Australia urges diplomats' families to leave UAE as conflict grows

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Australia urges diplomats’ families to leave UAE as conflict grows

March 9, 2026

SYDNEY,— Australia has ordered family members and dependents of its diplomatic staff in the United Arab Emirates to leave, the government said Sunday.

The move comes after Iran launched strikes on several cities across the Gulf region, marking a sharp rise in Middle East tensions.

U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, said the United States is not looking to negotiate an end to joint U.S.-Israeli military operations against Iran.

The strikes have pushed up energy prices worldwide, disrupted businesses and caused major problems for air travelers.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said security conditions in the region have gotten worse.

“Our travel advice has been updated to reflect that direction. We continue to advise Australians not to travel to the UAE,” Wong wrote on X late Sunday.

Wong said more than 1,700 Australians have returned home on commercial flights from the UAE so far. About 115,000 Australians were in the Middle East when fighting started 10 days ago.

Australia, a close ally of Washington, has said it will not send troops to the Middle East even if the conflict grows.

But officials suggested Sunday the government is weighing requests to help defend countries against Iranian drones and missiles.

Tensions in the region rose sharply after Washington and Israel conducted joint airstrikes against Iran on February 28, 2026.

The strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and more than 40 senior military officers in Tehran and other cities, the report said.

Iran responded with multiple waves of missile and drone attacks targeting sites across the Gulf.

The attacks hit major airports, seaports, hotels and residential areas in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the report said.

Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader on Monday, replacing his father Ali Khamenei. The appointment signals that hardline factions maintain their grip on power in the Islamic Republic.

(With files from Reuters)