Iranian regime-linked handler investigated by Australian police over alleged death threat

Australian police investigated a complaint involving an Iranian regime-linked handler for the country’s football team after a group of activists alleged he threatened to kill them them at a Women’s Asian Cup match last week.

The criminal investigation, confirmed by Queensland police, has led to renewed calls from the Iranian diaspora for tougher immigration screening processes to block people linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – a proscribed state sponsor of terrorism – from entering the country.

It comes as Labor-led parliamentary committee on Thursday said the government should consider whether enough is being done about IRGC activity in Australia, including harassment of citizens who are critical of Iran’s theocratic regime.

Six members of Iran’s women’s soccer team seeking asylum in Australia this week garnered international attention and prompted Iran’s foreign affairs ministry to accuse the government of holding the players “hostage”.

An Iranian Australian protester, who requested anonymity due to safety concerns, said she was among a group standing behind the women’s team and their handler Mohammad Salari at the Gold Coast’s Cbus stadium last Thursday, where they were competing against the Matildas.

“We saw Salari looking at us so we started calling out to him… calling him ‘shame on you’,” she said.

In the complaint, she alleges: “He turned around and looked at us and then drew a line on his throat and pointed to us.”

“I don’t understand how he got onto Australian soil,” the protester said.

Queensland police confirmed they were aware of an incident at Cbus stadium on 5 March.

“A complaint was received, and investigations are continuing,” a spokesperson said.

Dr Rana Dadpour, founder of advocacy group AusIran, said the Iranian diaspora had been failed by Salari being allowed to enter Australia.

She believes that “he shouldn’t be granted a visa”.

The vice-president of the Iranian Society of Queensland, Hadi Karimi, said the community needed answers about why someone linked to the IRGC was granted a visa given the organisation was a deemed a state sponsor of terrorism.

“We need to know from the Australian government why our girls were kept in a hotel organised by IRGC and IRGC members,” he said.

Iranian-born Sydney councillor, Tina Kordrostami, raised the issue at a hearing before the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security (PJCIS) last month.

On Thursday, the PJCIS backed the Albanese government’s decision to list the IRGC as a state sponsor of terrorism after revelations from security agencies that the Iranian government ordered at least two antisemitic attacks in Australia.

Australia’s Iranian community has for years raised concerns about the IRGC infiltrating the country and harassing the diaspora.

Asked about Salari’s visa, the Department of Home Affairs said it could not comment on individual cases for privacy reasons.

“All non-citizens applying for an Australian visa wishing to travel to Australia are considered on an individual basis against legal requirements set out in Australia’s migration legislation,” the spokesperson said.

“All visa applications are assessed on a case-by-case basis, and all criteria must be satisfied before a visa can be granted.”

Applicants must meet all legal requirements to be granted a visa, including character and security criteria, the spokesperson said.

The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said the country’s security and intelligence agencies make recommendations based on “all the available information including what comes for our intelligence partners.”

On Wednesday, Burke, said one of the Iranian footballers who had sought asylum had changed her mind.

The other women women had to be urgently relocated, after the squad member who changed her mind contacted the Iranian embassy asking to be collected, revealing the location of the asylum seekers to Iranian officials.