Albanese's frustration with Trump is becoming harder to hide

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has emphasised the economic impact of the Iran conflict, which is now in its third month. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)

In calmer times, a World Cup fixture might have offered Anthony Albanese a useful piece of informal diplomacy. These are not calmer times.

Barring an unlikely last-minute invitation from Donald Trump, the prime minister won't be zipping across the Pacific next week to cheer on the Socceroos against the United States.

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The sports-loving prime minister had publicly mused about a potential trip to Seattle. The idea was to catch up with the president in a less formal setting. It might have helped smooth over Trump's criticism of Australia for not offering more help in the war with Iran.

But alas, no invitation has come. Nor is it clear whether Trump will even be there.

Donald Trump clearly wants the war to end. (REUTERS: Nathan Howard)

The president, despite his enthusiasm about hosting the "best World Cup ever, " has yet to confirm his attendance at any particular match.

Perhaps this is for sensible security and scheduling reasons. Perhaps there's some wariness amid a scandal over sky-high ticket prices. Or perhaps some hesitancy after what happened at the NBA Finals game in New York this week. The 79-year-old president was loudly booed and then accused of falling asleep.

Whatever the reason, Albanese may have avoided an awkward own goal — being pictured at Seattle Stadium with Trump just as the war takes a darker turn, and just as his own frustration with the president is becoming harder to disguise.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he is "very worried" about fresh US strikes on Iran.

"I wake up in the morning and get a readout that says the Strait of Hormuz has opened," the PM told the ABC's Raf Epstein yesterday, "then a couple of hours later it's closed, then it's open, then it's closed".

The president has made dozens of declarations about a peace deal being just around the corner. These days, Australia is treating them with a "caveat" of uncertainty, as Albanese put it. It was a polite way of saying Australia is not accepting at face value what the President of the United States proclaims.

This has been clear for some time, but it's rare for the prime minister to voice this scepticism so openly.

Indeed, Albanese pointed to the "great deal of difficulty" these on-again-off-again declarations of imminent peace are creating.

"Economic markets respond to these news statements," he noted, pointedly referring to