Iranian Diaspora Confronts Transnational Repression in Australia

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been accused of extending intimidation beyond its borders, targeting Iranian activists living in Australia. Activists report threats that reference personal details, such as the name and former Melbourne suburb of a protest organizer’s nine-year-old son, after a phone call from an unknown number in late March. The IRGC allegedly labeled the organizer’s mother as posting “criminal” content online, prompting harassment aimed at silencing dissent abroad.

The Guardian

The January 2022 uprising in Iran, sparked by economic grievances, was met with a violent crackdown that the diaspora estimates killed around 30,000 people. The repression motivated Iranian Australians, including a Melbourne-based architect who fled Iran in 2013, to organize weekly anti-regime demonstrations. Participation grew after the crackdown, with activists posting protest footage on social media. In June, a wildlife researcher who migrated in 2023 received emails from Iran-based Saman Bank indicating that his accounts were frozen following judicial orders from a public and revolutionary prosecutor’s office. The same prosecutor’s office warned in March that overseas Iranians could face property confiscation or other legal consequences for supporting the United States or Israel.

The Guardian

Australia’s security agencies have highlighted the threat. In June, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director-general Mike Burgess listed foreign regimes’ harassment of citizens and permanent residents as a major security concern. Burgess later warned on a radio podcast that prominent Jewish Australians could be targeted for assassination by Iran. The federal government expelled Tehran’s ambassador in August after ASIO linked the IRGC to attacks on Australia’s Jewish community, and announced plans to list the IRGC as a state sponsor of terrorism. An Australian government spokesperson affirmed that the country would not tolerate foreign attempts to “promote violence and discord,” while noting Iran’s continued regional significance.

The Guardian

Diaspora members describe a climate of fear. One activist’s car window was smashed in Sydney, an act he interpreted as a direct warning. The same activist, who had spoken at protests, reported no theft but emphasized the message that “they know where I am.” Financial pressures also affect families; the researcher who supports parents in Iran lost a government subsidy after the judicial orders. These incidents illustrate the personal and economic risks faced by those publicly opposing the Iranian regime.

The Guardian

The Senate’s foreign affairs, defence and trade references committee has begun an inquiry into transnational repression and foreign interference, signaling heightened parliamentary scrutiny. Diaspora groups have submitted petitions urging the closure of Iran’s Canberra embassy, and exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has pledged to increase pressure on the Australian government. While the ambassador’s expulsion marked a diplomatic escalation, activists and officials alike stress that the threat to Iranian Australians remains persistent and unresolved.

The Guardian