Australia Slaps Sanctions On Iran Over Protest Crackdown, Drone Supply To Russia

Australia has imposed sanctions on Iranian law enforcement and military officials and entities linked to the suppression of protests and the export of military drones to Russia, amid increased parliamentary pressure on the Australian government to take a tougher stand against the “rogue” state.

The Australian government said late on January 31 that travel bans and asset freezes will apply to 16 people and one entity linked to “serious abuses of human rights in Iran,” including army commander Sayyed Abdolrahim Mousavi and senior figures in the paramilitary Basij militia.

The listings “cover serious violations or serious abuses of the right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” the government said in an explanatory note.

“These relate to the oppression of women in enforcing the Islamic dress code and violent suppression of peaceful protests in Iran.”

The Australian government said it also listed four persons and four entities involved in the supply of drones to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine.

The moves came ahead of the release on February 1 of a parliamentary inquiry report calling on Australia to cut ties with the Islamic republic as much as possible and introduce a host of tough measures against it.

The report makes 12 recommendations to the federal government, including listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization, imposing sanctions on more individuals and entities and limiting diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic.

"The [Islamic Republic of Iran] regime is effectively a rogue state, responsible for acts of terrorism, cybercrime, acts of violence against its critics, hostage diplomacy and other abhorrent behaviour," Senate foreign affairs committee chair Claire Chandler said.

"Australia cannot and should not have any pretense of maintaining a business-as-usual diplomatic relationship with such a regime."

Expressing deep concern over credible allegations of intimidation and threats against Australian citizens and their families, the report recommends Iranian individuals believed to be involved in such behavior be expelled from Australia.

Iran has been engulfed in a wave of protests since the September death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, while in custody for allegedly violating the country's headscarf law.

The wave of public anger represents the biggest threat to Iran’s clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution that brought them to power.

In response, the authorities have unleashed a fierce crackdown on dissent, killing more than 520 people and detaining over 18,000, activists say. The judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.

The European Union, the United States and other countries have imposed sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities for their involvement in the clampdown, as well as the supply of drones to Russia’s military engaged in Ukraine.

Tehran has acknowledged supplying drones to Moscow but said this was before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.