Former foreign minister Julie Bishop has offered to help the government secure the release of Australians detained in Iran, citing a “constructive’’ relationship with the Iranian Foreign Minister.
Ms Bishop, who retired at the May federal election and stood down as foreign minister after Malcolm Turnbull was dumped as prime minister last year, said she would make herself available “should the government make that request’’.
“I have a longstanding and constructive relationship with Iranian Foreign Minister (Mohammad Javad) Zarif and I met with President (Hassan) Rouhani during my visit to Tehran,’’ Ms Bishop told The Australian.
“I am available to support the government in its efforts to secure the release of the detained Australians, should the government make that request.’’
Ms Bishop visited Iran in 2015, discussing with Mr Zarif a range of topics, including the Islamic State conflict and asylum-seeker issues.
An Australian academic, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, is being held in an Iranian prison after being arrested more than a year ago and Australian travel-blogging couple Jolie King and Mark Firkin were detained by Tehran nearly three months ago for allegedly flying a drone near a military installation.
Ms Bishop’s comments came as it emerged that the Iranian woman thought to be at the centre of a prisoner-swap plot, discussed with at least one of the three Australians being held by the Gulf state, could be deported back to Tehran within five years.
Read the article by Mark Schliebs in The Australian.