Sally Sara, Host: Iran's Ambassador has less than a week to leave Australia following the Federal government's decision to expel him and several other members of his delegation. The decision comes after ASIO announced that Iran had orchestrated at least two antisemitic attacks on Australian soil at Melbourne's Adass Israel Synagogue in December and at Sydney's Lewis Continental Kitchen last October.
Audio of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil. They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community.
Sara: That's the Prime Minister speaking yesterday. The Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong joins me in the studio. Welcome back to Breakfast.
Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Good to be with you. I haven't been in the studio with you before.
Sara: Not for a while, not for a while. Why do you think that Iran is playing out its proxy war with Israel here in Australia? What's going on?
Foreign Minister: Well, the information we had was an ASIO assessment after a long investigation and cooperation with authorities in relation to the antisemitic attacks that we saw. And as you said in your introduction, the information from ASIO is that the Iranian regime and in particular the Revolutionary Guard, were involved in organising and orchestrating the Adass Israel Synagogue attack and the attack on the Lewis Continental Kitchen. The judgement the government made was this crossed a line. This is a violent attack on Australian soil against Australians. It cannot be countenanced. It's unacceptable. And that's why we have taken unprecedented action. This is the first expulsion of an ambassador in the post-war period.
Sara: Have you received any response from the Iranian Ambassador or anyone else from the embassy at this stage?
Foreign Minister: Look, we have obviously seen what the Foreign Minister of Iran has said. We reject it. We have faith in the assessment that has been provided to us and that's why we've taken the unprecedented action. You know, we know we have diplomatic relationships with countries where we have disagreements. We know that we do that because we need channels to prosecute Australians' interests and to look after, where we can, Australians who are overseas. But to have a foreign country engage in these sorts of violent activities or orchestrate them in our country is unacceptable. And that's why we've acted.
Sara: Are you concerned about any potential retaliatory action from Iran?
Foreign Minister: Obviously the Iranian regime is an unpredictable regime. A regime which we have seen is capable of aggression and violence. We took steps before this was made public to remove all Australian personnel from the Department of Foreign Affairs in Tehran. And we did so because our first priority is to keep our people safe.
Sara: How many Australians are currently in Iran and does this decision by the Federal government to expel the ambassador, does it put them in danger, in your view? Are you concerned for their safety?
Foreign Minister: Iran has been do not travel in terms of our travel advice for some time. Obviously, this makes the situation even more difficult, in part because there are no Australian personnel left to assist Australians in Iran. My message has been clear and consistent – do not travel to Iran, and if you are in Iran, please come home.
Sara: The suspension of operations of the embassy and the diplomats in Tehran makes it difficult for Australians and families of Australians to get out and to get support. What was that decision like for you, weighing up removing the embassy staff but also knowing there are other Australians there?
Foreign Minister: Well, this is also always the dilemma, and you know, when you have - there's always political calls for ending diplomatic relationships, but there are consequences on the ground for Australians as well as a consequence for your capacity to put your views and assert Australia's position, even to people and to regimes that you don't agree with. But the judgement we made was this was so beyond anything that an Australian government could accept. I mean, you have a foreign country organising violent acts on our soil. We took this decision because it is unacceptable.
Sara: What's your message to the Iranian regime about ensuring the safety of Australians who may still be in Iran?
Foreign Minister: My message is we want our people safe. And, you know, we know that there are Australian Iranians there, just as there's an Iranian Australian community here. There are those people-to-people links historically. We want our people safe, just as, you know, we respect those who are here.
Sara: The other decision that the Federal government has made, in addition to the expulsion of the Iranian diplomats, is to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation. You'll change legislation to be able to do that, undertake that designation. The Opposition has been calling for this for quite a while. Let's have a listen to your shadow counterpart, Michaelia Cash, on Channel 7 this morning.
Audio of Michaelia Cash Penny Wong, Mark Dreyfus, Claire O'Neil, you were warned. The Coalition, the Iranian community here in Australia told you this is the letter. You said no. You have some serious explaining to do today.
Sara: Why didn't the Federal Government list the Revolutionary Guard earlier as a terrorist organisation?
Foreign Minister: Well, first I'd say about Senator Cash is that her first response appears always to get very angry and point the finger. I recall her suggesting that these attacks were as a consequence of us changing our position at the United Nations in relation to a ceasefire and the observance of international law. I would make this point, the IRGC has been sanctioned by Australia for many years. We took stronger action against the IRGC than she ever took when she was part of the Coalition government for nine years, including as Attorney General. She did not put a single new sanction on the IRGC. They stood by while Iran was elected to the UN body dealing with discrimination against women. We put some 200 sanctions on Iran and the IRGC. We took action at the UN. We took much more decisive action in relation to the IRGC than the Coalition ever did. Why we are shifting to list them now is because the action that has been taken on Australian soil is unacceptable and we will amend the legislation to list them as a terrorist organisation.
Sara: The Foreign Minister of Iran says Australia is doing this to appease Israel. What's your response to that?
Foreign Minister: We act in Australia's interests.
Sara: On a separate front, in Gaza earlier this week, Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza have left around 20 people dead, including five journalists. There were two strikes. What's your response to this latest attack and what questions do you have for Israel?
Foreign Minister: Well, we condemn this attack. It is horrific. And in a war where we've seen so many, so much horrific footage, we've seen so much horrific loss of life, this is particularly egregious. Hospitals are protected under international law.
Sara: Senator Penny Wong, thank you for joining me this morning.
Foreign Minister: Thank you.
Sara: That's the Foreign Affairs Minister, Senator Penny Wong, joining me this morning.