On Saturday, the U.S. and Israel launched a joint attack on Iran, killing the regime’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran has responded with retaliatory strikes targeting Israel and U.S. military bases across the Middle East, including in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, the Australian Government has changed its advice to “do not travel” for most of the region.
Here’s how Australia has responded to the growing conflict.
Initial response
The Federal Government has been broadly supportive of the U.S. and Israeli strikes.
Shortly after the first strikes were confirmed, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia “stands with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against oppression”.
He expressed support for the U.S. “acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran from threatening international peace and security.”
In a post to X on Sunday, Opposition Leader Angus Taylor called Khamenei’s death “welcome news”.
On Monday, the Coalition put a motion to the Senate condemning the Iranian regime, and congratulating the U.S. and Israel for “their sustained efforts to prevent... Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon”.
The Coalition and One Nation voted in favour of the part of the motion which congratulated the U.S. and Israel, while Labor and the Greens voted against it.
Labor had tried to pass an amendment changing the language to say Australia “supports” the U.S. and Israel’s efforts.
Labor supported the rest of the motion condemning the regime, while the Greens voted against the entire motion.
Greens Leader Senator Larissa Waters said the attacks had “unleashed chaos across the Middle East,” calling them “illegal, abhorrent and unilateral.”
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Waters noted reports from Iranian state media that a strike on a school in the first wave of attacks killed dozens of children.
Military response
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has played down the possibility of Australia joining the conflict, telling Channel 9: “Australia is not central to the issues in the Middle East.”
“We didn’t participate in these strikes and we wouldn’t anticipate participating in the future,” Wong said.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said the Government had confirmed Australian defence personnel at an air base near Dubai were safe following an Iranian strike.
Aussies abroad
The Government estimates there are 115,000 Australians currently in the Middle East.
Wong and Marles have said the fastest way to bring Australians home is commercial flights, but acknowledged that evacuation plans were difficult while airspace across much of the region remains closed.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has opened a registration portal for Australian citizens, permanent residents, and their immediate families in Israel, Iran, Qatar, and the UAE.
Community response
Following the attacks on Iran, thousands of Iranian Australians held gatherings across the country to celebrate the death of the Supreme Leader and show support for those in Iran.
Kambiz Razmara, the vice-president of the Australian-Iranian Society of Victoria, told TDA: “ We turn up to show the people in Iran that we haven’t forgotten and that we stand with them.“
“Iranians are very much against the regime, so we are waiting with hopeful anticipation,” he said.
