Defence Minister Richard Marles confirms Trump administration have made requests to Australia in Iran War
Richard Marles says the United States is among several countries that have requested Australian support as tensions rise in the Middle East.
Defence Minister Richard Marles says while Australia’s recent deployment of military assets to the Middle East was in response to UAE’s call for support, the United States has also made requests during the conflict with Iran.
It comes after Anthony Albanese’s commitment on Tuesday to send the E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft and an unspecified quantity of medium-range missiles, known as an AMRAAM.
Mr Marles said Australia had received a range of defensive capability-based requests since the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran late last month.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“The request that we’ve responded to is the UAE,” Mr Marles told ABC’s 7.30.
“I spoke to my counterpart in the UAE over the course of the weekend, and they were gratefully receiving the offer that we’ve made.
“A number of other countries, including the US have made requests which are centred on helping to provide for the defence of the Gulf countries.”
When questioned on the Trump administration’s requests, Mr Marles refused to detail exactly what Washington’s wish list included.
“I’m not going to go into the specifics of it,” he said.
“As I said, that does include the United States.
“The thrust of their request and others has been fundamentally in respect of helping in the defence of the Gulf states.”
The Prime Minister told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday that his decision to send the assets was “purely” for defensive purposes and Australia wouldn’t engage in offensive action or put troops on the ground.
He and Mr Marles said sending the equipment to the region was important to assist Gulf “friends” and the 24,000 at-risk Australians in the UAE.
He also claimed that the requests had come after he spoke with UAE president Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the phone last Tuesday and received a “written” request.
But he only announced the deployment of military support on Tuesday, just hours after speaking with US President Donald Trump on the phone at 2am AEDT on Tuesday.
When asked directly by The Nightly if the pair also spoke about military support on the 40 minute phone call, he avoided directly answering, insisting it was a “private conversation”.
Despite being tight-lipped on those specifics, the PM offered details about their conversation on the plight of the Iranian women’s soccer team seeking asylum in Australia after their Women’s Asian Cup silent protest.
Official readouts from both the Australian Prime Minister and the UAE President’s conversation don’t mention whether military support was discussed.
