As the conflict in the Middle East continues, multiple Gulf countries have been subjected to indiscriminate attacks by Iran. In response, the Australian government has ordered the evacuation of the families and dependents of diplomatic personnel stationed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while also urging Australian citizens to avoid traveling to the country. Additionally, Australia is now considering a shift in its stance to assist in protecting other nations from Iran’s drone and missile attacks.
Minister of Foreign Affairs for Australia, Penny Wong, took to social media platform X on March 8 to state, “Given the deteriorating security situation in the UAE, the Australian government has instructed the evacuation of all Australian officials’ families stationed in the UAE. Our travel advice has been updated to reflect this situation. We continue to advise Australian citizens not to travel to the UAE.”
Wong further explained, “On February 28, 2026, we advised all Australian citizens to leave the UAE and have been working to assist them in their departure. We are communicating with airlines and will directly contact registered Australian citizens once we are aware of available seats. If you secure a seat, please consider boarding.”
She went on to say, “To date, over 1,700 Australians have arrived in Australia on flights directly from the UAE. The @dfat crisis portal website is now open for registration to Australians residing in Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iran, Israel, Qatar, and the UAE.”
When the conflict erupted ten days ago, an estimated 115,000 Australians were in the Middle East region. Wong also mentioned that Australians in need of emergency consular assistance should contact the Australian government’s 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre. For overseas assistance, call “+61 2 6261 3305,” and for assistance within Australia, call “1300 555 135.”
Furthermore, although Australia initially stated it would not deploy troops to intervene in the Middle East conflict between the US and Iran, the Australian government has begun to change its stance as Iran began carrying out indiscriminate attacks on surrounding Gulf countries.
On March 8, Wong, in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, stated that following the outbreak of war between the US, Israel, and Iran, some countries not directly involved in the conflict have also come under attack by Iran. These countries have requested military assistance from Australia, and the Australian government is evaluating how to handle the situation, including considering assisting in protecting other countries from Iran’s drone and missile attacks.