Iran ambassador called in after ‘hateful’ comments
Comments calling for Israel to be wiped out have been denounced by Anthony Albanese, who confirmed Iran’s ambassador to Australia had been summoned.
Ahmad Sadeghi Pic: X
Iran’s ambassador to Australia has received a diplomatic rebuke after making “abhorrent” comments on social media about Israel, Anthony Albanese has confirmed.
Ahmad Sadeghi used social media to call for a “wiping out” of Israelis in Palestine by 2027, while also referring to Israelis as a “Zionist plague”.
The prime minister has condemned the comments and confirmed Mr Sadeghi had been called in to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“There’s no place for the sort of comments that were made … by the Iranian ambassador,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.
“They’re abhorrent, they are hateful, they are anti-Semitic and they have no place.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong echoed the sentiment, saying the remarks were inconsistent with national values.
“Those comments are inflammatory and they’re repugnant, and they do not represent Australia,” she said.
But opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson called for the government to take further action and consider declaring Mr Sadeghi as a “persona non grata”, which means he could be recalled to Iran.
“If he wasn’t an ambassador, it’s highly likely (the comments) would fall afoul of Australia’s anti-incitement and racial vilification laws,” he told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
“If he is wantonly breaking the law like that and inciting violence against the community … it is incumbent on the government to take action.”
Tensions have grown in the Middle East following the death of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
Iran has vowed retaliation against Israel following the incident, prompting warnings of the violence in Gaza spreading to nearby nations.
Australians in Lebanon have been urged to leave the country as soon as possible.
“These are dangerous times,” Mr Albanese said.
On October 7, Hamas – designated a terrorist group by the Australian government – attacked Israel, killing 1200 people and taking more than 200 hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
In the months since, Israel has unleashed a bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza that has killed almost 40,000 Palestinians, according to the local health ministry.
Almost 90 per cent of Gaza’s population, about 1.9 million people, have been displaced while 495,000 are facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has questioned whether Australia should continue sending funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), one of the main distributors of aid in Gaza.
UNRWA revealed nine staff members had been fired over potential involvement in the October 7 attack, though they did not provide details about what the individuals had done.
Australia froze funding for the organisation in January following the allegations but resumed its support in March after receiving advice UNRWA was not a terrorist organisation.
Mr Dutton said the new developments were a “breach of faith” and remained firm in his support of Israel.
“People are rightly angry because we’re talking about taxpayers dollars here,” he told Sky News.
“This is a test for our country to stand up for our values, it’s a test for the West.
“When we see an ally under attack, like we saw in the case of 9/11 or like we saw on the seventh of October in Israel, it’s our obligation to stand with somebody of shared values.”
But the prime minister welcomed the United Nations’ move as it would help secure the organisation’s integrity.
“It is a good thing that the United Nations have taken this action,” he said.
Senator James Paterson told Sky News’ Kieran Gilbert: “This is incredibly extreme, inflammatory and irresponsible rhetoric from a foreign ambassador. There are powers available to the Minister for Foreign Affairs to make an Ambassador persona non grata and send them home. And it’s up to the government and the Foreign Minister to explain if she’s not going to use those powers, if she’s not going to do so, why isn’t she?
Independent MP for Wentworth Allegra Spender told J-Wire: “The hateful comments of the Iranian Ambassador are abhorrent. The Iranian state oppresses its own people, and sponsors terror. Australians won’t tolerate ambassadors who hide behind diplomatic immunity to spread antisemitic calls for the destruction of Israel.”
From: Kat Wong and Andrew Brown/AAP with J-Wire
