Australian leaders support US-Israel strikes on Iran
'A regime that relies on the repression and murder of its own people to retain power is without legitimacy,' government says in statement
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed support for US-Israel strikes on Iran launched on Saturday, saying Australia “supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent Iran continuing to threaten international peace and security”.
In a joint statement with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, Albanese said Australia stood “with the brave people of Iran in their struggle against oppression”.
“For decades, the Iranian regime has been a destabilising force, through its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, support for armed proxies, and brutal acts of violence and intimidation,” the statement said.
“Iran directed at least two attacks on Australian soil in 2024. These appalling acts targeting Australia’s Jewish community were intended to create fear, divide our society and challenge our sovereignty.”
The government noted it had taken unprecedented steps including expelling Iran’s ambassador, suspending operations at Australia’s embassy in Tehran, and listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a state sponsor of terrorism.
“A regime that relies on the repression and murder of its own people to retain power is without legitimacy,” the statement said.
The government urged Australians not to travel to Iran and to leave as soon as possible if safe to do so, noting Australia’s ability to provide consular assistance in Iran was extremely limited.
Given security concerns in the region, the government also upgraded Australia’s travel advice for Israel and Lebanon to Do Not Travel.
Notably, the government statement said “we support the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon” without mentioning Israel.
Liberal Party leader Angus Taylor said the Iranian regime was “authoritarian, antisemitic and abhorrent”.
“It wants nuclear weapons, seeks the destruction of Israel, has encouraged terrorism through its proxies — Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis — and has supplied weapons to Russia to support Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” Taylor said.
“It is also responsible for acts of foreign interference in Australia and igniting antisemitism. Since 1979, the revolutionary Islamic government in Tehran has oppressed, imprisoned and murdered Iranians. We pray for the Iranian people at this time. May courage prevail.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said the Iranian government was a murderous regime.
“It has attacked synagogues and Jewish targets in Australia and around the world. It funds terrorist groups Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis. It massacres its own civilians,” Aghion said.
“Western nations, led by Israel and the US, must curtail the nuclear aspirations of the Iranian government, disrupt its international terrorism network, and protect the Iranian people from their own leadership.”
The Zionist Federation of Australia welcomed the joint operation “aimed at ending the tyranny of the Ayatollah regime and standing with the Iranian people in their long struggle for freedom and dignity”.
“For decades, this regime has oppressed its own citizens while exporting violence far beyond its borders. Through the funding of terror proxies, violent extremism and the pursuit of nuclear weapons, it has destabilised the Middle East and threatened global security,” the ZFA said.
“Its reach has not spared Australia, targeting our own Jewish community in an attempt to spread fear and division. The people of Iran deserve a future free from oppression.”
Israel and the US launched major joint strikes on sites across Iran on Saturday, targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian and other top regime and military commanders.
US President Donald Trump announced the US had begun “major combat operations in Iran,” calling the campaign “a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked, radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was launched “to remove the existential threat” posed by the Islamic Republic.
With Times of Israel
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