Australia Sends Early Warning Aircraft to Persian Gulf

Australia will deploy an E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning aircraft and the necessary personnel during an initial four-week period to support its operations to the Persian Gulf.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said the plane was expected to arrive in the region by midweek and begin operations by the weekend, according to a report.

Australia will supply the United Arab Emirates with medium-range air-to-air missiles and Albanese said Australia would not send troops to Iran, the report added.

On February 28, the United States (US) and Israel launched a joint attack on a number of targets in Iran, including in Tehran, which caused damage and civilian casualties.

Iran then responded by attacking Israeli territory and US military facilities in the Middle East region, as a form of self-defense.

The US and Israel initially said the "preemptive" attack was necessary to counter a threat they believed came from Iran's nuclear program, but both later insisted they wanted to see a change of power in Iran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was reportedly killed on the first day of the US-Israeli joint attack. Iran then declared a 40-day mourning period.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described Khamenei's killing as a cynical violation of international law.

The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the US and Israeli military operations and called for an immediate de-escalation and cessation of hostilities.