Australia has urged Iran to show restraint and avoid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
An airstrike on Iran’s embassy in Damascus earlier this week killed a top Iranian general and six other Iranian military officers. Iran has vowed revenge for the strike, which is suspected to have been carried out by Israeli warplanes. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the strike tantamount to an attack on Iranian soil and said Israel “must be punished, and it shall be”.
In a statement posted on X overnight, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia is “deeply concerned by indications Iran is preparing military action against Israel”.
Wong said she had spoken to Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, urging Iran to “use its influence in the region to promote stability, not contribute to escalation”.
Australia joins countries including the United Kingdom, Russia and Germany in urging restraint, as Israel says it is preparing to “meet all its security needs” in a region on edge over an Iranian threat to strike Israel.
