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The death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, “will not be mourned” according to recent comments from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
PM Albanese made the comments during a speech earlier today, following a social media post from US President Donald Trump advising that the Iranian leader had been killed in a coordinated US–Israeli military strike.
Iran is currently the focus of a major international military action by the US and Israel, including reported bombings of the office of the supreme leader and the presidential office in Tehran. Israeli Defence Forces have also reportedly confirmed the deaths of another seven senior regime leaders.
There are also reportedly widespread retaliation strikes across the Middle East by Iranian rockets, drones and missiles against US military bases as well as civilian targets, including a reported fatal attack against an airport in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
“(Khamenei was responsible for organising) Iran’s nuclear program, support for proxies and brutal acts of violence against Iran’s own people,” Prime Minister Albanese said, speaking during a media conference this morning.
“He was responsible for orchestrating attacks on Australian soil. His passing will not be mourned.
“While we aren’t directly active in the current military strikes, we have been clear and active in our rejection of the brutal Iranian regime.”
President Trump, earlier today, described the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as “justice for the Iranian people”.
“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in history, is dead. This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all great Americans, and those people from many countries throughout the world, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty thugs,” President Trump said on social media network Truth Social.
“He was unable to avoid our intelligence and highly sophisticated tracking systems and, working closely with Israel, there was not a thing he, or the other leaders that have been killed along with him, could do.
“This is the single greatest chance for the Iranian people to take back their country. We are hearing that many of their IRGC, military, and other security and police forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for immunity from us.
“As I said last night, ‘Now they can have immunity, later they only get death!’ Hopefully, the IRGC and police will peacefully merge with the Iranian patriots, and work together as a unit to bring back the country to the greatness it deserves.”
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has activated its Crisis Centre to provide consular support to Australians in the region. It has also upgraded Australia’s travel advice for Israel and Lebanon to Do Not Travel. Australians should leave now if it is safe to do so.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, speaking during a press conference in Adelaide this morning, confirmed that Australia had no pre-warning about the strikes in Iran.
“We weren’t told in advance, you wouldn’t expect us to be, but you would see that there have been, there’s obviously been a lot of open-source discussion about this. We are not at the centre of the issues in the Middle East, but we obviously play a role in the international community,” Minister Wong said.
“In relation to Australian involvement, obviously we did not participate in the strikes, and you would not expect us to participate.
“These are strikes which are determined by the parties concerned, which is the United States and Israel. Obviously, we have personnel in the region, we are ensuring that their safety and security is our first priority.”
Australians requiring urgent consular assistance can contact the Consular Emergency Centre 24/7 on 1300 555 135 in Australia or +61 2 6261 3305 from outside Australia.
More to follow.
Robert Dougherty
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