Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you to Senator Ciccone for his question, and I thank him for his advocacy on behalf of the Australian Iranian community, particularly in his state of Victoria.

Australia stands with the brave people of Iran, and we, along with the international community, have long called for the regime to uphold the human rights and fundamental freedoms of its citizens. Instead, the regime initiated a brutal crackdown, killing thousands of its own citizens. Australians will also recall Iran directed at least two appalling attacks targeting Australia's Jewish community on our soil in 2024. In response, Australia took the unprecedented step of expelling Iran's ambassador and suspending operations at our embassy in Tehran and listing the IRGC as a state sponsor of terrorism. This government, the Albanese government, has taken stronger action on Iran than any previous Australian government has, with sanctions on more than 200 Iranian linked individuals, including more than 100 linked to the IRGC.

Australia and the international community have been clear that the Iranian regime cannot ever be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon. Australia supports the actions taken by the US and Israel to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran from continuing to threaten international peace and security. Now we do not want to see further escalation. We join the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in condemning Iran's indiscriminate and reckless missile and drone attacks. Like others, we call on Iran to cease these attacks.

We also continue to urge all parties to uphold international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and ultimately to resume dialogue and diplomacy. We are clear the Iranian people must be allowed to determine their future.