Many embassies in Tehran have reportedly shut down operations citing a rapidly deteriorating security situation as Israel launched renewed airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, escalating a week-old aerial conflict with no clear resolution in sight. The countries that have suspended operations are Australia, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Bulgaria, Ghana, Portugal and Switzerland among others.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed the embassy's closure during a press conference on Friday, announcing that Australian defence personnel and aircraft are being deployed to the Middle East as part of contingency planning. Their mission, she stressed, would be limited to evacuation assistance and not combat.

“We are facing a very volatile security situation in Iran,” Wong told reporters. “We do not have to cast our minds back too far in history to understand the risk to foreign officials in Iran during periods of unrest.”

The embassy closure comes amid intensifying hostilities, with Israel saying its strikes are a pre-emptive measure to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons -- a claim Iran denies. In response, Tehran has launched a series of retaliatory airstrikes against Israeli targets, fuelling fears of a wider regional war.

According to official figures, around 2,000 Australians and their families in Iran have requested government help to evacuate.

The White House said on Thursday that President Donald Trump is expected to decide within two weeks whether the United States will intervene directly in the conflict between Israel and Iran.