Australian security agencies say they have shut down a foreign interference plot by Iran. The conspiracy allegedly included individuals conducting surveillance of the home of an Iranian-Australian, who was linked to Australian protests about the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran last year.
Australia Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil revealed the alleged conspiracy in a speech Tuesday at the Australian National University.
She said an Iranian-Australian was targeted by perpetrators taking orders from Iran and that the plot had been uncovered by ASIO, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization.
O’Neil said her government would not “tolerate hostile acts in the form of surveillance, harassment or intimidation against individuals or family members…in Australia.”
“We have here someone living in our country who is being followed, watched, photographed, their home invaded by people at the direction of a foreign power," she said. "This is happening in Australia and it is something that ASIO was onto it like a shot. So, I want people to understand to those states who operate in the shadows, we have a simple message — we are watching you.”
Since last September, Iran’s theocratic regime has been under pressure by domestic protests in response to the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Australia has condemned what it calls Iran’s “brutal response” to the demonstrations.
The outrage in Iran has spread around the world. There were large anti-government rallies in Australia last December.
The Canberra government has put in place financial sanctions on several Iranian law enforcement officials and imposed a travel ban on them.
O’Neil said other diaspora communities in Australia have faced pressure “when they peacefully protest about the actions of their governments back at home.”
She warned that “foreign interference does not just come from one country — it is being conducted and directed by many countries across the globe.”
