August 8, 2024
ALP stalwart Shaoquett Moselmane dined with the "ratbag" Iranian envoy criticised by the Albanese government for his "repugnant" calls for Israel's destruction amid the former NSW MP's bid to replace Linda Burney in Barton.
Mr Moselmane, whose home was raided in 2020 as part of an ASIO foreign interference probe, has been vocal about both his Barton preselection hopes and support for Palestine, even joining protesters outside NSW Premier Chris Minns's office in November.
While cross-factional sources agreed that the former state MP had little chance of replacing Ms Burney, Mr Moselmane has been pitching himself to the wider community, including alongside embattled Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi.
At a private gathering in Sydney on July 28, he joined Iran's top diplomat for a "gala dinner" in "honour" of the Islamic Republic's envoy. On Sunday, Mr Moselmane wrote that he was "grateful" for the "kind invitation" to join Mr Sadeghi, posting his thanks and pictures of him speaking alongside the ambassador.
The day before, referencing Hamas founder Ahmed Yassin, Mr Sadeghi called Israel a "Zionist plague" and described Hamas' commitment to the "wiping out" of Israel by 2027 as a "heavenly and divine promise".
Mr Moselmane also met the ambassador in May, when he signed a condolence book in Canberra after the death of Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi.
But Mr Moselmane said he was unaware of the ambassador's comments or the government's anger, and that he accepted invitations to "many community events".
He disputed that the meeting and dinner were inappropriate for a political hopeful, saying Iranian and Australian diplomats often met. "I attend as many (events) as I can and I don't ask for people's CVs or what they may say in future," Mr Moselmane said, noting the event was before the remarks. "On the night I was asked to say a few words. I spoke about the Australian Lebanese community's history and also called for a ceasefire in Gaza."
On Tuesday, Anthony Albanese hauled the ambassador in for a rebuke over his comments, which he described as "abhorrent, hateful and anti-Semitic".
The Coalition has called for the diplomat to be expelled, urging the government to show a "far stronger response", while ASIO director-general Mike Burgess labelled his comments "disgraceful and unhelpful". Former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson called Mr Sadeghi a "ratbag".
Coalition Home Affairs spokesman James Paterson said it defied belief that any political hopeful would think it appropriate to court the goodwill of representatives from a regime that had run foreign interference operations in Australia and been "one of the largest sponsors of terrorism in the Middle East".
"No one who aspires to represent their community in the Australian parliament should be sharing a stage or palling around with representatives of the Iranian regime," the senator said.
"This should be immediately disqualifying for Mr Moselmane's ambitions to run for Barton. The Prime Minister must personally intervene to prevent him from being Labor's candidate."
Mr Moselmane, however, said he posted about the event without knowing of the ambassador's comments and that it was a "community engagement". He said he didn't believe it was inappropriate, saying the government had diplomatic ties with Iran, and the two countries' diplomats "would often meet". The former state MP's home was raided in 2020 as part of an ASIO investigation into concerns the Chinese government was working to influence the office of a sitting MP.
At the time, Mr Moselmane said he was not a suspect and no charges were ever laid, nor is The Australian suggesting any wrongdoing. ASIO also raided the home of one of his then-staffers, but he was declared not to be a suspect and no charges were laid.
Mr Moselmane quit NSW parliament after getting dumped from the upper house ticket before the 2023 election.
Since Ms Burney's July announcement, he has routinely spruiked his pro-Palestine credentials, also recently showing support for The Muslim Vote campaign targeting non-ALP MPs who supported Israel.
Party sources said it was inconceivable that he would be preselected.
