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Iranian deputy foreign minister labels US 'terrorists' and issues warning to Australia

Paul Johnson - 19 March 2026

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One of Iran's deputy foreign ministers, Esmaeil Baghaei, has told 7.30 that Australia's military assets in the Gulf may become a target and accused the United States of "terrorist acts".

The comments about Australia came after the government deployed an E7 Wedgetail surveillance aircraft, 85 personnel and defensive air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates last week.

Mr Baghaei told 7.30 that Iran would not distinguish between countries acting in an aggressive or defensive capacity.

"The government of Australia has decided to take sides with the aggressors," he told 7.30.

"We cannot recognise, we cannot distinguish between offensive and defensive operation."

Asked if that meant Australian assets in the Persian Gulf were targets for Iran, he said they could be.

"We have the inherent right to self-defence against offensive or defensive operations against us," Mr Baghaei said.

"We cannot recognise that those military assets … would be regarded simply as defensive.

"That's going to be part of this aggression."

He then turned his attention to other actions taken by Australia, including offering asylum to members of Iran's women's football team after their appearance at the Asian Cup.

He claimed the players were taken "hostage" and it was yet another act by the Australian government that showed its support for the US and Israel.

Asked how he could say the players were taken hostage, Mr Baghaei said:

"When they were first invited to go to a room under the pretext of clarifying the doping or something like that, then they put a paper beside them, 'Please sign these papers, you can be given asylum, you can be given all that you need.'''

He then accused Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke of posturing.

"Then the Australian minister poses for a photo with them. This was a shameful sham posture," he said.

'Terrorist acts'

During the wide-ranging interview, Mr Baghaei also accused Israel and the US of committing "terrorist acts" when they assassinated former ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"The United States and Israel have attacked against Iran," Mr Baghaei said from Tehran.

"They are killing our leaders. They are killing our innocent girls and boys.

"Let's call a spade a spade, this is an illegal war imposed on Iran, imposed on the whole region and has consequences for the whole international community.

"We understand that you are concerned about the groceries price, but we are concerned about the everyday lives of our citizens.

"They are being killed and maimed by the United States and Israel's missiles and bombs."

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That war started when the United States launched strikes on Iran, claiming it posed an imminent nuclear threat.

However, just last June, Mr Trump had claimed on Truth Social that the US had done large-scale damage to Iran's nuclear capabilities, causing questions about his motives for this war.

"Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated," Mr Trump said in June 2025.

"Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks would be far greater and a lot easier."

The strikes that started this war killed Khamenei and several top Iranian officials.

"This is a nasty war," Mr Baghaei said.

"This is not a conventional classical warfare between two armed forces; this is a combination of military aggression and terrorist acts.

"I think we are moving towards a very dark era if the Western countries … have control over the know-how to kill … the leaders of another country, assassinating them through terrorist activities must be alarming to the whole international community. "

Asked if Iran would retaliate, Mr Baghaei issued a veiled threat.

"Iranian armed forces are determined, willing, and capable of defending our country, defending our sovereignty with all might," he said.

"The leaders of any country are symbols of the sovereignty of that nation."

Holding the world to ransom

A significant consequence of the war in Iran has been the slowing of global fuel supply through the Strait of Hormuz.

The result has seen fuel prices across the world skyrocket as Iran controls the Strait.

Asked if Iran was "trying to make the entire world suffer" to put pressure on America, Mr Baghaei said Iran was justified in its actions.

That was due not only to the deaths of people in his nation but also to the strikes on Iranian infrastructure, and that this was, in his view, a fair retaliatory action.

"They are using their military bases in the Persian Gulf countries to target Iranian institutions," Mr Baghaei said.

"They exploded [a plant] using the territory of one of our neighbouring countries in the Persian Gulf.

"If you are concerned about the groceries, the price of oil, we are concerned about the life of our citizens. One hundred and seventy-five innocent kids were killed during the first hours of the act on 28th February.

"If the Western people are concerned about this war, they have to blame the United States and Israel.

