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".

By Kanishka Singh

March 9 (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Monday about avoiding a wider conflict in the Middle East, Carney's office said.

Here are some details:

• They "underscored the importance of intensifying diplomatic engagement to avoid a wider conflict with global consequences," Carney's office said in a statement.

• The statement said the leaders condemned Iranian missile and drone attacks on Qatar and Carney expressed Canada's solidarity with Qatar.

Ten days after attacking Iran together, the United States and Israel have seen a public divergence, with President Donald Trump facing political pressure and not sharing Israel's long-term goals.

The allies face a stark divide in how their publics view the war, with historically low support by Americans for an offensive enthusiastically backed by most Israelis.

Argentine President Javier Milei, a staunch ally of US President Donald Trump and Israel, on Monday hailed the benefits of the Iran war for his country's exports and foreign currency reserves.

The libertarian Milei, who has backed Washington and Israel's strikes on Iran, said he expected an "improvement" in oil and agricultural exports as a result of the 10-day-old conflict.

MOSCOW, March 9 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a telephone conversation on Monday with U.S. President Donald Trump, put forward proposals for a quick settlement of the conflict around Iran, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said.

Ushakov, giving an account of the conversation to reporters, said the two leaders also discussed the conflict in Ukraine and noted that Russian gains should prompt Kyiv's negotiators to move towards a settlement.

SYDNEY, March 10 (Reuters) - Australia on Tuesday agreed to provide visas to five Iranian women's soccer players to stay in the country, after U.S. President Donald Trump urged Canberra not to send them back to Tehran due to concerns over their safety.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told reporters the other members of the team were welcome to stay back in Australia. The team is in Australia for the Asian Cup tournament.

British warplanes have begun "defensive air sorties" in support of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and taken out drones elsewhere in the Middle East amid the ongoing war, the UK defence ministry said Monday.

The development came as Britain's response to the conflict was under criticism, including from the US president and the Cypriot government.

More US B-52 bombers landed at the UK air force base in Fairford, in southwestern England, on Monday, AFP witnessed, after a first one landed on Friday.

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump thinks the war against Iran "is very complete" and that Washington was "very far ahead" of his initial four to five week estimated time frame, according to a CBS News interview with him.

"I think the war is very complete, pretty much. They have no navy, no communications, they’ve got no Air Force," Trump told CBS News.

When asked about the Straitof Hormuz, Trump said that ships are moving through now, but he is "thinking about taking it over."

US President Donald Trump on Monday pushed the idea of the Iran war ending soon, but remained vague on a timeline for ending the attacks that have rocked the Middle East and shaken the global economy.

Markets jumped when Trump suggested to CBS News that the US-Israeli assault was "very complete," but during a later speech and press conference he offered shifting accounts of what to expect.

"I think soon. Very soon," Trump told reporters at his Doral National golf club near Miami, Florida, when asked if he thought the war could end in days or weeks.

US President Donald Trump is under pressure to curb oil prices sent skyrocketing by the war with Iran, but has only limited tools to fix a problem that is shaking the world economy and is politically toxic at home.

Trump has insisted it will be only a "short-term" issue that will end when the war ends, yet soaring gas prices are already hitting voters ahead of US midterm elections later this year in which the economy will be crucial.