Cantor said Israel was not asking Australia to close its embassy in Tehran or expel diplomats because the priority was to act against the military capability of the Revolutionary Guard.
The United States has treated the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group since 2019 and has urged the European Union and the United Kingdom to do the same, saying this would make it harder for the Iranian force to gain material, supplies and weapons.
The guards’ corp includes military operations including Iran’s air force and navy but also comprises the Qods Force, which supplies training, funding, and weapons to terrorist groups.
In Australia, a Senate foreign affairs committee chaired by Liberal senator Clare Chandler called in February last year for the Iranian group to be treated as terrorists because of the human rights abuses in Iran, amid protests over the country’s treatment of women.
Israeli authorities estimate the Iranian forces launched 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles from sites in Iran as well as from proxies in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon on Saturday.
None of the drones and cruise missiles reached their targets and 99 per cent of the attack was halted, but some of the ballistic missiles could not be intercepted. Israel said there were no fatalities. The New York Times reported on Monday that a seven-year-old girl was injured in the Negev desert.
“The events reflect the Iranian obsession to destroy the state of Israel,” said Cantor.
“The war that is ongoing is a war to defend the state of Israel.”
“You can only imagine what would have happened if Iran possessed nuclear weapons.”
Israel gained assistance from the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Jordan to intercept the drones and missiles.
US President Joe Biden spoke to fellow G7 leaders in the wake of the attack to issue a joint statement that expressed solidarity with Israel.
“With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided,” said the statement from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.
A spokesman for the Iranian embassy in Canberra did not respond to a request for comment.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the government should support stronger action against Iran including the designation of the Revolutionary Guard.
“It is beyond time for the Albanese government to act on our call for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp to be listed by Australia as a terrorist organisation,” he said.
“The IRGC speak like terrorists, collaborate with terrorists and act like terrorists. If our laws need changing to undertake such listing, then they should be changed ASAP.”
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A key question is whether Australian law allows authorities to designate a government agency as a terrorist organisation, raising the possibility that federal parliament would have to agree on an amendment to make it possible to act against the Iranian force.
Albanese emphasised the danger to the region from the Iranian strikes.
“This escalation is a grave threat to the security not just of Israel, but of the entire region,” he told ABC’s Radio National.
“It risks greater instability and devastation across the Middle East. We continue to support regional security, including that of Israel. We want to see there be less conflict, not more.”
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