【By Observer Net, Wang Kaiwen】The ongoing military strikes by the U.S. and Israel against Iran are continuing to have spillover effects, and Australia may also be drawn into the conflict.

According to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on March 8, the Australian government is considering military aid requests from Gulf countries. However, Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated that Australia will not participate in any offensive actions against Iran.

Since the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, six Gulf countries including Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar have been affected by Iran's retaliatory attacks.

Wong revealed to ABC's "Insiders" program that the Australian government has received requests from some of these countries for protection against drone and missile attacks.

"Many countries not involved in the war have also been attacked by Iran," Wong said, "It is understandable that we have been requested to provide assistance, and we are taking this matter seriously."

She did not reveal details about the types of military aid being considered, but stated that if the government accepts the request, the information would be transparent.

According to the report, Wong reiterated the Australian government's position that the country will not participate in any offensive actions against Iran.

Photo from video of Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong

Australian Shadow Defense Minister James Paterson said he has asked the government to brief on the possibility of deploying the Australian Defence Force to the Middle East for defensive missions.

"Australia has a glorious record of standing with allies and friends during crises. After hearing the briefing, the opposition Liberal Party will carefully consider all deployment proposals from the perspective of national interest," Paterson said.

ABC noted that if the Australian government decides to respond to the aid request, its options would be very limited.

Malcolm Davis, a senior defense strategy analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the main concern of the Gulf countries is likely to be Iran's use of drones and missiles to attack their oil infrastructure. However, Australia's capabilities in countering drones are limited, with only one project named "LAND 156" still in early development.

"What they can currently do is deploy a small unit of the army equipped with NASAMS (short-range surface-to-air missile systems) to protect key targets," Davis said, adding, "Theoretically, they could also deploy a naval ship to assist in defense, but that would take longer. It takes time for a warship to reach there."

Another option is for Australian companies developing counter-drone products to sell these equipment to Gulf countries. This does not necessarily require government support.

Davis said that deploying a small-scale NASAMS unit to the Gulf countries would be the "limit" of what the Australian government can do without escalating to ground combat.

"We don't want Australians to be deployed to Iran itself, but through this approach, they can be deployed to the Gulf countries, which doesn't necessarily mean participating in ground combat," Davis said, and added that he does not believe Australian forces would enter Iran.

In Davis' view, if Australia deploys a small-scale defense force to the Gulf countries, Iran would likely not respond in any other way except for issuing diplomatic notes.

Wong said that Australia supports the U.S. and Israel's attack on Iran because it is in the national interest, but this support will not escalate to sending troops to Iran.

"This is not the Iraq War, and we are not the Howard government; we will not ask Australians to accept Australian men and women being deployed into ground warfare," Wong said.

In 2003, the U.S. launched a military strike against Iraq on the grounds that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The Australian government at the time decided to join the U.S. and UK's war against Iraq on March 18, 2003, at the request of the U.S.

Australian Prime Minister Albanese said on March 5 that the Australian government had sent six crisis response teams to the Middle East to help Australians stranded there, and had deployed "military assets" as part of an emergency plan earlier in the week.

Two Australian officials told AFP on March 5 that Australia had deployed a heavy transport aircraft and a fuel tanker to the Middle East as part of a plan to evacuate its citizens.

On March 7 local time, Iranian President Pezeshkian apologized to neighboring countries affected by the war in his speech, stating that Iran did not intend to attack other countries, and emphasized that Iran would no longer target neighboring countries unless there was an attack from neighboring countries.

However, Reuters noted that as of March 7 local time, there were still reports of attacks on Gulf countries.

The report indicated signs of division within Iran's leadership. After Pezeshkian's speech, the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), known as Hafteh-e Ambari, issued a statement saying that U.S. and Israeli bases and interests in the region would remain their targets. Hafteh-e Ambari is under the command of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff and is responsible for joint operations.

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Original: toutiao.com/article/7614783662474658346/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author himself.