The war in Iran is spreading faster and wider than many thought possible and travellers may need to rethink their plans.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong made the comment in an interview with Sunrise TV this morning days after a US submarine sank an Iranian warship off Sri Lanka.
“What I am going to say is that the conflict has spread much more quickly and much more widely than we anticipated and, I think, than most governments anticipated,” she says.
“No-one anticipated that in the first 72 hours Iran would have struck nine countries.”
She points out that Iran attacked travel hubs such as the United Arab Emirates which it has not done previously.
“This conflict spread much more widely; people need to think very carefully about their travel plans and continue to look at the advice that we provide,” Wong says.
“At the moment the conflict is unpredictable. That is what I can say.”
For government travel advisories: click here to visit the Smartraveller website.
At least 87 bodies have reportedly been recovered from the warship with at least 32 survivors recovered by the Sri Lankan Navy; click here for a report.
The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) is calling on travel holders to wait for advice before cancelling any plans to head to Europe.
“There are plenty of safe ways to get to Europe and the aviation sector has and will continue to adapt,” ATIA CEO Dean Long says.
“It is critical that you do not panic-cancel but wait for your airline to cancel as otherwise you are erasing all of your rights to a refund or rebook.”
PRIME MINISTERS SPEAK ON IRAN
Both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and visiting Canadian PM Mark Carney told journalists in Canberra that Iran needs to stop attacking other countries.
Carney is in Australia for a brief visit as part of a multilateral tour; he came to Australia after visiting India where he held talks on a trade deal.
“I think the world wants to see a de-escalation and wants to see Iran cease to spread the destinations of its attacks,” Albanese says.
“We’re seeing Gulf states that have not been involved (in the US-Israeli attack on Iran) attacked across the board.”
Albanese says he also wants an end to Iranian nuclear weapons capability and to its support for terrorist acts in Australia.
Carney wouldn’t rule out action but says it must be at the request of allies: Canada is a member of NATO as is the US.
“There’s a distinction between the offensive actions that … are being taken by the US and Israel … without consultation. We’re not party to those actions but we will always defend Canadians and our allies when called upon,” he says.
EARLIER IRAN STORY: Nuclear safety on knife’s edge in Middle East, Ukraine
