An Iranian projectile hit near Australia’s headquarters at the Al Minhad airbase in the United Arab Emirates, damaging an accommodation block and a medical facility.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, confirmed that no Australian personnel were injured in the strike at 9.15am AEDT on Wednesday morning.

Albanese could not confirm if Iran directly targeted the Al Minhad base while maintaining Australia was not at war.

“The Iranian regime is engaging in random attacks right across the region. We know that is the case,” the prime minister said.

The federal government last week announced it would send a specialist surveillance aircraft and stocks of air-to-air missiles to the UAE to protect Australians in the Gulf state, which has been targeted by Tehran in retaliation for the US and Israel’s bombings of Iran.

Australia has maintained a smaller force at Al Minhad airbase since the end of operations in Afghanistan. Defence last year said there were about 50 core ADF staff and a total of 70 to 80 Australians at the base at any time.

The same base was hit in a drone strike earlier in the conflict.

Albanese said the projectile struck a road that leads to the base, sparking a fire that damaged the accommodation block and medical facility.

Asked directly if Australia was now at war, Albanese said “no” and refused to elaborate.

Albanese confirmed the latest strikes as he declined to criticise Donald Trump after the president claimed the US never needed help from allies – including Australia – to fight the war in Iran.

In contrast, the Liberal frontbencher and former soldier, Andrew Hastie, said Trump’s outburst was “petulant” and “not how you treat allies” in a rare direct rebuke of the president from a member of either of the major parties.

The US president had been demanding US allies send warships to help unblock the strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed in retaliation against the US and Israel’s strikes that triggered the latest Middle East conflict.

The closure has caused the largest oil supply disruption in history, sending commodity prices soaring around the world.

In a post to social media, Trump said most Nato “allies” had informed the US it would not provide direct assistance.

The president went on to claim that because the US has had such “military success” in Iran it would “no longer ‘need’, or desire, the NATO countries’ assistance – WE NEVER DID’.

“Likewise, Japan, Australia, or South Korea,” he posted to his Truth Social social media platform.

“In fact, speaking as President of the United States of America, by far the Most Powerful Country Anywhere in the World, WE DO NOT NEED THE HELP OF ANYONE!”

The Australian government on Tuesday confirmed it would not send warships to the strait of Hormuz and had not received a request to do so.

Appearing on ABC’s RN Breakfast on Wednesday morning, Hastie was asked for his reaction to Trump’s post.

“I thought it was a petulant post from a president under immense pressure,” he said.

“One of the key parts of a relationship is reciprocity – we’ve been a longstanding ally of the United States, we’ve met our obligations with that alliance framework, we’ve got a proud history – and I just don’t think that’s how you treat allies. I think it’s a reflection on his character more than us.”

Hastie supported the US and Israel’s initial strikes on Iran and believes the federal government’s decision to help defend the United Arab Emirates was in the national interest.

But as a veteran of the Afghanistan conflict, the former Special Air Service soldier is sceptical about attempts to engineer regime change in other countries.

It is the second time Hastie has publicly criticised Trump after he strongly rejected the presidents claim that allied soldiers “stayed a little back” from the frontlines in Afghanistan. Trump later walked back the comments.

Albanese declined to weigh into Trump or Hastie’s comments when asked on Wednesday.

“Andrew Hastie can speak for himself. What I do is engage diplomatically with leaders right across the world,” he said.

Hastie noted the US had not consulted Australia before launching the attacks, although he was confident the alliance would withstand the shock of the Trump administration.

“This is a president who is very unique in American history – in global history – and he’s coming up to two years this November in the role. It’s his second and final term, and I’m sure the relationship will continue regardless of who sits in the Oval Office,” he said.

The former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, a longtime Trump critic, said the president’s latest remarks showed he “doesn’t respect” his allies.

“It really just underlines … the importance of Australia being more independent, exercising our own sovereignty and recognising that the course we have been undertaking, really since the Morrison government, of becoming more and more dependent on the United States, is absolutely the wrong course, because we are making ourselves more dependent on the US at a time when the US is less dependable,” Turnbull said.

In a separate interview on ABC’s RN Breakfast, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, brushed off Trump’s comments as he reiterated that Australia had not received a formal request for naval assistance.