Australia has ordered all non-essential diplomatic officials in\nIsrael and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to leave both countries\nimmediately. The evacuation order was issued as the conflict between the\nUnited States and Israel with Iran continues to escalate.<\/p>\n
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated in her announcement, as\nreported by AFP on Friday (13 March 2026), that the directive for\nAustralian diplomatic staff to evacuate from Israel and the UAE was\nbased on \u201cworsening security situations\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cEssential Australian officials will remain in these countries to\nsupport Australian citizens in need,\u201d Wong said in her statement on\nThursday evening (12 March).<\/p>\n
The Australian Government, according to Wong, continues to advise its\ncitizens against travelling to Israel and the UAE.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe urge you to leave the Middle East if you can and if it is safe to\ndo so,\u201d she cautioned.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo not wait until it is too late. This may be your last opportunity\nfor some time,\u201d Wong stated.<\/p>\n
Australia has indicated that approximately 115,000 of its citizens\nare in the Middle East region. Approximately 2,600 of them have already\nreturned to Australia.<\/p>\n
The situation in the Middle East has escalated since the US and\nIsrael launched a large-scale combined strike against Iran on 28\nFebruary. The series of strikes killed senior Tehran leaders and\nofficials, including the country\u2019s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali\nKhamenei.<\/p>\n
Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks against\ntargets in Israel and Gulf nations that host US military assets,\nincluding the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar.<\/p>\n
Tehran\u2019s series of attacks on Gulf countries reportedly killed at\nleast 24 people in total, including 11 civilians and seven US military\npersonnel.<\/p>\n
Australia itself has stated its support for the US-Israeli strikes\nagainst Iran, which Canberra described as necessary action to prevent\nTehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n
Australian authorities stated this week that they would deploy\nseveral long-range military surveillance aircraft to the Gulf region to\nprotect civilians.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/australia-orders-diplomatic-staff-to-immediately-evacuate-from-israel-and-uae-1773384763", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }