Australian airlines are also monitoring the situation in the Middle East closely.

Virgin Australia has confirmed four Qatar Airways flights bound for Doha have turned around and are heading back to Australia tonight.

“Flights that have left Doha and are travelling to Australia are continuing as scheduled,” a Virgin spokesperson told the ABC.

“The safety of our guests and crew is always our top priority.”

Affected travellers should be contacted directly by their airline.

In covering this breaking event, we have been reporting the strikes happening across the region as Iran retaliates against the attacks by the United States and Israel.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp said “all Israel and US bases in the region” had been attacked, but several of the nations where American assets are located have said the Iranian strikes were not successful.

We want to explain the US presence in the region and the sites Iran is targetting and add some extra context to all the reports you’re probably hearing about other countries being brought into this conflict.

There have been blasts reported in:

• United Arab Emirates (UAE): Loud explosions were heard over Abu Dhabi, with the UAE confirming it intercepted several Iranian missiles. The US Al Dhafra air base is in Abu Dhabi, south of the city. Iranian state media is reporting the base was targeted. One person has reportedly died in the explosions. 

• Qatar: There were explosions reported over Doha, but the country’s leadership said it had successfully dealth with missiles in its airspace, signalling the blasts were likely interceptions. The US Al-Udeid Air Base is located just more than 30 kilometres from central Doha. In June, after the US bombed its nuclear facilities, Iran attempted to hit Al-Udeid in retaliation. Qatar has said it reserves the right to retaliate. 

• Bahrain: It appears there has been some damage in Bahrain. The country’s leadership said there were attacks inside its territory, noting the service center of the US Fifth Fleet had been subjected to a missile attack, according to Reuters.

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• Kuwait: There are several US military installments in Kuwait including the forward headquarters of US Army Central and the Ali Al Salem Air Base, roughly 40 kms from the Iraqi border. There is also a US camp in Kuwait that acts as a staging post for Army units deploying into Iraq and Syria. Kuwait was targeted by Iranian missiles, but its leadership said it dealt with all threats in its airspace, however it reserves the right to respond.

• Jordan: The country’s military said it had downed two ballistic missiles targeting its territory. In Jordan, the US has the Muwaffaq al Salti Air Base.

• Iraq: Reuters is reporting rocket attacks targeted a US military base in Iraqi Kurdistan. Erbil Air Base is situated in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq and serves as a hub for US and coalition forces.

We do know Iran is also sending missiles towards Israel in retaliation for Operation Lion’s Roar. The explosions being heard across Israel are likely intercepts by its Iron Dome defence system. 

Germany was informed in advance on Saturday morning about Israel’s military strikes on Iran, a government spokesperson said.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was the first foreign minister to be informed.

“He then began to inform his colleagues in the region and to coordinate and take further precautionary measures,” said the official.

The official said that Berlin was in close contact with its European partners about the situation.

Reporting with Reuters

Russia on Saturday urged an immediate halt to US and Israeli strikes on Iran, saying the situation must be “returned to the path of political and diplomatic settlement.”

The foreign ministry said the international community should swiftly deliver an objective assessment of what it called irresponsible actions that risk further destabilising the region.

Moscow added it remains ready, as before, to assist in efforts to find peaceful solutions based on international law, mutual respect and a balance of interests.

After years of tension between Israel and Iran the two countries descended into aerial combat in June 2025.

The US supported Israel by bombing three of Iran’s nuclear facilities.

To learn more on how that played out, click on the story below:

We’ve just got word that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will hold a meeting with the National Security Committee of Cabinet tomorrow morning following the US-Israel attacks on Iran.

The committee operates within the prime minister’s department to advise on foreign policy and defence strategy.

The meeting is expected to kick off at 8:30am AEDT on Sunday.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has thanked US President Donald Trump for the “historic and courageous” attack on Iran.

He said he fully supported the “bold, combined operation”, accusing Iran of wanting to become a nuclear-armed state.

This is something Iran has repeatedly denied.

“Let me be clear to all those who seek or threaten to harm us: The people of Israel are a strong nation. No-one can break our spirit,” Mr Herzog said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says it struck several facilities in its retaliation against the US and Israel.

