Iran’s ambassador insists he loves Australia, despite his imminent expulsion from the country, as the prime minister defends his security advice.
Iranian ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi was seen out the front of the embassy on Thursday, waving to journalists before his looming exit.
Mr Sadeghi was the first ambassador to be expelled from Australia since World War II, after national spy agency ASIO said it had credible evidence the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corp had orchestrated at least two attacks on Jewish institutions in Sydney and Melbourne through criminals.
“I love Australian people, bye bye,” he told reporters on Thursday in his first public comments since the expulsion was announced.
But when asked if he thought the decision by the Australian government was wrong, he replied “no comment”.
His words coincided with Anthony Albanese defending the decision for him to go.
Laws are also being drafted to list the Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
But Mr Albanese came under fire from the opposition in parliament for not listing the organisation as a terror group two years ago after advice from the Department of Home Affairs.
“There were calls to list the IRGC back when I was the chair of the intelligence Committee (while in opposition), which was from 2017 through to late 2020,” he told parliament.
“The government makes the decision to amend the criminal code and then list a terrorist organisation.
“For whatever reason, the coalition government did not want to (list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation). In fact, we had briefs as to the reason why, which I can’t discuss here.”
Following the expulsion of the ambassador, community leaders have said Australians of Iranian heritage face verbal abuse and intimidation.
The local diaspora had been asking for the ambassador’s expulsion since 2022, following the regime’s crackdown on the women’s rights movement, Australian Iranian Society of Victoria vice president Kambiz Razmara said.
He said there had been reports Australia’s Iranian community was being conflated with the actions of Iranian authorities.
“It is important for people to recognise that we, the Iranian diaspora, are opposed to what happens in Iran,” Mr Razmara said.
“The Iranian diaspora, by and large, are here because they’re seeking freedom and social cohesion and freedom of expression and democracy, so anything that tarnishes that we are resolutely against.”
The government had taken the right step after Iran’s “insidious, underhanded” work in destabilising Australian society, said David Andrews from the National Security College at the Australian National University.
On Australia’s relationship with Iran, Mr Andrews said Canberra had in the past been able to conduct diplomacy on behalf of its friends and allies who did not have a mission in Tehran.
“(The expulsion) potentially puts that role at some risk,” he said.
Australia should expect some retaliation.
“The risk of people being used as political pawns, or people who have either dual citizenship or Australians passing through Iran, could be used as a point of leverage or sort of in response to this action,” Mr Andrews said.
“There’s no one who will be rushing to try and repair those ties too actively.”
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