Australia Withdraws Officials Amid Middle East War

Australia has ordered the withdrawal of all non-essential officials from Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon due to a rapidly deteriorating security situation in the Middle East. This decision follows the outbreak of a war initiated by the United States and Israel's strikes on Iran on February 28, which killed Ali Khamenei. Iran has retaliated with drone and missile attacks targeting Israel and Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar. The conflict has resulted in significant casualties across the region, with 14 deaths in Israel, 24 in the Gulf (including US military personnel), and over 1,200 in Iran, along with hundreds in Lebanon. Australia has publicly supported the US-Israeli actions, viewing them as necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and has deployed a military reconnaissance plane to the Gulf to protect civilians. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged Australian citizens to leave the Middle East if it is safe to do so, as approximately 2,600 of the 115,000 Australian nationals in the region have already returned home. The conflict has also caused major disruptions to global oil supplies, leading to a surge in oil prices.