Photo courtesy of Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency
Australia is considering providing military assistance to countries in the Middle East affected by Iran’s retaliatory strikes but will not send troops to take part in the conflict, officials said Sunday.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Canberra is assessing requests for support from countries that are not directly involved in the fighting but have been hit by Iranian counterattacks, according to reports from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
She said Australia is not participating in offensive operations against Iran and has made clear that it will not deploy ground forces to the country.
Wong also stressed that the government is not asking Australians to accept the possibility of troops being sent into a ground war.
She said any assistance from Canberra could involve helping protect partner countries from Iranian missile and drone attacks.
The foreign minister added that the government will evaluate such requests based on its foreign policy principles and would inform the public if a decision is made.
Meanwhile, evacuation efforts for Australians in the region continued, with a flight from Dubai carrying 151 passengers expected to arrive in Melbourne on Sunday and another flight scheduled to land in Sydney later in the evening.
More than 1,500 Australians have returned home from the United Arab Emirates since commercial flights resumed, while about 115,000 were believed to be in the Middle East when the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran on Feb. 28.