Share and Follow
In brief
- Australia has embassies in Tel Aviv and Beirut, which the government said would remain open.
- It comes amid a massive United States military build-up in the Middle East.
The Australian government has instructed the families of its embassy staff in Israel and Lebanon to return home as tensions in the region intensify.
On Wednesday night, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) updated its Smartraveller service, issuing revised travel advice. This move comes as a precaution due to the “worsening security situation in the Middle East.”
Despite the advisory, the Australian embassies in Tel Aviv and Beirut will continue operations.
The government has also extended voluntary departure options to the dependents of Australian personnel stationed in Jordan, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Diplomatic missions, including the embassies in Amman, Doha, and Abu Dhabi, as well as the consulate in Dubai, will remain open.
Angus Taylor, the opposition leader, emphasized the importance of families adhering to this guidance without hesitation.
“It’s the best advice we have, and there’s no question that the situation there appears to be hotting up,” he told Sky News.
Rising tensions in the Middle East
The developments come amid a massive US military build-up in the Middle East and a third round of talks this week between the US and Iran in Geneva, Switzerland over the latter’s nuclear program.
If the negotiations fail, US President Donald Trump has threatened to attack Iran, which other Middle East nations fear could spiral into more conflict in the region. Iran has vowed to retaliate “ferociously” against any attack by the US.
Trump has accused Iran, whose negotiators will meet US officials in Geneva on Thursday, of having “sinister nuclear ambitions” and working to rebuild a nuclear program that was targeted by US strikes last year.
US vice president JD Vance on Wednesday said Iran should take the US’s threat of military action “seriously”.
Vance told Fox News that while Trump was going to try to “accomplish it diplomatically,” the US president also had the “right” to use military action.
“You can’t let the craziest and worst regime in the world have nuclear weapons,” Vance said.
“The president has a number of other tools at his disposal to ensure this doesn’t happen. He’s shown a willingness to use them and I hope the Iranians take it seriously in the negotiations tomorrow because that’s certainly what the president prefers.”
Iran has repeatedly denied that it is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, and has rejected Trump’s claims about its missile program as “big lies”.
This week, the US ordered non-emergency personnel to leave its embassy in Beirut, as Trump threatened strikes on Iran, which has close relations with the Lebanese group Hezbollah.
On Tuesday, Lebanon’s foreign minister said his country fears its infrastructure could be hit by Israeli strikes if the situation with Iran escalates.
Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November 2024 ceasefire that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Iran-backed Hezbollah, usually saying it was targeting the group.
Last Friday, Israel carried out deadly strikes on what it called Hezbollah positions in eastern Lebanon and targets linked to the Palestinian group Hamas in the south.
Hezbollah said on Saturday that eight of its fighters had been killed, and vowed “resistance”.
Its leader, Naim Qassem, said last month that any attack on Iran would also be an attack on Hezbollah.
— With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse.
For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.