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Activists in Australia report being surveilled and harassed by Iran's IRGC, raising pressure on the federal government to restrict the Iranian embassy's operations.
Saeid thought he could protest the Iran ian regime freely in Australia. He feels like he’s being watched Tehran’s long arm into Australia is intimidating and surveilling those who speak out against the regime, activists say, as pressure grows on the federal government to shut down the Iran ian embassyTheir mother was on the radar of Iran’s feared Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps , which had accused her of illegally posting “criminal” content online, she said.
In a phone call from a private number in late March, a male voice had warned their mother that her son should stop his anti-regime activism in Australia. Then, he uttered the name of Zand’s nine-year-old son and the Melbourne suburb they previously called home. Saeid Zand fears that his personal details provided as part of his son’s passport application were passed to the IRGC.
“I was feeling disconnected to the world and the surroundings for a couple of minutes. ”Like many Iranian Australian activists, Zand lives with the lingering feeling that he is being watched in Australia.
He fears that personal details provided to the Iranian embassy in Canberra, as part of his eldest son’s passport application in 2017, were passed to the IRGC – a branch of Iran’s armed forces separate to the military – and used to harass his mother in an attempt to silence him. Property, a visa and a university job: the Australian links forged by a powerful Iranian politician’s son in Melbourneover the IRGC’s ordering of firebombing attacks on home soil, the country’s diaspora says Iran’s long arm into Australia continues to threaten, intimidate and surveil community members who speak out against the regime.
Mehdi Nabiyan, a wildlife researcher who migrated to Australia in 2023, began attending protests in Melbourne after discovering that one of his former students had been killed in the January uprising, which was initially sparked by concerns about the country’s economic crisis. On Instagram, he posted videos and photos from the Melbourne protests as the crowd numbers calling for regime change in their home country swelled.
But in June, he received emails from the Iran-based Saman Bank, viewed by Guardian Australia, stating that funds had been withdrawn from his accounts due to judicial orders issued by a branch of the public and revolutionary prosecutor’s office. He has been unable to view the allegations against him as his foreign IP address is blocked from accessing the Iranian website.
In March, Iran’s prosecutor general’s office warned that Iranians living overseas could have“I understand, I am not safe even being 15,000km away from Iran,” he says, through a translation that has been verified by Guardian Australia.
Last August, the federal government expelled the Iranian ambassador after the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation accused the IRGC of directing at least twoWhile some Iranian Australians have called for Tehran’s embassy in Canberra to be closed since 2022 due to foreign interference concerns, the expulsion of the ambassador has sparked renewed calls within the diaspora, with aReza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former pro-western monarch who is expected to travel to Australia at an unconfirmed date, , has signalled he will ramp up pressure on the federal government toMike Burgess, the Asio director general, has said one of the major threats to Australia’s security is foreign regimes harassing citizens and permanent residents.
Despite the expulsion of Tehran’s top diplomat in Australia, there is persistent fear within the Iranian community that proxy networks, hardline supporters of the Iranian government and individuals linked to or paid by the regime are involved in the surveillance of critics.in June, Mike Burgess, the Asio director general, singled out foreign regimes harassing citizens and permanent residents as one of the major threats to Australia’s “degrading security environment”. Last week, Burgess told the radio presenter Neil Mitchell’s podcast that prominent Jewish Australians could be targeted for assassination by Iran.the issue of transnational repression – when foreign governments reach beyond their borders to suppress or silence dissenting individuals – and foreign interference, including the impact on diaspora communities.
Alongside instances of transnational repression linked to the Iranian regime, community members also point to intimidation tactics where it is difficult to determine who is behind them. Weeks after Iranian Australians began holding protests in support of the country’s January uprising, the prominent activist Ali Beikzadeh – who had spoken at the demonstrations – was walking to his car outside his home in Sydney. As he neared the vehicle, he noticed its rear window was smashed.
“It’s very clear that it’s not a coincidence and someone came and targeted my car simply for the purpose of telling me that they know where I am,” he says. While Beikzadeh was not physically harmed, the incident exemplifies the risks diaspora members take when they advocate for change in Iran. In Melbourne, Zand stepped away from his advocacy work when he first received his sister’s phone call.
But it was his mother’s words, reminding him of the thousands of young Iranians who lost their lives while protesting against the regime, that changed his perspective.
“She said … do whatever you can,” he says. “And then I keep going. That’s why I’m doing what I do now. ” An Australian government spokesperson said it would not tolerate attempts by foreign governments to “promote violence and discord” in the country.
“Despite our strong concerns with its actions, Iran remains a significant regional and international player that impacts on Australia’s interests,” a statement said. The spokesperson said the Iranian embassy remained open so the government could pursue Australia’s national interests and for onshore consular services but was not an endorsement for the regime’s conduct.
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