Middle East: Richard Marles backs Israel, citing its ‘right to defend itself’ after Iranian rocket attack
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has backed Israel’s right to defend itself, following unprecedented missile strikes from Iran, but says now is “the moment for diplomacy”.
Amid criticism that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had put himself at odds with the United States and United Kingdom by falling short of explicitly backing retaliatory action for the near 200 missile strikes, Mr Marles was more emphatic on Thursday morning.
Israel has vowed to respond to Tuesday’s attack, with the US vowing to support the Jewish state, prompting fears the region is on the brink of an all-out war.
Mr Marles said Australia was “not about to deny a country’s right to defend itself”, but did not want to see actions which “give rise to an escalatory cycle”.
“Clearly the world does not want to see an escalation to what has happened here. That is exactly why we condemn Iran’s missile attack in the strongest possible terms,” he told ABC Radio.
“We don’t deny countries’ rights to defend themselves, but this is the moment for diplomacy and we need to see every effort being made to try and bring about an end to the hostilities in the Middle East because of the extraordinary loss of civilian life that we’ve seen as a result of it.”
More to come.
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