Aussie troop base hit in Iran drone strikes
A defence base in the UAE that’s home to Australian defence force members has been hit by Iranian drone strikes, as thousands of travellers remain stranded.
Source: Sunrise
Australian personnel at a United Arab Emirates air base are all accounted for after it was hit by a drone strike as the war in the Middle East escalates.
Iran has retaliated with attacks across the region after it was hit by US-Israeli bombardments that have killed the Islamic regimeâs leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and dozens of senior officials.
Among the areas hit over the weekend by Iran were the Al Minhad air base, near Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and a logistics hub for the Australian Defence Force.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said all Australian troops were safe and none were injured in the strike.
âWe have a number of Australians who operate from a headquarters that weâve had at Al Minhad now for many, many years,â he told Sevenâs Sunrise program on Tuesday.
âThey are all accounted for, they are all safe. Weâve got north of 100 serving personnel actually across the Middle East in a range of countries, but most are in the UAE and that base is very important for us.â
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Marles says all Australian troops are safe after the strike at the Al Minhad air base near Dubai. Photo: ADF
Contingency plans are being considered to bring home tens of thousands of Australian citizens stranded in the Middle East as the US-Israel war on Iran widens.
Marles described the situation as a âvery significant consular challengeâ.
âThereâs lots of Australians who are experiencing disrupted air travel and so thatâs a situation that we are monitoring very closely and preparing for as best we can,â he told ABC TV.
âYou have to take this a day at a time ⌠it is very difficult to speculate about how long this will go.â
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Australian travellers, such as Lucy Finter, are struggling to find ways out of the war-torn region. She left Sydney for London on Saturday and was âcompletely obliviousâ of the growing war until she landed in Dubai for a stopover.
All flights were suddenly cancelled when she arrived at Dubai International Airport, which erupted into chaos and was damaged after being hit by strikes.
âNo one knew what was going on, then we checked the news online and saw missiles had been fired and the airspace had been closed,â Finter said.
She and her British partner filled out repatriation forms from the UK and Australian governments, but had heard nothing further by Monday.
âIâm trying to remain calm, but then I hear another missile,â she said.
Finter said she burst into tears when she read US President Donald Trumpâs remarks that the war would take âfour weeks or soâ.
But that timeframe depended on variables outside of Trumpâs control and he had a âtendency to describe things in very optimistic termsâ, University of Sydney expert David Smith said.
It was unlikely Trump expected Australia to become involved in the conflict as he wanted âa limited military actionâ, Smith said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there had been no requests for Australia to become involved.
âItâs a long way from Australia and we are not big players in the Middle East,â he told ABCâs 7.30 program.
He and other senior government ministers have supported the US-Israeli action while deflecting questions over the legality of the strikes.
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