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Posted: 2024-10-07 04:00:20

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) says it "makes no apology" for Australia's comments on Iran's "reckless" missile strikes on Israel, after the Australian ambassador was summoned for a meeting with the Iranian government. 

Iranian news agency Tasnim on Monday, local time, reported that ambassador Ian McConville was called in by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs over what it described as the "unjustified and biased positions of the Australian government".

In response, a DFAT spokesperson said in a statement that "Australia makes no apology for the views it has expressed about Iran's actions or the actions of its Ambassador to Australia". 

The spokesperson also condemned Iran's strikes on Israel, describing them as "reckless" and "a dangerous escalation" that "increased the risks of a wider regional war".

It is the second time in just over a month Mr McConville has been summoned by the Iranian government.

In September the ambassador was called in over an Instagram post on the embassy's official page marking "Wear It Purple Day", which celebrates LGBTQ+ young people.

The meeting came just days after Iran's ambassador to Australia, Ahmad Sadeghi, was called into DFAT over comments praising Hezbollah's assassinated leader.

Mr Sadeghi described Hassan Nasrallah, the former Hezbollah leader, as a martyr and an "unparalleled leader" in a post on social media.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the post but resisted Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's calls for the ambassador to be kicked out of the country.

Mr Dutton argued that Mr Sadeghi's statements were "completely and utterly at odds with what is in our country's best interests" and urged the government to expel him from Australia. 

The Iranian ambassador.

The Coalition has called for Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi to be expelled over a social media post praising slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. (X/@ahmad87051)

The prime minister said Australia had maintained a continuous relationship with Iran since 1986 "not because we agree with the regime but because it is in Australia's national interest". 

"It has never been an endorsement of the regime, but a channel to protect Australia's interests and to communicate our views and the views of our allies, like-minded countries," he said. 

The Iranian ambassador was also called into the foreign department in August, that time for a tweet that called for removing Israelis from the "holy lands of Palestine ... no later than 2027".

At the time, Mr Albanese described the ambassador's remarks as "abhorrent".

Earlier this month Iran fired hundreds of ballistic missiles towards Israel, following the killing of members of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guard, and senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders. 

On Monday, a DFAT spokesperson said the government "continues to call on all parties to exercise restraint and de-escalate".

"The destructive cycle of violence in the region must stop," they said. 

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