Iranian group asks minister to investigate Fatima Payman for possible foreign influence

Australia’s largest Iranian community organisation has asked the government to investigate whether Fatima Payman was influenced by foreign agents after footage emerged of her saying the authoritarian regime was an “incredible place” for women.

The West Australian senator has rejected the allegation and now says she didn’t mean to downplay anyone’s pain.

Australian Iranian Community Organisation president Siamak Ghahreman said the comments went against decades of evidence from Iranian people and international bodies about human rights abuses.

The community was puzzled about the flip in position given Senator Payman had promoted her attendance two years earlier at Woman-Life-Freedom rallies, including one at Parliament House.

“Senator Payman stood in solidarity with Iranian women against the Iranian government and against its politics and violation of human rights,” Mr Ghahreman told The West Australian.

“And now we’re wondering why all this suddenly has changed so dramatically. What has happened? Is she under pressure to say this? Is she being encouraged to do this? All this needs to be investigated.

“Being a senator should not give her immunity to be able to spread lies, especially when there is so much evidence all against what she said.”

Senator Payman made the comments to Iran’s state-owned PressTV after speaking at a Sydney event focused on “the reality of Iranian people”.

She issued a statement on Thursday after The West first revealed the AIC’s request, saying she had heard Australian-Iranian women speaking at the event describe life in Iran in positive terms.

“When a journalist from Press TV later asked about the conversations I had at the event, I made comments that reflected what women had shared with me, not my own personal opinion,” she said, adding that she did not know of the broadcaster’s “political affiliations”.

“I acknowledge that the Iranian community is not homogeneous, and individuals have different lived experiences.

“However, I recognise that my comments did not reflect the realities of women who have suffered violence, brutality and severe human rights abuses. My intention was never to downplay or minimise their pain. If my words caused hurt, I sincerely apologise.”

Mr Ghahreman wrote to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in a letter sent on Wednesday asking for “an investigation into whether Senator Fatima Payman or her political party has been influenced by foreign agents in a way that undermines Australian values and democratic integrity”.

The letter, which The West has seen, referenced Senator Payman dismissing human rights violations as “Western propaganda” and said the statements appeared aligned with the rhetoric of the Iranian regime rather than people with lived experience.

“Such remarks not only distort the truth but also risk spreading misinformation and division within our multicultural society,” the letter says.

“Given the gravity of these concerns, I urge you to initiate an investigation to determine whether Senator Payman’s remarks and political stance are being influenced by foreign entities, potentially guiding her to distort factual narratives about Iran’s human rights situation.”

Asked whether she had been swayed by any foreign government representatives, Senator Payman said: “I reject the false allegation.”

Mr Burke’s office received the letter on Thursday afternoon and passed the request on to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who has responsibility for any such investigation.

A spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s Department said any allegations of criminal behaviour should be referred to the Australian Federal Police.

Foreign interference is a crime if it involves a foreign government or their proxy secretly or coercively seeking to influence Australian politics or democratic processes, or threatening multicultural communities to silence or harass them.

Mr Ghahreman said he had never heard of the group which organised the event, the Benevolent Iranian Women’s Association, and said it appeared to be “only serving the purpose of the Iranian government, not for Iranian people”.

His organisation, the AIC, was established in the 1980s to offer a unified voice for the Iranian community in Australia.

It advocates on behalf of the community, including through submissions to parliamentary inquiries, and offers practical supports such as regular Australian citizenship test and computer skills classes.