SYDNEY – Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says she will challenge
her Iranian counterpart when they meet this week over reported missile tests
during a military exercise that drew the threat of a diplomatic response from
the United States.

Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards test-fired two ballistic missiles last Wednesday, the Fars
and Tasnim news agencies reported.

“The
onus is on Iran to prove that it is on its way back to being a responsible
international player,” Bishop said in Fiji, where she was discussing aid
after a recent cyclone.

Bishop will meet Iranian
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Canberra this week during his visit to
Australia.

Iran
is coming under stronger diplomatic pressure after the ballistic missile tests,
with the United States intending to raise the issue during United Nations
Security Council consultations this week.

Bishop
said she intends to raise human rights in Iran with Zarif in addition to the
missile tests.

Zarif
was challenged on the issue during a meeting with New Zealand Foreign Minister
Murray McCully on Sunday. McCully and Zarif also discussed Middle Eastern
security and trade, according to a statement from McCully’s office.

Australia
will also use Zarif’s visit to discuss a deal that could see Iranian asylum
seekers returned to their homeland. Australia is seeking guarantees from Iran
that those returned will not be persecuted.

– Reuters