{"id":509359,"date":"2026-02-28T08:55:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T08:55:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/509359\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T08:55:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T08:55:08","slug":"australians-warned-that-iran-attack-increases-risk-of-further-escalation-and-flight-cancellations-in-region-australia-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/509359\/","title":{"rendered":"Australians warned that Iran attack increases risk of \u2018further escalation\u2019 and flight cancellations in region | Australia news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia\u2019s department of foreign affairs has warned of the risk of \u201creprisal attacks and further escalation\u201d across the Middle East after Israel and the US launched an attack on Iran<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the attacks began, Dfat updated its \u201cSmartraveller\u201d website\u2019s entry on Iran, confirming that \u201cthere have been airstrikes on Iran, including in Tehran and other locations\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a risk of reprisal attacks and further escalation across the region,\u201d the website said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An hour later, the department also updated its warnings for Israel, highlighting a specific \u201crisk of reprisal attacks on Israel\u201d and advising people there to \u201ctry to get to an underground shelter if possible, or at minimum seek a shelter close to ground level\u201d.<\/p>\n

Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n

It noted reports that Israeli airspace was closed.<\/p>\n

The department\u2019s Iran update noted that \u201cClosure of airspace around transit hubs may impact flights globally, causing delays and cancellations. We continue to advise do not travel to Iran and leave Iran as soon as possible, if it\u2019s safe to do so. Regional tensions remain high and there continues to be a risk of military conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you remain in Iran, be prepared to shelter in place for an extended period. Make sure you have supplies of water, food and medication. The security situation in Iran is extremely volatile. Avoid public gatherings and protests. Australians, including dual nationals, are at a high risk of being detained.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Australian embassy\u2019s operations in Iran are suspended.<\/p>\n

Just a few hours before the attack began, Australia\u2019s foreign minister Penny Wong<\/a> reposted on X the latest updated warnings for Australians in the Middle East.<\/p>\n

The warnings advised of the \u201crisk of military conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re in Israel or Lebanon, consider leaving while commercial options to depart are still available,\u201d the advice said. \u201cConflict could lead to airspace closures, flight cancellations and other disruptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday evening Dfat also updated the warnings for Lebanon, adding that \u201cthere have been military air strikes on Southern Lebanon\u201d. It was initially unclear whether these were related to the Israel\/US operation against Iran.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday last week, Australia announced it was withdrawing all the dependents of Australian officials from Israel and Lebanon \u201cdue to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East\u201d, and offered voluntary evacuation for the dependents of officials in Jordan, Qatar and the UAE.<\/p>\n

On Saturday evening Ted O\u2019Brien, deputy leader of the opposition, said the Coalition was watching events in Iran closely and awaited briefings by government.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urge Australians in the region to pay close attention to official advice,\u201d he said. \u201cOur position is clear: Israel has the right to defend itself and Iranians have the right to live free of oppression.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s department of foreign affairs has warned of the risk of \u201creprisal attacks and further escalation\u201d across the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":509360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-509359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/509359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/509360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=509359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=509359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}