Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mentioned air-to-air missiles and a reconnaissance airplane will likely be despatched to area amid battle with Iran.
Revealed On 10 Mar 2026
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mentioned Australia will deploy a long-range reconnaissance plane and ship air-to-air missiles to assist international locations within the Gulf area defend towards Iranian assaults.
“The Iranian battle within the Center East started simply over every week in the past, and Iran’s reprisal assaults proceed to escalate, already at a scale and depth we haven’t seen earlier than. Twelve international locations throughout the area, from Cyprus by means of to the Gulf, are persevering with to be focused,” Albanese mentioned in a information convention on Tuesday.
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He mentioned the Royal Australian Air Drive will ship an E7A Wedgetail surveillance plane and supporting personnel to “defend and safe airspace above the Gulf” for the subsequent 4 weeks, and assist the area with its “collective self-defence”.
Australia can even ship superior medium-range air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates, he mentioned, following a telephone name with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Albanese cited the 115,000 Australians dwelling within the Center East – amongst them, 24,000 within the UAE – as a significant component behind the deployment of army belongings.
“Serving to Australians means additionally serving to the United Arab Emirates and different Gulf nations defend themselves towards what are unprovoked assaults,” he instructed reporters, stressing that the deployments had been for defensive functions solely.
“My authorities has been clear: We’re not taking offensive motion towards Iran, and we’re clear we aren’t deploying Australian troops on the bottom in Iran,” he mentioned.
Some 2,600 Australians have left the Center East since final week, Albanese mentioned, however “important challenges” stay in serving to those that need to depart however stay within the area.
The prime minister’s announcement was instantly slammed by the opposition Greens celebration, which mentioned Australia dangers changing into embroiled in one other US-led “eternally conflict”.
Australia joined the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in 2001 and 2003, and misplaced greater than 50 personnel throughout the conflicts, in response to the Australian Battle Memorial.
Greens Senator Larissa Waters mentioned she feared extra Australian lives had been in danger with the introduced deployments, which the federal government, led by the Labor Social gathering, mentioned can be accompanied by 85 Australian personnel.
“Australians don’t need to get dragged into Trump and Netanyahu’s unlawful conflict on Iran. Labor shouldn’t be sending troops to assist a army that’s killed 150 schoolchildren in a main faculty bombing. That can solely escalate an unlawful battle that’s already spiralling uncontrolled, and depart Australia trapped in yet one more eternally conflict,” Waters mentioned in an announcement on Tuesday.
“Day by day Trump and Netanyahu’s calls for of Australia continue to grow. It was refuelling US spy planes yesterday, a recon jet and missiles right this moment, and may very well be ever extra troops tomorrow. Labor has no crimson strains relating to appeasing Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu,” she mentioned, referring to the US president and Israeli prime minister, respectively.
Albanese mentioned individually on Tuesday that Canberra has formally granted asylum to five members of Iran’s women’s football team, who had been visiting Australia for the Asian Soccer Confederation Girls’s Asian Cup 2026 in Queensland.
Albanese mentioned the ladies had been issued with humanitarian visas and moved to a protected location with the help of Australian Federal Police.
“Australians have been moved by the plight of those courageous girls. They’re protected right here, and they need to really feel at house right here,” Albanese instructed reporters.
