Iran: No Agreement with Australia for Mandatory Return of Refugees

An Iranian government official rejected reports about an agreement between the Islamic Republic and Australia for the forced return of Iranian refugees to their home country, deeming it contrary to Tehran's policies. The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported on Friday, June 18, the statements of this Iranian official, who emphasized that the return of Iranian refugees from Australia must be voluntary. He stated, "No agreement has been made regarding the forced return of refugees. The policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is based on the freedom of its citizens to choose their place of residence and work, and if any of our citizens wishes to return to Iran, this return must be voluntary and free of any coercion." These remarks are a reaction to a report by the Australian newspaper 'West Australian,' which mentioned a potential 'historic agreement' between Tehran and Canberra for the expulsion of Iranian refugees from Australia. According to the newspaper, a high-ranking Iranian delegation currently in Australia has discussed this issue with Australian officials, and Canberra intends to grant scholarships to Iranian students in exchange for this action and has agreed to open Iranian representation offices in Sydney and Melbourne. Tehran and Canberra held a joint consular meeting in Australia on Thursday and Friday, June 17 and 18, which ISNA reports resulted in an agreement between the two countries to enhance visa facilities and travel for each other's citizens for tourism, trade, and investment, in addition to opening consular representations and police cooperation between the two countries to combat terrorism, drug trafficking, and human trafficking. The report states that Iranian and Australian consular delegations have also held discussions to potentially assist in resolving the issue of Iranian refugees, but ISNA does not provide details on this matter. Previously, Hassan Qashqavi, the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs, had stated Iran's negative stance on the issue of forcibly returning Iranian refugees. According to Mr. Qashqavi, the Islamic Republic considers the forced return of Iranian refugees as 'against human rights,' but Iranian embassies are obliged to facilitate the return of any refugee who voluntarily wishes to return to the country. Among Iranian refugees in Australia, nearly 300 are held on Manus Island, and 166 are in Nauru. Another 440 are in camps within Australian territory. According to the 'West Australian' report, in addition to these numbers, eight thousand others hold a temporary visa known as 'bridging visa.'