Iran summons Australia envoy in response to sanctions

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the Australian chargé d’affaires to Tehran to protest meddlesome remarks by the country’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong and the fresh round of sanctions against Tehran.

The Australian diplomat was summoned to the ministry on Wednesday in the absence of the country’s ambassador to Tehran to receive Iran’s strong protest.

The Australian diplomat said that Canberra’s principled policy is based on cooperation with Iran and added that he would inform his respective country of Iran’s protest as soon as possible.

In an interview with the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) news service in Australia published on Wednesday, Wong made meddlesome remarks under the pretext of supporting the Iranian nation and leveled accusations against the government ahead of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman of Kurdish descent, which sparked angry protests across the country.

The 22-year-old died in a hospital in Tehran days after she was detained by police on September 15.

In her meddling remarks, the top Australian diplomat called on the Iranian government to take responsibility and ensure that those who are responsible for Amini’s death are held to account.

She also pledged that Canberra would continue to say very clearly and publicly that it stands with the people of Iran.

Meanwhile, in yet another attack spearheaded by the West against freedom of speech in Iran, the Australian government on Wednesday imposed a fresh round of sanctions on a number of Iranian individuals and entities, including the English-language Press TV news network.

The Australian Foreign Ministry announced in a media release that the restrictive measures, including financial sanctions and travel bans, targeted four individuals and three entities over what it claimed to be “human rights violations” in Iran.

According to international human rights bodies, Australia has an “embarrassing” human rights record.

The inhumane attitude towards asylum seekers and the prevention of international inspectors from traveling to Australia to investigate possible torture in refugee detention centers are among the country’s systematic violation of human rights.