Australia sanctions five Iranians involved in missile program after 180 ballistic missiles fired at Israel

Australia has imposed fresh sanctions on five Iranians involved in the country’s missile program in response to its attacks on Israel.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced the measures early on Tuesday, saying they involved targeted sanctions and travel bans.

Two directors and a senior official in Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organisation, the director of the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group and the commercial director of the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group are subject to the sanctions.

The US and UK have imposed similar restrictions.

Senator Wong said Iran’s missile program posed a material threat to regional and international security.

“Iran’s 1 October launch of over 180 ballistic missiles against Israel was a dangerous escalation that increased the risk of a wider regional war,” she said.

“Australia will continue to hold Iran to account for its reckless and destabilising actions.”

Australia has now imposed sanctions and travel bans on 200 Iran-linked individuals and entities, about half of which have links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to respond to the Iranian attack – even as he continues battles with Iran-backed terrorist groups Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon – sparking fears of an all-out war in the Middle East.