{"id":4041,"date":"2026-03-08T19:17:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:17:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/?p=4041"},"modified":"2026-03-08T19:45:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:45:40","slug":"iran-is-under-pressure-from-australia-at-a-pivotal-moment-time-is-running-out-to-strike-a-nuclear-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/iran-is-under-pressure-from-australia-at-a-pivotal-moment-time-is-running-out-to-strike-a-nuclear-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran is under pressure from Australia at a pivotal moment \u2013 time is running out to strike a nuclear deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University<\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n

In an extraordinary announcement, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Iran directed at least two antisemitic attacks in Australia<\/a>, including the firebombing of a synagogue, in an attempt to sow discord and undermine social cohesion in the country.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s ambassador has been expelled, and Australia said it would suspend operations of its embassy in Tehran. <\/p>\n

Australia will also list Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps<\/a> (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, as have the United States and Canada.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>
\n Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing his country\u2019s reaction to Iran at Parliament House.<\/span>
\n Lukas Coch\/AAP<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What is the IRGC?<\/h2>\n

The IRGC is a branch of Iran\u2019s armed forces, operating under Article 150 of the Iranian constitution. Established in the aftermath of the 1979 revolution and prior to the Iran-Iraq War (1980\u201388), the IRGC played a central role<\/a> in defending Iran during the eight-year conflict with its neighbour.<\/p>\n

Today, the IRGC comprises five main branches: the ground forces, aerospace force, navy, Basij<\/a> (a paramilitary group) and Quds Force. <\/p>\n

The Quds Force, which enjoys a high degree of autonomy, is tasked with coordinating Tehran\u2019s support for allied groups across the Middle East. These include Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Popular Mobilisation Forces<\/a> in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hamas in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/div>
\n Members of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) shout slogans during a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution in Tehran, Iran, in 2019.<\/span>
\n Abedin Taherkenareh\/EPA<\/span><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Western intelligence agencies have also accused the IRGC and its affiliates of involvement in covert or destabilising activities abroad. <\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s security minister, Dan Jarvis, said<\/a> in March that British authorities had foiled 20 Iranian-linked plots since 2022, many directed through IRGC-controlled intelligence networks using local proxies in the UK.<\/p>\n

IRGC allies, such as Hezbollah, have also been accused of undertaking terrorist attacks in the past. <\/p>\n

One such attack was the bombing<\/a> of the Argentinian Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA), a Jewish community centre, in Buenos Aires in 1994. The attack killed 85 people.<\/p>\n

Argentina\u2019s highest criminal court said last year the bombing was designed by Iran in retaliation for Argentina reneging on a nuclear cooperation deal. Iran has denied<\/a> any involvement.<\/p>\n

The United States and Canada have designated the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, with Australia now appearing set to follow suit. Other Western countries may soon adopt similar measures. <\/p>\n

Impact on Iran-Australia relations<\/h2>\n

Despite Tehran\u2019s strained ties with other Western powers, Australia had historically managed to maintain relatively stable diplomatic relations with Iran. Australia has had a diplomatic presence in Iran<\/a> since 1968, while Iran has had an embassy in Canberra since 1971.<\/p>\n

The decision to cut ties with Tehran and expel its ambassador is an unprecedented step. As Australian officials noted<\/a>, this is the first time since the second world war Canberra has expelled an ambassador.<\/p>\n

Tehran is expected to firmly reject the allegations, dismissing them as baseless and politically motivated. It is also likely to denounce Australia\u2019s actions as hostile and harmful to bilateral relations.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s motivations for instigating antisemitic attacks of this nature in Australia remain unclear. <\/p>\n

Tehran has not previously been accused of carrying out terrorist operations on Australian soil, though security agencies said they disrupted a plot<\/a> in 2023 allegedly targeting an Iranian-Australian critic of the regime. At the time, Iran\u2019s embassy in Canberra vehemently rejected<\/a> the accusations.<\/p>\n

Albanese said the Iranian operations were aimed at undermining social cohesion in Australia. \u201cThey put lives at risk, they terrified the community and they tore at our social fabric,\u201d he said. \u201cIran and its proxies literally and figuratively lit the matches and fanned the flames.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran has previously been accused of attempting to sow discord<\/a> in other Western countries, most notably the United States on the eve of the 2024 presidential election.<\/p>\n

However, it remains unclear how Iran would stand to benefit from targeting Australia\u2019s social fabric, particularly at this moment, with a reformist government in power in Tehran that has proclaimed wanting to reduce tensions with the West over its nuclear program. <\/p>\n

Pressure ramping up on Tehran<\/h2>\n

This is a pivotal time for Iran and its nuclear program. This week, the Iranian Foreign Ministry reiterated<\/a> its readiness to engage in talks with European partners \u201cto reach the best solution\u201d over its controversial program. Geneva is also set to host a new round of nuclear discussions<\/a> between Iran and the UK, France and Germany. <\/p>\n

Washington and its allies are demanding Iran halt all uranium enrichment activities, while Tehran insists<\/a> it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.<\/p>\n

After five rounds of negotiations earlier this year, tensions escalated in June when the United States launched airstrikes on two Iranian nuclear facilities \u2014operations publicly supported by Australia<\/a>. <\/p>\n

At the same time, European powers are preparing to reimpose UN-mandated sanctions<\/a> on Iran that were lifted a decade ago if it doesn\u2019t meet several conditions, including resuming negotiations with the US over its nuclear program. <\/p>\n

In addition, there are growing signs Israel is preparing for another military confrontation with Iran<\/a>. <\/p>\n

With tensions mounting, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has sounded defiant. He rejected calls for Iran to reform its foreign policy, blaming the West instead for seeking to \u201ccreate discord<\/a>\u201d within Iran.<\/p>\n

Against this backdrop, Australia\u2019s announcement will likely add momentum to the push for broader Western alignment against Iran, further isolating Tehran in the international arena.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

This article written by Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University<\/strong> and is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ali Mamouri, Research Fellow, Middle East Studies, Deakin University In an extraordinary announcement, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Iran directed at least two antisemitic attacks in Australia, including the firebombing of a synagogue, in an attempt to sow discord and undermine social cohesion in the country. Iran\u2019s ambassador has been expelled, and Australia […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":4042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"inline_featured_image":false,"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranians.global\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}