Australia tells families of diplomats to leave UAE

Australia has asked the family members and dependants of diplomatic officials in the United Arab Emirates to leave the country, following an escalation in the conflict ⁠in the Middle East as several Gulf cities came under Iranian bombardment.



Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the security situation in the region had deteriorated. .



We continue to advise Australians not to travel to the UAE," Wong said in a post on X .



More than 1,700 Australians have arrived in Australia so far on commercial flights from the UAE.



About 115,000 Australians were in the Middle East when the conflict began 10 days ago.



Australia, a close U.S. ally, has said it would not ⁠deploy troops to the ⁠Middle East if the conflict escalates, but suggested on Sunday it was considering requests to help protect countries ⁠from Iranian drones and missiles.