Australian officials met with Iran’s top diplomat in Canberra, Ahmad Sadeghi, on Friday.
Hundreds of Australians are due to leave under-siege Lebanon overnight to flee a conflict that has resulted in Australian officials reprimanding the Iranian ambassador for praising Hezbollah.
He also praised the Lebanese Shia group listed as a terror outfit in Australia, the US and UK and lashed out at Israel and what he labelled “the vile entity of the Zionist regime”, causing controversy and leading to opposition demands to expel him.Australian officials met with the diplomat on Friday with the foreign affairs department’s acting secretary “reminded of his obligation to respect Australian law and to stay out of domestic affairs,” the government said in a statement.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has said it remains useful to have a communication channel with Iran even though she and other ministers consistently call out the Islamic republic’s malign influence in the Middle-East. The development came as the government continued to organise the evacuation of Australians from Lebanon. Overnight on Thursday, 41 Australians were on flights out of Lebanon to Cyprus. Two charter flights for up to 500 Australians will depart Beirut Airport for Cyprus on Saturday night, Australian time.The Albanese government has urged Australians in Lebanon not to delay in leaving the country as Israel intensifies its airstrikes and ground assault.
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