Australians in Middle East urged to shelter in place as Iran launches drones

Australians in the Middle East have been urged to take shelter as Iran launches dozens of drones and missiles at Israel in a retaliatory attack.

On April 1, Israel bombed an Iranian embassy compound in Damascus, killing a top general and six other military officers.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the strike tantamount to an attack on Iranian soil and said Israel “must be punished, and it shall be”, and on Sunday Iran launched its weapons.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the escalation was not in anyone’s interest.

“Regional escalation of the current Middle East conflict is something that, quite frankly, the whole world has feared since the beginning of the conflict,” he told Sky News.

“Iran has been a malign actor in the region for a long, long time and we condemn the attacks.”

Australians in the region, particularly those in Tel Aviv, Oman or Baghdad should follow the advice of local authorities and shelter in place, Mr Conroy said.

The consulate emergency hotline is also available to Australians.

Unlike the US and the UK, which have indicated they may provide military assistance to Israel, the Australian government is focused on preventing the escalation of the conflict by supporting efforts of allies, Mr Conroy said.

“It’s very important that we provide the international pressure to ensure that escalation does not occur,” he said.

“That’s our level of involvement at the moment but we urge Iran to take a step back.”

Opposition immigration spokesman Dan Tehan called Iran’s actions “deeply concerning” and urged the government to offer Israel “all the support it can”.

“Iran is an actor, which Australia has pointed out, has no ability to try and bring peace or stability to this region,” he told Sky News.

Israel’s military has said the drones would take hours to reach their targets while Israeli Channel 12 said some missiles and drones had been shot down over Syria or Jordan.

Prior to the attack, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong met with her Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and urged his nation to stabilise the region.

The government’s Smartraveller website also updated its advice for the region and warned Australians to reconsider their need to travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

As the violence in Gaza stretches into its seventh month, tensions have spread across the region and threaten to morph into a wider conflict that pits Iran and its allies against Israel and its US supporter.

On October 7, Hamas - designated a terrorist group by the Australian government - launched an attack on Israel that killed 1200 people and led another 200 to be taken hostage.

Israel has since launched a ground offensive and bombing campaign on Gaza that has killed more than 33,000 people and displaced another 1.7 million according to the local health ministry.

With Reuters