Australia has urged Iran to stop retaliatory attacks on countries across the Middle East after the US and Israel bombed Iran, killing its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, when asked about the legality of the strikes on Iran, said it was up to Australia’s allies to explain “the legal basis”.
“I will leave it for the United States and Israel to speak of the legal basis for the attacks,” Wong said on Sunday.
“What I would say to Australians is that Iran has been a destabilising force in the region for decades. It has orchestrated attacks on Australia and I think we all understand this issue did not start yesterday.”
The Australian government and opposition were quick to offer support to the US president, Donald Trump, and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday evening Australian time after the two countries attacked Iran.
Iran then launched strikes against Israel and US bases across the region, prompting Australia to update travel advice for countries in the area.
Wong on Sunday morning said: “Australia supports action to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran from continuing to threaten international peace and security.”
“We weren’t told in advance. You wouldn’t expect us to be, but you would see there’s obviously been a lot of discussion,” she said.
“We are not at the centre of the issues in the Middle East, but we obviously play a role in the international community.”
Australians stuck in Iran and Israel were urged to register with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Australians should leave Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE if safe to do so.
Wong left open the possibility of government-sponsored repatriation flights for Australians stuck in the region, but noted airspace closures and other disruptions to aviation in the immediate aftermath of the bombings.
Wong said on Sunday morning that Iran must “cease its indiscriminate attacks against other countries in the region”.
“We need to avoid, if at all possible, a broader regional escalation,” she said.
“We have seen attacks in the region, including on the UAE and also on Tel Aviv, and we call on Iran to cease these attacks.”
Wong said Australia was not involved in military operations. She said Australian forces were not expected to play any role. The foreign affairs minister would not say whether Australian intelligence facilities, including those at Pine Gap, were used.
The national security committee of cabinet met on Sunday and was likely to reconvene in the coming days.
Albanese said the government’s priority was the safety of its citizens in the region.
The prime minister said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had orchestrated at least two attacks on Australian soil in 2024, including the firebombing of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne.
“While we aren’t directly active in the current military strikes, we have been clear and acted on our utter rejection of the brutal Iranian regime.
“Last year, we expelled Iran’s ambassador … the first time an ambassador has been expelled from Australia since the second world war.”
Members of the Labor Against War group lashed the Albanese government for supporting Trump and Netanyahu.
“Albanese’s backing of Israeli and US attacks on Iran shows that we are completely devoid of acting independently from Trump and Netanyahu,” patron Doug Cameron said.
“There was a time when Labor pursued peace not war. That time is long gone. Leadership needed not sycophantic capitulation to militarism.”
The Greens leader, Larissa Waters, called the government’s support for the bombing “disgraceful” and warned against Australia being dragged into another US-led war.
“Trump and Netanyahu’s illegal attacks last night have unleashed chaos across the Middle East,” she said.
“This war will not bring safety to the brave Iranian people who are fighting for liberation from the brutal regime. We cannot bomb our way to peace.”
The opposition frontbencher Andrew Hastie told Sky the bombings were justified.
“Iran is an enemy of Australia. They’ve conducted terrorism on our shores and they’re also a geopolitical bad actor.
“They’ve been seeking a nuclear weapon for some time, and they’ve just murdered upwards of 25,000 of their own citizens over the last few months.”
Hastie said Trump was “setting the conditions for regime change in Iran”.
“There is a lot of risk and as a veteran of the so-called forever wars, I’m very suspicious of regime change by force.”
At least 100 children have been killed in an apparent Israeli-US strike on Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school in Minab, southern Iran, the Mizan news agency reported.
One person died and 22 others were injured when an Iranian missile strike hit a building in Tel Aviv, while four people were injured at Dubai international airport.
Strikes have also been reported in the city’s upmarket Palm Jumeirah district.
