In the wake of the mass-murder attack that targeted Jews at Bondi Beach in Australia on Sunday, some of the spotlight has fallen on Iran. There has been speculation that the Iranian regime could be linked to the terrorist attack.
While Iranian state media is not openly celebrating the attack, it is worth looking at what it is saying in general and how this might reflect Iran’s stance.
One Iranian-linked writer did excuse the attack. Lebanese journalist Hadi Hoteit, whose social-media account describes him as a war correspondent for Iran’s state-run Press TV, posted on X a photo of one of the alleged gunmen and wrote: “Is he a terrorist for killing people who continue to support a state that has carried out a continuous genocide against the indigenous peoples of Palestine and Lebanon for 77 years?”
Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iran’s official news agency, reported factually: “A mass shooting incident at Bondi Beach in Australia’s largest city of Sydney leaves 12 people, including an assailant, dead and 18 others injured. Police say two gunmen opened fire at a gathering celebrating the Jewish Hanukkah on Sunday, but did not specify who was behind the attack.”
“The incident, one of the bloodiest against Australian Jews, has provoked a wave of harsh and unprecedented reactions from the Israeli regime, which itself is under fire over the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip,” IRNA reported.
Shifting the narrative back to Gaza
After detailing several Israeli statements, the report said: “Analysts say public opinion in the West has dramatically shifted against the Israeli regime over the genocide in Gaza. Gaza’s Health Ministry says the death toll in the besieged territory has surpassed 70,000 since October 2023.”
Iranian state media appears to be trying to link the attack to the Israel-Hamas War.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has continued to incite against Israel. IRNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei as saying: “Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza, particularly children, with the assistance of American technology companies [was] ‘systematic brutality’ and ‘utter barbarity.’”
Iranian state media is also focused on other issues, such as Iran’s ties with various countries.
Iranian “President Masoud Pezeshkian has stressed the potential of the BRICS group as a valuable platform for enhancing interactions and deepening economic and political ties among member states,” IRNA reported. “President Pezeshkian made the remarks in a meeting with Speaker of Ethiopia’s House of Representatives Tagesse Chafo in Tehran on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Iran is said to be concerned it could face a new conflict in 2026.
“Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has emphasized that Iran never seeks war, but it wants to resolve issues through diplomacy,” IRNA reported.
In another incident, the Pakistani prime minister’s special representative for Afghanistan affairs, Mohammad Sadiq, met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran. Iranian Ambassador to Turkey Mohammad Hassan Habibollahzadeh also met with Musa Kulaklikaya, Turkey’s new deputy foreign minister. Iran and Turkey enjoy warm ties.
Iran has also said it rejected “foreign meddling” in the region, apparently referring to Afghanistan and other neighboring states.
The context of the Iranian media coverage, therefore, is that Iran is bashing Israel and also reporting on its own foreign ties as a way to apparently deter future wars with Israel or the US.
Meanwhile, it appears that at least some pro-Iranian social-media commentators are making excuses for the terrorist attack in Australia.