Australia to provide military support to Gulf states attacked by Iran
In short:
Australia will send a military aircraft and 85 ADF personnel to the United Arab Emirates to assist in the defence of Gulf nations that have been attacked by Iran.
They will be operational by the end of the week for an initial four-week period for the “collective self-defence of Gulf nations”.
What’s next?
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Iran’s attacks on neighbouring countries escalated overnight.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian Defence Force will deploy an E-7A Wedgetail aircraft to the United Arab Emirates to protect and defend the region.
Last year, Australia sent a Wedgetail to Ukraine to help in the war against Russia, where it was deployed 45 times in three months.
Mr Albanese said the Wedgetail provided “long-range reconnaissance capabilities” which would “help protect and secure the airspace above the Gulf”.
The prime minister has reiterated that Australia will only participate in a “self defence” capacity. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)
Eighty-five personnel will be deployed, leaving Australia today.
They will be operational by the end of the week for an initial four-week period for the “collective self-defence of Gulf nations”.
The government will also provide the UAE with medium-range air-to-air missiles.
“Helping Australians means helping the UAE and other nations to defend themselves.
“We are not protagonists. What we are doing is providing for the defence of the UAE and of Australian citizens.”
The opposition has not yet officially backed the deployment, but Coalition frontbencher Dan Tehan told Radio National: “Absolutely it’s the right thing in principle for Australia to be doing.”
“Obviously, we want to be doing our bit to keep the region safe and obviously bring this conflict to an end,” he said.
‘Bowing to pressure from the US’
But Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie sounded a more cautious note when asked about the announcement this morning.
“I’d like a briefing on what’s going on,” he said.
“I am really worried about the long-term impact [of this war] on our region, particularly given we import so much of our fuel.
“I’m worried about farmers, I’m worried about truckies, I’m worried about small businesses that rely on cheap access to fuel.”
The Greens slammed the commitment, with its foreign affairs spokesman David Shoebridge accusing Australia of “bowing to pressure from the United States”.
“This is Australia now actively involved in Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s illegal war. We don’t have an alliance with the UAE,” he said.
“We know what this is for; this is to free up US military assets for their attack on Iran.”
Mr Shoebridge also suggested that more Australian military personnel could easily be drawn into the war.
“Look at the mixed messages coming out of Washington. Look at the response from Iran. This is not a ‘Boys home by Christmas’ proposition; this is a lengthy deployment, and this is likely just the start of it.”
