• Australia will deploy an E-7A Wedgetail aircraft and air-to-air missiles to the UAE.
• The military support aims to protect Australians and Gulf nations from Iranian attacks.
• No Australian troops will be deployed to Iran, maintaining a defensive stance.
• The move follows discussions with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
• Around 115,000 Australians are currently in the Middle East amid escalating conflict.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that the country will deploy a long-range military reconnaissance aircraft, the E-7A Wedgetail, along with advanced missiles to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to support regional defense against Iranian aggression. This military support is aimed at assisting Gulf nations in self-defense and protecting Australians in the region, as Albanese emphasized that Australia is “not a protagonist” in the conflict, which has seen ongoing escalations and unprovoked attacks from Iran, according to SCMP and Reuters.

Albanese stated that the E-7A Wedgetail aircraft will be deployed for an initial four-week period to protect and secure the airspace over the Gulf amidst intensified missile and drone threats. Australian forces in the Gulf will additionally include supporting personnel, following President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s request for military assistance, according to Channel News Asia and Al Jazeera.

Highlighting the urgency of the situation, Albanese noted that approximately 115,000 Australians were present in the Middle East at the start of the conflict, and around 2,600 have since returned home. This significant presence underscores the need for Australia’s defensive military action, particularly as the UAE has intercepted over 1,500 Iranian rocket and drone attacks, reflecting the rising peril to civilian lives in the region, according to India Times and AA.

Despite the significant military commitment, Albanese reassured that Australia’s role is strictly defensive and clarified that no ground troops would be deployed into Iran. This stance aims to mitigate the risk of further entanglement in ongoing conflicts in the region, which have historically seen Australia involved in US-led military actions, as detailed by various sources, including India Times and SCMP.