The diplomatic meeting took place after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran of violating human rights by repressing violent protests since September 16, after the death of Mahsa Amini.

‘It seems that Australia’s prime minister has taken a wrong approach based on false information, which does not help relations between the two countries,’ Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Naser Kanani said on Wednesday when announcing the move.

Australia, he said, lacks the slightest moral legitimacy to lecture on human rights, given that its record is littered with human rights violations, from the killing of refugees to the murders of 500 Aborigines in the country’s prisons, and the banning of professional investigations into such cases.

Kanani noted that the Islamic Republic is willing to provide the Australian Government with the correct narrative and away from media controversy on the ongoing developments in Iran, and stressed ‘with mutual respect, it can prevent any damage to diplomatic relations.’

He accused the Australian Government of using double standards on human rights, while sheltering anti-Iranian terrorist groups and separatist cells and remaining silent on the terrorist attack on Shiraz (southwest Iran) on October 26.

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