Key Points
- Iranian-Australian activists met Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil on Wednesday.
- The meeting came just a day after an Iranian spy operation in Australia was revealed.
- Activists are calling for further sanctions on Iranian officials.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil has promised not to “sit back” as diaspora communities become foreign interference targets, a day after revealing an extraordinary spy operation run by Iran's government in Australia.
Ms O’Neil met with Iranian-Australian activists at Parliament House on Wednesday, after taking the unusual step of.
The , allegedly at the hands of Iran’s religious police in September, triggered mass protests across the country, prompting a brutal crackdown by government forces.
And Ms O’Neil revealed that the crackdown had tentacles that had reached Australia, where she said anti-regime protests had been infiltrated by Iranian spies.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil revealed an extraordinary spy operation launched by Iran. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
“We’re not going to stand back and have Australians or indeed visitors to our country, watched and tracked by foreign governments on our soil. This is Australia, this is our democracy, and if you engage in activities like this, you will be discovered,” she said.
“That’s why I’ve been fully supportive of the work ASIO and my department is doing to come out of the shadows to raise awareness of this issue and engage deeper with communities, as well as championing work like the Universities Foreign Interference Task Force.”
'I feel that we've been taken more seriously'
Speaking to SBS News after the meeting, Iranian Women's Association spokeswomen Nos Hosseini said the ministers encouraged activists to come forward and report instances of harassment.
She said had rarely received invitations to engage with ministers directly despite decades of advocacy.
“I do feel that we've been taken more seriously,” she said.
“It speaks bounds about this government's willingness to connect with the community, and to open up that direct channel of communication and hear directly from members of the community about their concerns.”
Ms O’Neil said the foreign agent's target had been extensively researched and their home broken into.
And Ms Hosseini stressed the threat went further, with relatives in Iran interrogated about their Australian-based family members, and been urged to pressure them into silence.
“Their relatives have paid the price for the activism that they're conducting here in Australia ... [But] what this revolution shows is that people are no longer afraid, and people are very courageously speaking out,” she said.
“They're fighting back with their bare hands. They're unarmed. They're peacefully protesting against the regime. Meanwhile, in Australia, we're very encouraged and inspired by their acts of bravery.”
The federal government in February placed , which are able to be targeted at individual foreign government officials, on 16 Iranian officials .
But Ms Hosseini said she urged Labor to go further, including imposing sanctions on 227 Iranian members of parliament who called for pro-democracy protesters to face the death penalty.
The sanctions list should target Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), she said.
"[It] should also be expanded to include any benefactors or direct family members of people that are going to end up on the sanctions list, so that they can't benefit financially," she said.
"Given the covert way, the Iranian regime's agents have been working here in Australia, they've really infiltrated the community here."
Iranian embassy rejects allegations
After the meeting, Ms O'Neil revealed the group discussed “the unacceptable intimidation and harassment” they had faced since the protests erupted.
“We’re not going to stand back and have Australians or indeed visitors to our country, watched and tracked by foreign governments on our soil. This is Australia, this is our democracy, and if you engage in activities like this, you will be discovered,” she said.
“That’s why I’ve been fully supportive of the work ASIO and my department is doing to come out of the shadows to raise awareness of this issue and engage deeper with communities, as well as championing work like the Universities Foreign Interference Task Force.”
In a statement reported by the Guardian, the Iranian embassy strongly rejected Ms O’Neil allegations and claimed Tehran was committed to the “fundamental principle” of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries.
“Regrettably, these accusations, which have been made without providing evidence, show the effect of the baseless claims of some foreign countries regarding Iran’s interference in other countries,” the statement said.
“Making such claims without the least consultation is not a sign of honesty and goodwill. Accusing without examining the valid answer is against the axioms of law, logic and good faith.”
‘Countless stories’
Liberal senator Claire Chandler, who chaired a parliamentary committee investigating human rights abuses in Iran, said it had heard "countless stories" from Iranian-Australians who felt intimidated by the regime.
She backed calls for broader Magnitsky-style sanctions and for the listing of the IRGC.
"Has the individual that she's spoken about been charged with various offences?," she asked SBS News on Tuesday.
"What more is the government generally, and the home affairs minister specifically, going to do to ensure that these instances of foreign interference are being reported more publicly?"
SBS News has contacted the Iranian embassy for comment.
