Embassy encourages Australia-based Iranians to volunteer to help war effort

Message on Telegram account has sparked alarm among diaspora groups, with one calling for the embassy to be closed

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Tehran’s embassy in Canberra is promoting a recruitment drive for a paramilitary campaign to defend Iran from US forces, with the Australian federal police now looking into the matter.

As the war approaches the two-month mark, the embassy’s website and Telegram channel this week posted a message that instructed people on how to register for a https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/07/iran-young-people-human-chains-power-plants-donald-trump-deadline-looms#:~:text=a%20voluntary%20drive%20to%20fight%20for%20their%20country">voluntary drive to fight for their country, known as the “Janfada” – or “sacrificing life” – program.