Australia has said its air base in the United Arab Emirates was targeted by Iranian drones over the weekend.
Defence minister Richard Marles confirmed the attack, saying drones struck the Al Minhad base on the first night of escalation, but stated that all Australian personnel were “safe and accounted for”.
Australia has operated from Al Minhad since 2003, with around 100 ADF members currently deployed across several Middle Eastern countries. While not all are based at Al Minhad, the majority are operating from within the UAE.
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The facility, located roughly 30km south of Dubai, was struck on the opening night of the conflict.
The incident marks another instance of Australian forces coming under fire in the region. In 2019, rockets hit an Iraqi base hosting more than 300 ADF members who were part of a joint training mission with New Zealand forces.
Mr Marles reiterated Canberra’s backing of US and Israeli military action against Iran, though he acknowledged uncertainty about how long hostilities could continue. “It’s very difficult to speculate on how long the conflict will last.”
“We’ve been very clear we support the action, having as a core aim denying Iran the ability to acquire a deployable nuclear weapon, which would obviously be a catastrophe for the world,” he said.
Beyond the strike on Al Minhad, Iran’s retaliatory attacks reportedly caused damage elsewhere in Dubai, including at the city’s international airport and the landmark Burj Al Arab.
Explosions were also reported on Palm Jumeirah, the emirate’s man-made island development.
Approximately 115,000 Australians are currently in the broader Middle East region. Under normal conditions, about 11,000 Australians transit through the area daily. With disruptions to air travel, the federal government has been coordinating support for citizens abroad.
Foreign minister Penny Wong said she had spoken with UAE deputy prime minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to seek assistance for stranded travellers.
Mr Marles said: “We’re working through contingencies… We have all the scenarios in mind and we are preparing as best we can for them. But I’d also make the point there’s 115,000 Australians across the region.
“The most significant limitation on being able to do anything is the restriction of airspace. And when airspace begins to open up, our expectation is that the quickest flights that will resume will be commercial options.
“Our focus is making sure that we are getting information through to people as quickly as we can.”
A suspected Iranian drone hit the US embassy in Saudi Arabia’s capital early Tuesday as it kept striking targets around the region, while the US and Israel pounded Iran with airstrikes in what president Donald Trump suggested was just the start of a relentless campaign that could last more than a month.
The attack from two drones on the US embassy in Riyadh caused a “limited fire” and minor damage, according to Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry, which did not release further details.
It follows an attack the day before on the US embassy in Kuwait. The expansion of Iranian retaliation across the Gulf and the intensity of the Israeli and American attacks, the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the lack of any apparent exit plan portend a possible prolonged conflict with far-reaching consequences.
Many countries deemed safe havens in the Mideast have been hit by Iran in retaliation for the US and Israeli strikes, with recent targets including two Amazon data centres in the UAE and a drone impact near another in Bahrain that caused damage, the company said. Iran has also hit energy facilities in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and attacked several ships Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil traded passes, sending global oil and natural gas prices soaring.
