Under the pretense of allegedly supporting the Iranian people and raising human rights concerns, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced a fresh round of sanctions against a number of Iranian officials and citizens, leading to the summoning of the Australian embassy's chargé d'affaires on Wednesday afternoon to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the absence of the nation's ambassador.
The Australian embassy staff member responded by affirming his government's fundamental policy of cooperating with the Islamic Republic of Iran and pledged to promptly communicate the matter to Canberra.
Notably, international human rights organizations have reported concerning human rights issues in Australia, including inhumane treatment of asylum seekers and obstacles to international inspectors investigating potential systematical abuse in refugee detention centers.