Flights from Australia to Middle East cancelled – as it happened

We’ll wrap up our Australian news live blog here for today. The Guardian’s ongoing coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran continues here.

This is what made the news today:

• Both Labor and the Coalition have expressed support for the US-Israel military strikes in Iran, which killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

• The Greens described the attacks as an “illegal bombing campaign” and raised concerns that Australian facilities, such as Pine Gap, were used to aid the strikes.

• The Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, said Australia did not have prior notice of the strikes.

• The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Khamenei will “not be mourned” and that Australia is concerned about escalation in the Middle East, but supports the action. Albanese urged Australians to leave Gulf countries if they could.

• Dozens of flights from Australia were cancelled on Sunday, amid uncertainty about when airports in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha would reopen.

• Members of Australia’s Iranian diaspora have joined pro-democracy demonstrations in Canberra, Melbourne and elsewhere.

Iranian diaspora in Australia attend pro-democracy rallies

Members of the Iranian diaspora in Australia have joined a number of pro-democracy demonstrations, following news of the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A group has gathered outside the Iranian embassy in Canberra.

Guardian Australia reporter Catie McLeod captured the below footage of people celebrating and dancing on the steps of the Victorian parliament this afternoon, in front of a “Free Iran” banner. They were waving Iranian, American and Israeli flags.

‘Freeze, don’t squeeze’: experts on the safest way to remove ticks

Experts have warned people against squeezing ticks, or removing them with tweezers, following the New South Wales coroner’s finding that Central Coast teenager Jeremy Webb died of a meat allergy triggered by a tick bite.

Guardian Australia’s heath reporter Natasha May spoke to Prof Sheryl van Nunen, a clinical immunologist and allergist at the National Allergy Centre of Excellence, who says that after two or more tick bites, one in two people’s bodies will make the allergy antibody.

Therefore, preventing a tick bite from occurring is the most important strategy: “No tick bites, no problem,” Van Nunen says.

“You’re probably going to be able to negate the effect of the tick bite if you deal with the tick properly.

“Pulling it out with your fingers, taking it out with tweezers – get ready to have mammalian meat allergy or tick anaphylaxis – that’d be the same as putting on a black wetsuit, taking a surfboard and hopping in after the big rain when we had all the bull sharks,” she says.

The best advice is “freeze, don’t squeeze!”: killing the tick in situ with an ether-containing spray, then waiting for it to drop off or seeking medical attention for it to be removed.

Several airlines have now cancelled additional flights from Australia to the Middle East, including flights due to leave late on Sunday night.

Earlier, we reported that Emirates and Etihad had advised travellers that Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports – along with others in the Gulf – were closed pending until this evening.

Most Emirates flights due to leave Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane tonight are now listed as cancelled. One Melbourne flight remains scheduled, and travellers should check their flight status with the airline.

Virgin Australia has advised customers of several cancellations of Qatar Airways flights travelling via Doha.

Australia-based supporters of democracy in Iran will hold a rally at the Iranian embassy in Canberra this afternoon.

The Association to Defend Freedom and Human Rights in Iran – Australia say supporters will gather at 3pm AEDT to demand democratic reforms after the US-Israel backed strikes.

In a statement the group said: “This huge uprising made it very clear that the people want no more dictatorship – no Supreme Leader, no Shah – they want a secular democratic republic.”

One teen charged after Perth out-of-control gathering, police say

WA police have charged a 15-year-old boy after officers declared an out-of-control gathering in Perth on Saturday night.

Police said they were called to Wembley Downs, in north-western Perth, at about 8.15pm on Saturday after receiving multiple reports of antisocial behaviour at a residential party.

Police identified a group of 150 juveniles in the street, allegedly fighting, shouting and refusing to leave the area. A number of them were observed to be intoxicated and behaving in a disorderly manner, police said.

A 15-year-old male was arrested and charged with one count of assaulting a public officer. He is due to appear in the Perth children’s court on 6 March.

A second 15-year-old was arrested and later released with a formal caution.

Peak Jewish group ‘profoundly disturbed’ by reports of foiled terror plot to attack mosques and public buildings

Australia’s peak Jewish body says it is “profoundly disturbed” by reports of a foiled alleged terrorist attack targeting a number of public buildings and Islamic places of worship.

WA police on Friday charged a 20-year-old man with preparing a terrorist attack.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said it backed calls made by the WA premier for an end to “dog whistling” and the “language of division” in public discourse, regardless of the issue.

Daniel Aghion KC, president of the council, said

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry is profoundly disturbed by reports of a terror plot that included plans to attack a number of mosques in WA as well as the police.

As a community that has suffered a series of attacks over the past two and a half years, including arson and vandalism at our places of worship, and culminating in the horrors of 14 December 2025, we are keenly aware of how distressing and unsettling such threats can be.

It is for this reason that we have advocated so strenuously for legislation that protects not just Jewish Australians but all Australians from the hateful actions and hateful speech that have cost us so dearly since October 7, 2023.

Victoria police extend retail crime operation until the end of the year

Victoria police will extend a crime crackdown on Melbourne shopping centres until the end of the year.

Police arrested more than 450 people since Operation Pulse launched in December. A man who allegedly stole $2,000 worth of knives is among those arrested.

In a statement, Victoria police said almost 1,000 charges had been laid in the first nine weeks of the operation. Of these charges, almost half are for retail theft and drug offences.

Acting deputy commissioner Libby Murphy said:

We’ve also had a lot of positive feedback from both retailers and shoppers in relation to this operation, and they are regularly approaching our members to tell them they feel much safer and have noticed a considerable drop in crime.

‘She’s in the sky’: K’gari tragedy teen farewelled

Mourners from across the world have farewelled a teenager who died alone on an Australian beach surrounded by a pack of dingoes, AAP reports.

Close friends and family gathered in the Campbell River Baptist Church in the Canadian province of British Columbia to remember Piper James, the 19-year-old backpacker whose life was cut short on the Queensland island K’gari on 19 January.

Her Australian friends joined the service in spirit, watching online on Sunday morning to farewell the brave teenager who ran toward danger, who loved deeply and was filled with joy.

James and her best friend, Taylor Stricker, were on the trip of a lifetime when World Heritage-listed K’gari captured their hearts.

The pair landed a job on the island working at a hostel before James took a dawn walk on the beach from which she never returned.

Iranian government is ‘murderous regime’: Executive Council of Australian Jewry

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry says it welcomes military strikes in Iran, while “regretting the necessity for military action and the risks it poses to the people of Israel and Iran”.

In a statement, the peak body for Australia’s Jewish community says such action was “unavoidable and inevitable”.

President Daniel Aghion said the Iranian government was “a murderous regime”.

”It has attacked synagogues and Jewish targets in Australia and around the world. It funds terrorist groups Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis. It massacres its own civilians.

“Western nations, led by Israel and the US, must curtail the nuclear aspirations of the Iranian government, disrupt its international terrorism network, and protect the Iranian people from their own leadership.

“At this time, our thoughts are with the people of Israel and Iran.”