SYDNEY, March 10 (Reuters) - Australia will deploy a military surveillance aircraft to the Middle East and send missiles to the United Arab Emirates but will not put troops on the ground in Iran, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday.
Australia's military support would help the Gulf countries defend themselves against unprovoked attacks from Iran, Albanese said, stressing Australia was "not a protagonist".
"Our involvement is purely defensive," Albanese told reporters. "And it's in defence of Australians who are in the region as well as in defence of our friends in the United Arab Emirates."
Albanese said Australia would deploy one of its Boeing-manufactured E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control system aircraft for an initial four weeks to protect the airspace above the Gulf countries.
Advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles would be provided to the United Arab Emirates, following a phone call with President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, he added.
The war has effectively shut the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas, as the conflict escalated.
Around 115,000 Australians were in the Middle East when the conflict began 11 days ago and 2,600 Australians have now returned home by commercial flights as several Gulf cities came under Iranian bombardment.
(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Mark Porter and Stephen Coates)
