By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) - Australia indicated its support Monday for the US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities but repeated calls for de-escalation to avoid a wider war, saying "now is the time for diplomacy,” a local media report said.
“The world has agreed Iran cannot be allowed to get a nuclear weapon, so yes, we support action to prevent that, and that is what this is," Foreign Minister Penny Wong told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
But “now is the time for diplomacy. Now is the time for de-escalation, and that call is to all parties," Wong said after Australia initially declined to explicitly support the US action.
Canberra's clear support for the strikes goes a step further than allies, including the UK, Canada and New Zealand, although all three countries have emphasized the risk of Iran developing a nuclear arsenal.
Wong said Australia did not receive any request from the US for assistance in the strikes.
She stressed that the US action was "unilateral" when asked whether Pine Gap, a shared military facility, had been engaged.
Declining to speculate on the response to any such request, she said Australia was "deeply concerned" about the prospect of escalation.
"The key question for the international community is what happens next…It's obviously a very precarious, risky and dangerous moment the world faces," she said.
The opposition Greens party has opposed the strikes, with defense spokesperson David Shoebridge calling US President Donald Trump a "warmonger" and demanding Australia clarify it will not get involved.
"You cannot bomb your way to peace…and the people who are always going to pay the price are the ordinary people on the street," he said.
*Writing by Aamir Latif