A man accused of unleashing the country's deadliest terror attack has been hit with fresh charges six months after the Bondi Beach massacre.

Naveed Akram opened fire on a crowd of people celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach alongside his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram, on December 14.

The attack left 15 people dead – including a 10-year-old girl – and dozens more injured.

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The elder Akram was shot dead by police, while his son was charged with 59 offences and held at Goulburn's supermax prison.

The existing charges included committing a terrorist act, 15 counts of murder, and 40 charges of attempted murder over his alleged role in the massacre.

But the 24-year-old has been hit with a further 19 charges while in custody, including ten counts of shooting with intent to murder and six counts of discharging a firearm with intent to resist arrest.

Records reveal the additional charges were laid in April, ahead of a mention of the matter in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday.

He has not yet been required to enter pleas to any of the charges.

The father-and-son attack was Australia's deadliest mass shooting since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996.

The men allegedly tossed three pipe bombs filled with steel ball bearings and a tennis ball bomb into a crowd celebrating Hanukkah at Archer Park before opening fire.

None of the bombs detonated.

A box-like bomb was also allegedly found in the boot of their car, while two hand-painted ISIS flags were also in the vehicle.

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The US Defence Secretary has denied reports that Iran could use mine-carrying dolphins to attack US warships.

But in a bizarre press conference exchange, Pete Hegseth was deliberately oblique about whether the US Navy itself had "kamikaze dolphins".

Hegseth was asked to comment on reports from the Wall Street Journal about Iran's unconventional methods to wage war – including mine-carrying dolphins.

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"I cannot confirm or deny whether we have kamikaze dolphins, but I can confirm they don't," Hegseth said.

The Defence Secretary was speaking with a straight face but appeared to be being droll.

At the same press conference, General Dan Caine made a wry remark.

"It's like sharks with laser beams," he said with a smile.

Caine said Iran's current military actions were "low level kinetics".

Global navies including the US have long utilised dolphins for underwater tasks for which human technology is ill-suited.

That includes identifying sea mines and other submerged objects.

But using dolphins as suicide weapons has no historical precedent.

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However, in World War II, the Soviet military trained dogs equipped with explosives to run underneath German tanks.

The program was suspended after too many Soviet vehicles were destroyed by mistake.

Earlier today, Donald Trump announced a suspension of Project Freedom, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz again.

The strategy had been announced two days earlier.

Meanwhile, think tank the Institute for the Study of War has concluded that the ceasefire has allowed Iran to rebuild its damaged military forces.

"The ceasefire has likely enabled Iran to rapidly recoup the operational setbacks that it has suffered," a report from the think tank read.

"Iran will likely be able to launch relatively more missiles more effectively in the days after the resumption of fighting. 

"As fighting resumes, this increase should be understood as a result of the operational pause during the ceasefire rather than a broader failure of the campaign."

The war between the US and Iran is now in its eleventh week.

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A former Married at First Sight contestant says he has no idea why his car dealership was targeted by arsonists in an overnight firebombing.

James Susler, a business owner and contestant on season eight of the reality show, only opened his Chery Melbourne City dealership five days ago.

Overnight it was damaged in an arson attack after two men jumped a fence, smashed open the front of the building on Plummer Street in Port Melbourne early this morning and set fire to a car inside.

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Susler told Today he did not know why the offenders chose to firebomb his newly-opened dealership.

"I know as much as you guys do," Susler said.

"It's not the best, ideal situation… We'll move on from this, we'll get bigger and stronger."

It is understood the dealership had not been previously threatened.

The unknown offenders bypassed a security guard who was hired to protect the building.

Nobody was inside at the time of the attack.

The pair fled the scene before firefighters arrived about 4.50am.

It took 30 firefighters and an aerial unit to control the blaze, which was extinguished by 5.23am.

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The Port Phillip Crime Investigation Unit is now investigating the fire.

Susler opened the Chery dealership on May 1, describing it as the culmination of "countless days of hard work".

"We've poured everything into creating a space you'll love and we couldn't be more proud to welcome you into Australia's biggest Chery showroom," Chery said in a post on Instagram.

It is unknown if the firebombing is linked to a string of similar arson attacks targeting Melbourne nightclubs.

Victoria Police's specialist Operation Eclipse taskforce was established to investigate organised crime groups believed to be responsible for the incidents at hospitality venues in the CBD, South Melbourne and Prahran.

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A billion US dollars of taxpayer money has been set aside to fund Donald Trump's White House ballroom project in a bill to fund immigration enforcement.

In the $97 billion legislation to fund the controversial Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is $1.4 billion for security work related to the renovations of the East Wing.

The funding proposal marks a dramatic shift in cost for Trump's massive overhaul of the White House.

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Several months ago Trump said the renovations would cost $US200 million and be completely funded by private donations.

But the proposed budget would be five times that, with no indication of what is behind the quintupling of the cost.

While officially drafted by Republican senators, the White House has welcomed the funding proposal.

"The White House applauds Congress's latest proposal in its reconciliation package which includes additional funding for security infrastructure upgrades in relation to the long overdue East Wing Modernisation Project," a spokesperson said.

"Congress has rightly recognised the need for these funds."

The funding is "for the purposes of security adjustments and upgrades, including within the perimeter fence of the White House Compound to support enhancements by the United States Secret Service relating to the East Wing Modernisation Project, including above-ground and below-ground security features," the bill reads. 

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The proposed funding has drawn the outrage of Democratic representatives.

"Trump literally said his ballroom would not cost taxpayers a penny. Why are Republicans champing at the bit to fund it?" Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove said.

"Even if this money is for 'security,' it's $1 BILLION of your tax dollars that wouldn't have been spent if Trump didn't tear down the East Wing."

While the bill has been proposed, it is not certain to become law.

Republicans hold a very narrow margin in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate.

Donald Trump's ballroom and ICE are two of the most unpopular elements of the current administration.

Republicans in narrowly-held districts will be loath to fund both of them six months before the midterm election.

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