Grounds for Cooperation Between Iran and Australia

Julie Bishop, the Australian Foreign Minister, arrived in Iran on Saturday morning, April 29, and participated in a joint press conference with her Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. Ms. Bishop also met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the same morning. These are the first meetings between high-ranking Iranian and Australian officials in the last 12 years. Hossein Alizadeh, a political expert and former diplomat now residing in Finland, considers Ms. Bishop's visit a success for President Rouhani's government. Alizadeh identifies the issues of the nuclear file, human rights, and terrorism as the three main problems that have soured relations between Iran and Australia, and believes that the issue of Iranian refugees in Australia is one of the main reasons for Julie Bishop's visit to Iran. He states: "In my opinion, the main reason is the issue of Iranian refugees who have flocked to Australia, and after the law that Australia has enacted and the rejection of new immigrants, a large number of Iranian immigrants there have become problematic; as far as we know, they have been transferred to a neighboring country, and some have been killed there." It was previously announced that Ms. Bishop intends to discuss the return of Iranian refugees whose asylum applications have been rejected with Iranian officials during this trip. The Guardian reported briefly that Ms. Bishop was unable to convince Iranian officials to guarantee that there would be no problems for the refugees returned to Iran after these meetings. In this regard, Ms. Bishop stated: "Given our challenges regarding human trafficking, we decided to continue these discussions officially and through our consulates." Alizadeh comments on Australia's insistence on obtaining guarantees from Iran regarding the refugees, saying: "The situation that Australia is currently in, with a large number of arrivals, some killed, and Australia's prestige damaged, cannot be resolved unless these individuals can be peacefully returned to the country. On the other hand, Mr. Rouhani had said he wanted to restore the credibility of the Iranian passport, and he is likely seeking to provide some kind of guarantee. However, the issue is that the problems are not solely in Mr. Rouhani's hands to resolve. The judiciary, the Revolutionary Guards, and power institutions are preventing even if a guarantee has been given from being implemented practically." Beyond the refugee issue, the foreign ministers of Iran and Australia also discussed Iran's nuclear file, and Ms. Bishop expressed satisfaction with the Lausanne agreement. Australia is one of the countries that imposed sanctions on Iran following United Nations Security Council sanctions and also imposed additional sanctions in January 2013, banning any oil and gas trade or financial relations with Iran. Alizadeh believes that the visit of the foreign minister of a country that is one of Iran's sanctioners is an incentive for Iran to join the global community: "This Australian minister also expressed her country's interest in Iran signing this agreement, and naturally, as a very industrialized and advanced country, it will present symbols indicating that trade relations between Tehran and Australia will be interconnected, and in any case, the market for Australian goods will be opened for Iran, and Iran can continue its traditional exports to Australia, and academic relations will occur, and such incentives will certainly be part of her discussions." Australia and Iran have had embassies in Tehran and Canberra since 1968 and 1971, respectively.