and power plants.

The US president’s remarks attracted widespread condemnation, including from the head of the United Nations and the Pope.

He later agreed on Wednesday morning AEST time to suspend bombing of Iran for two weeks.

After the suspension was announced, the Australians stock exchange shot up by almost three per cent at the open, while the Australian dollar spiked to 70.75 US cents and gold surged to $US4,847 ($A6,849) an ounce.

Labor’s senior ministers have refrained from publicly criticising Mr Trump’s comments.

Cabinet minister Madeleine King sought to reassure Australians that if they found Mr Trump’s comments “alarming”, the government was working to insulate the nation from its impacts.

“The ripple effects do hit here,” she told ABC TV on Wednesday morning.

It follows a spray from Mr Trump during a White House press conference on Monday where he took aim at allies for refusing to join the war he started.

“It’s not just NATO, you know who else didn’t help us? South Korea didn’t help us,” he said.

“You know who else didn’t help us? Australia didn’t help us.”

Despite Australia providing defensive support by deploying a surveillance aircraft to the Middle East, former naval officer Jennifer Parker said it was unlikely offensive operations against Iran would be committed.

“The Australian government has been very clear that they don’t see a role for Australian forces in offensive support,” she told AAP.

While she does not believe Mr Trump’s remarks will fundamentally alter the US-Australia alliance, the military analyst said it could leave a lasting impression on how Australians viewed the relationship.

”So long after we are through this conflict, I think these comments will be remembered,” she said.

”And there will need to be a significant effort to rebuild some of that public trust.”