"Did we start this war? No."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-19/iran-deputy-foreign-minister-esmaeil-baghaei-accuses-australia/106466122

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4FZ-7f36eg

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Israel’s top diplomat in Australia lays out case for war against Iran

BEN PACKHAM - March 19, 2026

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Israel’s top diplomat in Australia says the war with Iran is an “urgent act of self defence” and a struggle against “barbarism” as the targeting of critical oil and gas facilities on both sides of the Persian Gulf sparks fresh fears about global energy supplies.

Laying out Israel’s case for the war amid mixed messages from the US, ambassador Hillel Newman says Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and its vast ballistic missile arsenal posed an escalating threat that needed to be dealt with.

The justification comes after Anthony Albanese declared the US and Israel had achieved their war objectives and he hoped the conflict would soon come to an end.

But the war continued to escalate on Thursday (AEDT), with an Iranian missile damaging the world’s largest LNG hub in Qatar and Israeli strikes on Iran’s vast South Pars gas field compounding the energy crisis caused by Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Writing in The Australian, Dr Newman says the Iranian regime “posed existential threats which could not be overlooked or delayed any further”.

“This is not a war over territory or resources. It is an urgent act of self-defence for the protection of millions of innocent civilians, for regional stability, and for the values that underpin the free world. At its core, it is a struggle between barbarism and civilisation,” he says.

“The objectives of the current operation are to remove two existential threats, the regime’s nuclear ambitions and its ballistic missile program. Both had reached a critical and time-sensitive stage, with efforts under way to harden and conceal capabilities deep underground, placing them beyond the reach of any future intervention.”

His case for Israeli action follows Donald Trump’s claim that Iran posed an urgent nuclear threat while arguing at the same time that US and Israeli strikes last year had “obliterated” Tehran’s nuclear program.

US national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard’s became mired in the contradiction on Thursday (AEDT) when she refused to say whether Iran presented an “imminent threat”.

“It is not a responsibility of the intelligence community to determine what is or is not an imminent threat,” Ms Gabbard told a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, declaring only the President could make such a judgment.

Democratic Party senator Jon Ossoff interjected: “It is precisely your responsibility to determine what constitutes a threat to the United States.”

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As he announced a new taskforce to secure the nation’s fuel stocks, Mr Albanese said the latest strikes on gas infrastructure were “a major concern” that would drive up LNG prices.

He said Australia would continue to urge de-escalation of the conflict.

“It’s not certain … how long this will last. But I’m hopeful that you can see an end point,” the Prime Minister told reporters.

“The objectives of denying Iran the opportunity to have a development of a nuclear weapon have been secured. So, that was objective No.1. Iran’s ability to engage in attacks in the region have also been undermined by this process as well.”

He said President Trump would make his own decisions, “but I can see it ending … and us making sure that we get the world back on its normal axis”.

Dr Newman, who took up his post just weeks ago, offers no hints as to when Israel will end its attacks on Iran.

He says as well as eliminating the threats posed by the regime, Israel wants Iranians to be able to “reclaim their future”.

Questions over the legality of the war ignore the “fundamental reality” of more than four decades of Iranian aggression against Israel and the West through its proxy terrorist forces and direct attacks, Dr Newman says.

He says the regime’s calls of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel” were not empty slogans but a “blueprint for action”.

“Thousands of Americans and Israelis have been killed in attacks linked to Iran’s proxies,” he writes.

“Millions of Israelis have lived for decades under constant threat, with mere seconds to seek shelter from incoming rockets. Australians, living over 12,000 kilometres from our region, have also experienced the threat and impact of Iranian terror.

“In taking action, we are not only defending our citizens, we are helping to secure a safer and more stable future for our region and for partners like Australia who share these values.”

As Iran lashes out with strikes targeting 12 countries, Dr Newman argues the dividing line in the world today is between moderates and extremists.

He expresses hope that the “circle of peace” in the Middle East will grow through an expanded Abraham Accords – an agreement to normalise relations between Israel and a handful of Arab nations signed in 2020.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/israels-top-diplomat-in-australia-lays-out-case-for-war-against-iran/news-story/11ee38766ed644f71cdffb669f840ed3