Patricia Marins@pati_marins64
Australian Special Forces are not the only ones
The Australian press is reporting that around 90 members of the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), Australia’s main special forces unit, were quietly sent to the Middle East about two weeks ago.
It is believed the contingent is operating out of Al Minhad Air Base in the United Arab Emirates, on standby in case the war between the US/Israel and Iran escalates further.
The government of Anthony Albanese insists that the mission is purely defensive, focused on protecting the approximately 115,000 Australians still in the region. Nobody buys that 90 elite operators were sent just to protect 115,000 civilians.
And the story doesn’t stop there. In addition to the special forces, Australia also sent an E-7A Wedgetail surveillance aircraft and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles to the Emirates. When you start sending air-to-air missiles and an early-warning aircraft that shares data via Link 16 with American forces in the region, it becomes very hard to swallow the “purely defensive” narrative. This is an unofficial entry into the war, no matter how much they deny it.
But the Australians are not alone in this. The United Kingdom, despite denying any plans for a ground invasion of Iran, has increased its total contingent in the region to around 1,000 troops. Reports indicate that Royal Marines commandos are being used in several Gulf countries. It’s the same old pattern: official denial followed by discreet action.
This is nothing new. A 2023 report already showed that British special forces (SAS and SBS) have secretly operated in at least 19 countries over the past 12 years, including Syria (supporting rebels since 2012), Yemen, Libya, and even Ukraine.
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