Australia recalls unnecessary staff from Israel and the UAE

A towering plume of black smoke rose into the air following an explosion in the Fujairah industrial zone on March 3, 2026, as witnessed by foreign workers, in a photo captured by Fadel SENNA / AFP.

Australia's government has instructed all non-essential officials to depart Israel and the United Arab Emirates, citing the "deteriorating security situation", according to the country's top diplomat, Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

In a late Thursday post on X, Wong stated that only essential Australian officials would remain in the countries to provide support to Australians in need, while the government continued to advise against travel to Israel and the UAE.

The Foreign Minister urged citizens to leave the Middle East if possible and if it is safe to do so, warning "don't wait until it's too late, it may be the last chance for some time".

According to Canberra, approximately 115,000 Australian nationals are located across the Middle East, with around 2,600 having returned home so far.

The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, resulting in the death of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparking a war in the Middle East.

In response, Iran has carried out drone and missile strikes targeting Israel and Gulf states such as the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar.

Officials have reported that 14 people have been killed in Israel since the start of the Iran war, while attacks in the Gulf have claimed 24 lives, including 11 civilians and seven US military personnel.

Iran's health ministry reported this week that over 1,200 people have been killed inside the country, with hundreds more fatalities in Lebanon.

Australia supported the US-Israeli strikes, deeming them necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and announced this week that it would deploy a long-range military reconnaissance plane to the Gulf to protect civilians.