IPAN Patrons: Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe AO & Kellie Tranter Lawyer, Human Rights Activist
MEDIA RELEASE 24 February 2026
IPAN calls on the Australian government to declare that:
· It will not support a US attack on Iran
· It will follow the UK lead and not allow Australian territory to be used in a US war on Iran
· It will not allow the joint intelligence facilities at Pine Gap or the RAAF Base Tindal to be used in support of a US war on Iran
· It will not allow the Australian Navy or Airforce to be used in support of a US war on Iran
The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) calls on the Australian government to declare it will not support a United States attack on Iran.
The US is currently assembling a massive military force near Iran with an armada led by the aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Gerald R Ford. The indications are that the US is preparing for a substantial attack on Iran.
In an exclusive interview with the Tehran Times, Scott Ritter, a former UN weapons inspector and US Marine intelligence officer, stated that ‘If there is a military attack against Iran, it’s because the goal is to destroy Iran and eliminate the Islamic Republic. It is important to understand that when President Trump articulates regime change in the way he has, it reflects official US policy.’
Ritter has pointed out the duplicity of the US having negotiations with Iran to gain time, whilst preparing for war and putting together in the US an alternative Iran regime to replace its current government.
IPAN sees such a war on Iran as illegal and also assisting Israel in its desire to obliterate Iran. ‘It would also continue the ‘might is right’ actions of the US and continue perpetrating a human disaster which may well spread in the Middle East and beyond’, said Mr Derek Burke, spokesperson for IPAN.
‘There is no evidence that Iran has planned to produce nuclear weapons. Iran has signed the UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has expressed its support for the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,[i] said Mr Burke.
‘IPAN calls on the Australian government to declare Australia will not support a US war on Iran and that no military or intelligence assets on Australian soil, such as Pine Gap or the RAAF Base Tindal, will be used in such a war’, said Mr Burke.
Australia taking such a stance would be in line with the UK position of refusing the US use of its airfields, including those on Diego Garcia, for an attack on Iran. ‘The Government must also categorically rule out the Australian Navy or Airforce being used in any way to support a US war on Iran, said Mr Burke.
‘Additionally, the Australian government should urge the US to turn back from this disastrous course and pursue peaceful and constructive relations with Iran and all countries’, said Mr Burke.
IPAN urges the government to adopt the principles of the non-aligned movement as stated at the Bandung conference of 1955, of which the first two principles are: ‘Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations’ and ‘Abstention from intervention or interference in the internal affairs of another country’, said Mr Burke.
‘Adoption of such principles would represent an important step in Australia charting its own course in foreign affairs, pursuing peaceful relations with all countries rather than slavishly following US foreign policy’, said Mr Burke.
Media Interviews: Derek Burke: 0412 652 227
Media Liaison: Jonathan Pilbrow 0403 611 815
Bio: Derek Burke has a long history of peace activism going back to the 1970s. Derek was involved with the Campaign Against Foreign Military Bases in the 70’s; a member of the South Australian State Committee of People for Nuclear Disarmament in the 80s; and is presently the convener of IPAN-SA and a member of the national coordinating committee of IPAN.
Status: Iran has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
National position: Following the opening for signature of the TPNW in 2017, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Iran, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said that Iran supports the ‘overall objective’ of the TPNW and believes ‘that it will reinforce the nuclear disarmament regime’.
Iran hailed the TPNW’s entry into force in 2021 as ‘a successful achievement for the global movement towards nuclear disarmament’, but noted that nuclear-armed states ‘have continued to boost their nuclear arsenals’ notwithstanding this development.
In 2022, Iran described the TPNW as ‘a right step in the right direction’ and complementary to the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968. But it said that the TPNW ‘should also be complemented by the urgent commencement of negotiations and the conclusion of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons’.
In 2024, Iran said that the TPNW ‘aligns with our principled stance on nuclear disarmament’.
Iran has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty ‘at the earliest possible date’.