Anadolu staff
18 June 2025•Update: 18 June 2025
ANKARA
Iran urged Australia on Wednesday to condemn Israel's "unprovoked" attacks on the Islamic republic, which have resulted in unprecedented hostility between the two nations.
In an interview, Iran's ambassador to Australia, Ahmad Sadeghi, urged Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to condemn the June 13 strikes and denied that his country is developing nuclear weapons, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
His comments came just days after Japan, a longtime supporter of Israel, condemned Tel Aviv in a rare move for its attacks on Iran.
Sadeghi warned US President Donald Trump that striking Iranian targets could have serious consequences for the 80,000 American troops stationed in the Persian Gulf.
Defending the Iranian response as "its inalienable right to just defensive measures," he said Israeli action has pushed the Middle East to the brink of a "wider conflict."
"If you let it go unpunished, the prime minister of this regime (Benjamin Netanyahu) declared publicly and arrogantly that 'I ordered such an attack against Iran,'" he added.
Commenting on Trump's "evacuation" and "surrender" threats to Iran, Sadeghi said Tehran is "fully prepared" to negotiate but warned that US military involvement could lead to a wider conflict.
"The Mr. Trump… character… he was supposed to be a man of peace; now he's come to be a man of war," he maintained.
"The other Islamic nations around … in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq—if Iran would be attacked by US, they wouldn't be silent."
"We advise Mr Trump to (not) be dragged into an unwanted war that Netanyahu is going to make. Netanyahu is notorious to put the burden of (his) own unjust war on shoulders of the other players," he went on to say.
"I ask Mr. Trump to be very careful about that."
He said Iran would not pursue the manufacture of nuclear weapons.
While Canberra has said it is "deeply" concerned about the situation, acting Prime Minister Richard Marles over the weekend "specifically" urged Iran to exercise restraint to "avoid the risk of any border conflict."
He described Iran's nuclear program as a "threat to Israel's security," and asked all parties to prioritize dialogue and diplomacy.
Regional tensions have escalated since Friday, when Israel launched airstrikes on multiple sites across Iran, including military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
At least 585 people have been killed and 1,326 others injured since Israel launched attacks on Iran last Friday.
Israeli authorities said at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.
