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Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong has ordered all non-essential officials to leave Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) amid safety concerns as the U.S.-Israel war with Iran enters its second week.
Diplomats’ dependents in the UAE, Jordan, and Qatar are also eligible for voluntary departures.
Registrations for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Crisis Portal are open for Australians in Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Iran, Israel, Qatar, and the UAE.
Wong said in a post on X that the decision had been made “due to the deteriorating security situation.”
“Essential Australian officials will remain in-country to support Australians who need it,” she said.
“We continue to advise Australians not to travel to Israel and the UAE. We urge you to leave the Middle East if you can and if it’s safe to do so.”
On March 12, Wong told Parliament that Australian diplomatic facilities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Tel Aviv had been temporarily closed.
As of March 11, more than 3,200 Australians had returned home on 23 commercial flights, she said. The majority were people who were travelling through the Middle East who became stranded when the war broke out.
U.S. Measures
The decision to withdraw officials comes as the United States has also taken precautionary steps for its citizens across the region.
The U.S. “virtual embassy” in Tehran warned Americans not to travel to Afghanistan, Iraq, or the Pakistan-Iran border area, while the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem offers additional options for U.S. citizens to depart Israel.
The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi and Consulate in Dubai have suspended all routine consular services, and Americans have been advised not to approach either building “for any reason.”
U.S. President Donald Trump has said the offensive against Iran is “not finished yet,” although its military has been severely degraded by U.S.–Israeli strikes.
To date, the war is estimated to have killed around 2,000 people. Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have caused the biggest disruption to global oil supplies in decades.
Oil prices had eased after Trump suggested the war was nearly over, but rose again above US$100 a barrel following reports of further shipping attacks.
Rex Widerstrom is a New Zealand-based reporter with over 40 years of experience in media, including radio and print. He is currently a presenter for Hutt Radio.
