Developer scraps Trump Tower Australia plans, citing Iran war

World Trump Tower Australia plans scrapped as developer blames Iran war for making Trump brand "toxic" By Frank Andrews Frank Andrews Journalist Frank Andrews is a CBS News journalist based in London. Read Full Bio Frank Andrews May 13, 2026 / 10:31 AM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The gold-tinted image depicts a certain type of corporate paradise. A couple chats on a lounge chair, another pair laughs by a fire pit. More sit under awnings.  Behind them, yards from waves lapping at a shoreline, stands the base of a vast and complicated glass structure emblazoned with the word "Trump," glinting in the AI-generated setting sunlight."The next chapter in the global Trump portfolio," declares the headline on the website. "The next ultra-luxury address is coming soon to Australia's iconic Gold Coast." An archived image from the "trumpgoldcoast.com" website, which is no longer online, shows an AI-generated depiction of a previously-planned Trump Tower in Gold Coast, Australia. But the image, and the website where it was found, have been deleted. The project, a Trump International Hotel and Tower in the land down under, is no more.David Young, CEO of Australia's Altus Property Group, the developer behind the $1.1 billion tower plan, says the war in Iran has made the Trump brand too "toxic to Australians" for the project to continue. The Trump Organization has blamed Young's company, accusing it of being "unable to meet the most basic financial obligation" and deriding the use of "world events" as "a ploy to distract from his own defaults and failures.""The Trump brand and what it represents"In February, the president's son Eric Trump posted an AI-generated image of a new Trump Tower in the seaside resort of Surfer's Paradise, in Gold Coast, heralding what he said would "soon be the tallest building" in Australia. Young, at the same time, posted a photo of himself shaking hands with Eric, and the developer said the 91-story building would cost about $1.1 bil...