Australia will send a surveillance aircraft and air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates to help protect civilians amid escalating tensions with Iran, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday. The deployment follows a request from UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and consultations with US President Donald Trump.
Approximately 85 Australian Defence Force personnel will be deployed, including crews for an E-7 Wedgetail aircraft, which provides long-range reconnaissance and airborne early warning capabilities. Stocks of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles will also be sent. The initial deployment is set for four weeks, with personnel expected to leave by midweek and be operational by the weekend.
Albanese stressed that Australia is not taking offensive action against Iran and will not deploy troops on the ground in Iran. He characterised the assistance as defensive, aimed at protecting Australians in the region from “unprovoked attacks” by the Iranian regime. About 115,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents are in the Middle East, including 24,000 in the UAE.
The Greens criticised the move, with leader Larissa Waters warning that Australia risks being “fully dragged into another US forever war.” She argued that sending missiles does not keep civilians safe and called for peace efforts instead. Opposition Leader Angus Taylor welcomed the deployment, saying it shows allies working together against a “despotic regime.”
Defence Minister Richard Marles noted that the E-7 Wedgetail is a world-leading reconnaissance and command aircraft, previously deployed to Poland to assist Ukraine. The government insists the assets will operate under the right of collective self-defence and are not part of offensive operations against Iran.
