The Australian government is urging Australians to consider leaving Israel and Lebanon, and is offering to evacuate the families of diplomats and officials from some of its missions in the Middle East as the prospect of US strikes on Iran leaves the region on high alert.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade used social media to announce the offer of "voluntary departures" from posts in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
"We continue to advise exercise a high degree of caution in these destinations," DFAT said.
"The security situation in the Middle East is unpredictable. Regional tensions remain high and there continues to be a risk of military conflict.
"Conflicts in the Middle East could result in airspace closures, flight cancellations and other travel disruptions."
The department issued specific warnings to Australians in Israel and Lebanon, urging people to "consider leaving while commercial options to depart are still available".
"We continue to advise Australians do not travel to Iran and if you're in Iran, leave as soon as possible," DFAT said.
US President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address to repeat his threats to Iran ahead of another round of indirect talks between the two sides in Geneva on Thursday.
"My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy," he said.
"But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon — can't let that happen.
"We are in negotiations with them, they want to make a deal, but we haven't heard those secret words: 'We will never have a nuclear weapon.'"
US military build-up
In recent weeks the region has witnessed the largest American military build-up since the Iraq war.
The US Navy's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, has travelled to the Middle East and was spotted docking on the Greek Island of Crete on Monday before continuing its journey closer to the eastern Mediterranean.
Another carrier strike group led by USS Abraham Lincoln is already in the Arabian Sea.
Dozens of US aircraft have also travelled to the Middle East, stationed at bases such as Al Udeid, outside the Qatari capital Doha — the largest US military base in the region.
Stealth fighter jets have also been seen landing in Israel.
Any military action against Iran brings with it the risk of a broader regional conflict, particularly given the Islamic regime's promise to respond "ferociously" to any strikes, regardless of scale, and attack US bases across the Middle East and American allies in the area.
The governments of Saudi Arabia and the UAE have said they will not allow their airspace to be used to launch any strikes on Iran, but they may be dragged into any escalation given their ties to Washington.
The situation could cripple transport routes through the Middle East. Airports in the UAE and Qatar are among the busiest in the world, and shipping channels in the region are vital to global supply chains.
The timing of a potential strike remains unclear, with reports from the US indicating that Mr Trump has been briefed on a range of options for military intervention.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is beginning a two-day visit to Israel on Wednesday, local time, fuelling speculation that a strike is unlikely until after he leaves the area.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei took to social media to lash out at the US and Israeli rhetoric about the threat his country posed.
"'Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth,' is a law of propaganda coined by Nazi Joseph Goebbels," Mr Baqaei said.
"This is now systematically used by the US administration and the war profiteers encircling it, particularly the genocidal Israeli regime, to serve their sinister disinformation and misinformation campaign against the nation of Iran.
"Whatever they're alleging regarding Iran's nuclear program, Iran's ballistic missiles and the number of casualties during January's unrest is simply the repetition of 'big lies'."
