Text of the letter by the International Committee in Search of Justice to The Hon Angus Taylor MP, Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, dated 7 September 2026.
Dear Mr Taylor,
On behalf of the International Committee in Search of Justice (ISJ), we are writing to express our serious concern regarding the Coalition’s formal invitation to Reza Pahlavi to visit Australia and to respectfully urge you to reconsider this engagement.
At this pivotal moment, the Iranian people are seeking a future founded on freedom, democracy and secular governance, while the ruling theocracy faces mounting political and social crises. Australia has taken important steps in confronting the Iranian regime’s repression, terrorism and destabilising activities. It is precisely because of Australia’s commitment to democratic principles that high profile engagement with Iranian political figures requires particular care.
We understand that the Coalition invited Mr Pahlavi on 3 September and that senior Coalition MPs and Senators intend to meet him virtually to discuss Iran and his political programme. We also note the Coalition’s assurance that this should not be interpreted as endorsing him as Iran’s future leader. Nevertheless, an official invitation from Australia’s alternative government inevitably confers considerable political status and risks conveying precisely that impression. We recognise Mr O’Brien’s explanation that the invitation responds to calls from sections of the Iranian Australian community. Iranian Australians should certainly be heard. But that community, like Iranian society itself, is politically diverse. Support from one section of the diaspora cannot reasonably establish that Mr Pahlavi represents Iranian Australians as a whole, far less the more than 90 million people inside Iran.
The issue goes beyond representation. Mr Pahlavi presents himself internationally as a champion of democracy, yet his political project places considerable emphasis on his own role in directing Iran’s transition. Critics have raised serious concerns about the authoritarian character of aspects of his proposed programme and about intimidation and aggressive attacks against political opponents by elements associated with his movement. Mr Pahlavi has received no democratic mandate from the Iranian people to speak on their behalf or lead their transition. Millions of Iranians reject both the present theocracy and a return to the monarchical dictatorship that preceded it. This sentiment has repeatedly been expressed during protests through slogans rejecting dictatorship in both forms, whether the Shah or the Supreme Leader.
There is a further issue that deserves particular scrutiny. Mr Pahlavi has publicly acknowledged contacts with people claiming to belong to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij and has suggested that elements of the IRGC could be incorporated into Iran’s future. The IRGC is no ordinary military institution. It has been a principal instrument of domestic repression and a central vehicle for Tehran’s terrorism and destabilising activities abroad. Australia itself has confronted the consequences of the Iranian regime’s malign activities on Australian soil. Any proposal contemplating a future role for elements of the IRGC therefore deserves rigorous examination.
The fundamental principle should be clear. Iran’s future political system must be decided by the Iranian people through free and fair elections and universal suffrage. Australia should support that principle without appearing to elevate any individual, faction or dynasty above the diverse democratic forces seeking change. We therefore respectfully urge you to reconsider the invitation to Mr Pahlavi and the high-level political engagement currently envisaged. Such a decision would in no way weaken the Coalition’s opposition to the clerical regime. It would instead demonstrate that Australia stands with the Iranian people and their democratic rights. Iran faces a democratic alternative to both totalitarian theocracy and authoritarian monarchy. That alternative is a republic founded on popular sovereignty, separation of religion and state, gender equality, political pluralism, the rule
of law and the right of Iranians to choose their representatives freely. At this critical juncture, democratic governments should avoid prejudging that choice.
We would welcome the opportunity for the ISJ to brief you, Mr O’Brien and your colleagues on the situation inside Iran, the organised democratic opposition and the risks involved in granting international political legitimacy to a figure whose role remains deeply contested among Iranians. Australia has a proud democratic tradition. The strongest expression of that tradition today would be to stand unequivocally with the Iranian people and their right to determine their own political future.
