Australian Foreign Minister Defends Agreement with Iran on Refugees

Following recent reports about a potential agreement between Tehran and Canberra regarding the deportation of refugees to Iran, and the denial of this news by an Iranian official, Julie Bishop, the Australian Foreign Minister, has confirmed and defended negotiations on this matter. Sky News Australia reports that Ms. Bishop confirmed that a high-level delegation of Iranian officials visited Australia last week to negotiate the return of refugees who do not succeed in obtaining asylum. According to the Australian Foreign Minister, many of those applying for asylum in Australia have economic reasons, and thus returning them is 'fair.' She stated that out of 52,000 refugees who have attempted to enter the country under the Labor government, 13,200 are Iranian. The Australian government has recently adopted very strict laws against migrants and has stated that under no circumstances will it accept illegal migrants who reach its territory by sea. Canberra's new policies have faced criticism from international organizations. In an interview with Sky News, Bishop accused Iranian refugees of having 'no real claims.' She added that these are 'people who have traveled to Australia with the aim of improving their material conditions, not to find a safe place due to persecution.' On the other hand, the Labor Party, the opposition party in Australia, has accused the government of negotiating with Tehran over travel facilities to secure an agreement on the return of refugees. Recent media reports indicate that Tehran and Canberra are negotiating some visa and travel facilities. At the same time, there have been reports about the potential reopening of Iranian consular offices in Sydney and Melbourne. A Labor Party member, opposing the government, even stated in an article for The Australian that reopening such offices is 'dangerous.' Meanwhile, the Labor Party itself is accused by the Conservative Party of being negligent in immigration policies. In this context, migrants residing in Europe have sent $109 billion to their families, while Hungary is building a fence to combat the influx of migrants. Australia is approaching the stage of 'returning refugees to Iran.'