Iranian officials will not be deported from Australia despite ‘threatening and intimidating’ expats here – as government slammed for kid gloves treatment of Islamist regime

The federal government has not committed to deporting Iranian officials linked to the harassment of ex-patriots who have moved to Australia, despite the ongoing security threat.

Terrified Iranian-Australians have taken ‘great personal risks’ to share experiences of being threatened and harassed on their own soil for criticizing the authoritarian Islamic regime in Tehran.

The government has accepted two recommendations from a Senate inquiry into the human rights implications of violence in Iran: ensuring an appropriate level of expertise and resources to assess threats against Australians, and deterring hostage diplomacy situations.

“Australia firmly opposes the practice of arbitrary detention, arrest and conviction wherever it occurs, including in Iran,” a government statement said.

‘Iran travel advice advises Australians not to travel to Iran and highlights the increased risk of arbitrary detention or arrest.’

Seven of the Senate’s investigative recommendations have been noted, while two have been rejected.

Inquiry chair and shadow assistant foreign secretary Claire Chandler said: ‘Incredibly, among the recommendations not accepted by the Albanian government are that all Iranian officials in Australia deemed to be involved in intimidation, threats or monitoring of Australians , are turned off.

“This is despite the fact that the government recognizes that Australians are threatened and harassed on Australian soil.”

Iranian-Australians are also expressing disappointment at the government’s response. The feeling among some activists is that their focus should remain on the upcoming protests denouncing violence in Iran before returning to the administration’s announcement next week.

Daily Mail Australia previously spoke to Tina Kordrostrami, who shared her harrowing experience of being followed through the streets of Sydney and threatened by a man she believed worked for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Others, fearful of backlash, shared their experiences anonymously. Senator Chandler and her research also spoke to hundreds of terrified Iranian-Australians.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four individuals and three entities with clear links to the oppression of women and girls in Iran.

The sanctions extend to Press TV, a state-backed channel that “broadcasts the coerced confessions of Iranians and dual nationals in detention.”

Iran’s cyber police are also facing sanctions for “restricting internet activity in Iran.”

Among the four sanctioned individuals is Saeed Montazer Al-Mahdi, the spokesman for Iran’s law enforcement forces.

Mr. Al-Mahdi recently announced the return of the moral police’s hijab patrols in Iran.

Minister Wong said he has “repeatedly made intimidating and threatening statements against Iranian women and girls for allegedly violating Iran’s laws on mandatory headscarves.”

Announcing these sanctions in the Senate, Ms Wong revealed that she had met Iranian-Australians who shared their own terror experiences with the IRGC.

“Their stories are difficult for anyone with compassion to hear,” she said.

Labor firmly ruled out declaring the IRGC a terrorist organization, despite the Senate report recommending it and calling for it among the local Iranian community.

The government argues that the IRGC “is not the type of entity covered by the provision on terrorist organizations in the Criminal Code” because it is an “organ of a nation-state.”

As a result, the government has determined that it is not possible to designate the organization a terrorist organization and has instead “focused on taking meaningful steps to put pressure” on the group.

Senator Chandler expressed his disappointment with the government’s handling of the crisis.

She said: “While we appreciate the additional sanctions announced by the administration today, they do not go far enough when the Secretary of State acknowledges that ‘women and girls in Iran continue to face systematic persecution.’

“Many Iranian-Australians have taken great personal risk by speaking out, protesting and urging the government to take stronger action. Iranian-Australian community groups have written to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister several times throughout the year.”

Ms Chandler said in a joint statement with Senator Simon Birmingham that the outcome would be “devastating for many in the Iranian-Australian community who have worked so hard to try to push this Albanian Labor Government to take stronger action and end the regime.” to hold accountable. ‘.

‘This response comes not only in the week of the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, but at a time when the IRI regime is increasing its influence in the region, exporting terror around the world and gaining power and financial advantage from it’s a terrible tactic.’

Ms Wong said the Government strongly supported the “overarching principle” of Ms Chandler’s research findings, namely that it is imperative to hold the Iranian regime to account for human rights abuses.

But the government did not accept the findings that Australia was ‘lagging’ other countries in responding to these abuses.

She said: “The Australian government has been consistent, proactive and assertive in holding the Iranian regime to account for its gross human rights abuses.

“The Australian government has taken steps to limit Australia’s involvement with Iran where it is in our interests to do so.”

She referred to advice she gave in April 2023 to state and territory governments, as well as Australia’s peak bodies and universities, urging them to “suspend any existing cooperation with Iranian entities and avoid new initiatives”.

“The Albanian government has taken stronger action against Iran on human rights than any previous Australian government,” she said.

In addition to recommending that the IRGC be declared a terrorist organization, the government has not accepted a recommendation to “follow up, record (and) assess all reports of threats, intimidation, monitoring or surveillance by the Iranian community in Australia.”

The government said: “ASIO and AFP personnel operate under their own legislative powers and mechanisms for reporting results to government. All reports of foreign interference and espionage are currently being considered, reviewed and assessed for investigation.

“Threats to public safety, threats to family members, forced repatriations and other serious threats are considered a high priority for the response.”

The government has noted requests to oppose the election of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a member of a United Nations body, as well as calls to “increase transparency and better inform the public” about the status of the diplomatic Australia’s relations with Iran.