The IRGC said in the first phase of retaliation, named Truthful Promise 4, Iran’s military struck the command of the US 5th Fleet in Bahrain as well as US bases in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, and military targets in Israel.

They added Iranian missiles and drone attacks were continuing and more information would be released later.

AP

Iran says Israeli-US air strikes have killed five students at a girls’ school — the first confirmed fatalities in Iran resulting from the operation.

The state-run IRNA news agency reported the girls were killed in a strike in Minab, in southern Iran.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has a base in the city.

Neither the US nor Israel has offered any details on the campaign so far.

Reporting with AP

London Gatwick Airport says some flights to and from the airport may experience delays or cancellations due to airspace restrictions in the Middle East.

“Due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, airspace restrictions have been introduced in parts of the region,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“This is a fast-moving situation, and we are expecting disruption to our Qatar and Emirates flights,” the spokesperson said, adding that none had been cancelled at the moment.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, says the developments in Iran are “greatly concerning”.

She said the European Commission would take “all necessary steps” to support European citizens in the region.

“We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint, to protect civilians, and to fully respect international law,” she said.

We are hearing that several explosions have been heard in Abu Dhabi, near the city’s main airport, Reuters witnesses say.

In a show of support for Iran, the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen have decided to resume missile and drone attacks on shipping routes and on Israel .

That’s according to two senior Houthi officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because there is no official announcement from the Houthi leadership.

One of the officials said the rebels’ first attack could come as soon as tonight.

The rebels ceased their attacks on the Red Sea shipping route as part of a deal with the Trump administration that also halted US strikes against the Houthis.

They also stopped their attacks against Israel after an October ceasefire that halted major fighting in Gaza.

AP

Earlier this week there were hopes of a de-escalation as officials from the US and Iran met in Geneva for talks mediated by Oman.

After hours of negotiation there was no sign of a breakthrough to avert possible US strikes, but on Thursday the two sides said they would meet again soon.

They had planned to resume negotiations after consultations in their countries’ capitals, with technical-level discussions scheduled to take place next week in Vienna, Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said in a social media post.

On Friday Albusaidi told CBS that a “peace deal is within our reach … if we just allow diplomacy the space it needs to get there.”

Ukraine’s foreign ministry blamed Iranian authorities for the escalation in Iran, adding that Kyiv stood with the Iranian people and repeating calls for a change of government there.

“The cause of the current events is precisely the violence and impunity of the Iranian regime, in particular the killings and repression of peaceful protesters, which have become particularly widespread in recent months,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Reporting with Reuters

We are learning more about the first wave of the attacks on Iran.

Israel and the US targeted Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian with their attacks, according to an Israeli military official who has spoken to Reuters. The official said the results were not immediately clear.

In another report on the Reuters news agency, a Western official said the first wave of attacks targeted Iranian “military and political targets”.

And we now have video looking out over Tehran that shows smoke rising over Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s compound, Beit Rahbari. Khamenei had reportedly been sheltering.

In the video, the women who are on the rooftop sound as if they’re laughing in celebration. The ABC has heard other reports of Iranians celebrating and we are working to confirm them. Watch (and listen) to the video below.

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Donald Trump is expected to address his nation again on Saturday morning, local time, AXIOS says.

It is unclear exactly what time we can expect the US president to speak. It is currently about 5am in Washington.

Israel’s national emergency medical service says paramedics have been sent to “several scenes”.

A Magen David Adom spokesperson said they were treating “a man approximately 50 years old in mild condition with blast injuries in northern Israel”.

“In addition, MDA teams are providing medical treatment to several individuals who were injured on their way to protected spaces, all fully conscious, as well as to people suffering from anxiety across the country,” the spokesperson said.

The steady flow of military assets moving towards Europe and the Middle East appears to be a warning that the US could be ready to attack Iran.

Read more here on the movement of some US military aircraft flying from North America to air bases in Europe and the Middle East from January 13 until February 10.

Reporting by Jonathan Hair, Mark Doman and Thomas Brettell.