Australian Senator Dave Sharma is pushing the country's government and police to take legal action against Iran’s state-run Press TV for operating in the country in violation of sanctions.
"If breaches of the law are found to have occurred, which almost certainly they have in this instance, then people will be prosecuted under our legal system," Sharma told Iran International.
Sharma, who chairs the Senate's foreign affairs, defence and trade references committee, said that Press TV conducted an interview with an Australian senator at a university event, despite being sanctioned by Australia.
The interview was conducted last month with Australian senator Fatima Payman, who defended Iran’s treatment of women in remarks that sparked backlash and later led her to apologize.
The Albanese government sanctioned the broadcaster in September 2023, a year after the death in custody of Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, which sparked months of nationwide protests across Iran in 2022.
Sharma described Press TV as a "propaganda arm of the Islamic Republic" that has aired forced confessions of political prisoners, including Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert. Moore-Gilbert was detained in Iran for more than two years before being released in a prisoner swap in 2020.
"Despite these sanctions being in place, Press TV is turning up to public events, conducting interviews, and has correspondents who are supposedly based in Australia," he said. "This is, on the face of it, a very serious violation of Australia's sanctions regime."
He said he had also written to the foreign minister demanding an investigation and expected swift government action.
Sharma warned that Press TV’s presence in Australia threatens Iranian-Australians, arguing that the network is used to "intimidate and silence" critics of the Islamic Republic.
"Their actions threaten the freedoms of local Iranians who live in Australia and still have family in Iran," he said. "This is why our sanctions must be enforced, and those responsible must be held accountable."
