Iran strikes Al Minhad base, home to Australian forces, for second time

An Australian accommodation block and medical facility at the Al Minhad airbase in the United Arab Emirates have been damaged in an Iranian attack but no military personnel were hurt.

It’s the second strike by Iran on the base near Dubai since the conflict began on February 28, prompting fears that Australian forces are being targeted because of the assistance sent to the UAE.

Dozens of ADF members remain stationed at Al Minhad, in a section known as Camp Baird, running Headquarters Middle East in support of up to 12 operations across the region.

The base was hit with a projectile around 9.15am AEDT on Wednesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced shortly afterwards.

Mr Albanese said an Iranian projectile caused a fire in an Australian accommodation block and a medical facility.

“No Australian personnel were injured, and there was no impact on Australian personnel. They are safe,” he told reporters in Tasmania.

“I’ve spoken with the Defence Minister about this, and it’s important that we recognise that the Iranian regime is continuing to engage in, frankly, random attacks right across the Gulf region.”

Defence described the damage to the buildings as “minor” in a subsequent statement.

The Opposition was yet to be briefed on the incident by Wednesday afternoon, but shadow Defence minister James Paterson said it shared the relief that no one was injured.

“The attack on Australian facilities at Al Minhad is another reminder that the Islamic Republic regime in Iran is no friend of Australia,” he said.

“This is why the Coalition supports the deployment of the E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft to help defend partners like the UAE who are being targeted by Iran, despite not participating in offensive operations.

“The government must ensure that it is providing all the resources and support necessary to protect the safety of our service men and women on this important operation.”

Australian forces operating in Headquarters Middle East have been stationed at Al Minhad since 2003 to support Australian-led, multinational and UN-supported missions.

It is Australia’s only forward-deployed headquarters and maintains strategic relationships with countries in the region, particularly the UAE. There are typically between 70 and 80 Australians on base at any time, but Mr Albanese would not confirm how many are there currently.

The Camp Baird medical facility was only recently refurbished, with Defence saying in December that works meant Australian doctors, nurses and other health staff had dedicated facilities instead of having to share with other medical teams from the UK and New Zealand.

The large airbase, used by coalition forces including Australia and the British, was also struck early on in the conflict, as first reported by The Nightly.

Defence Minister Richard Marles only confirmed that report a day later, in response to questions from other media.

Mr Albanese couldn’t say whether Australians were deliberately targeted, reiterating that Iran was conducting “random attacks” in response to the American and Israeli bombing of its territory.

“We don’t have the Iranian intelligence,” he said.

“There’s over 20,000 Australians who are located in the UAE. It’s one of the reasons why, when we made the decision to allocate some defensive military hardware to the region, including the E-7 aircraft, we said it was about defending Gulf States against these random attacks, but also about defending Australians who are in the region.”

But Defence expert and former Army major general Gus McLachlan, who served extensively in the Middle East, said it was likely Australia was on an Iranian target list because of the support sent to the UAE.

This includes deploying an E-7A Wedgetail surveillance plane and its 85 crew, along with supplying air-to-air missiles for the UAE to use defensively.

“I think what they’re doing is very deliberate. So I don’t think this is random,” General McLachlan told The Nightly.

“They will have tracked the announcement about Australian involvement. They will have an understanding of where that involvement might operate from, and they would be very interested in seeking to make our war complex.

“Their tactic is to make America’s war complex by spreading it into the Gulf states, by shutting the Straits of Hormuz. When Australia added our flag or our voice to this war – whether it was in a defensive manner or not – they, in my view, would have deliberately added us to a target list.”

The government has been secretive about the location of the Wedgetail on its Middle East deployment.

However, General McLachlan said, based on his experience across the facilities in the region, it was likely to be at Al Minhad given that’s where the ADF’s main infrastructure was.