| IPAN Patrons: Emeritus Professor Ian Lowe AO & Kellie Tranter Lawyer, Human Rights Activist
MEDIA RELEASE 3 March 2026
Media Interviews: Annette Brownlie M: 0431 597 256
Media Liaison: Jonathan Pilbrow M: 0403 611 815
IPAN Condemns Iran School Bombing & UK’s Role in Escalating Conflict
The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) calls on the Australian Prime Minister to unequivocally condemn the recent bombing of a school in Iran, which has reportedly killed over 100 people, mostly children, as part of a broader bombing campaign that has killed at least 555 Iranians[i].
‘This shocking loss of innocent life is a brutal escalation of an already illegal conflict and demands immediate and forceful condemnation from the Australian government’, said Ms Annette Brownlie, Chairperson of IPAN.
‘Australia’s complicity through the Pine Gap surveillance base, which provides intelligence gathering, targeting data for United States strikes, and missile defence, makes a clear and independent stance from our government even more urgent’, said Ms Brownlie.
‘We also call on the Australian Government to condemn the Israeli bombing of Beirut which reportedly killed 31 people and injured 149’, said Ms Brownlie.
Further fuelling this catastrophic conflict, IPAN condemns the United Kingdom’s decision to permit the US to use its military airbases bases at RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia for strikes against Iran.
‘This is a dangerous and reckless move, making the UK complicit in the ongoing aggression and broadening the conflict’, said Ms Brownlie.
‘Further, the drone strike on the Uk military base at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on 1 March has brought the conflict to the UK’s doorstep. Regardless of the precise timing of that strike and the UK’s announcement on the same day permitting US use of UK bases, the attack is a stark reminder that this conflict is already spreading far beyond Iran’s borders, putting UK military personnel and assets directly in harm’s way’, said Ms Brownlie.
‘The legality of military action is not determined by one’s approval or disapproval of another nation’s government. No country’s internal governance — and that standard applies equally to the United States and its allies — can serve as justification for illegal military aggression against a sovereign nation,’ said Ms Brownlie.
The Iranian people have the right to determine their own future free from foreign interference. Australia should be supporting the diplomatic processes and international frameworks that make this possible, not backing military action that denies them that right.
The bombing of the school, and the wider campaign of strikes across Iran and in Lebanon, have ignited widespread protest and civil unrest across the region, including in Pakistan and India, drawing alarming parallels to the disastrous and destabilising wars in Iraq, Syria, and Libya.
‘Attacking Iran is not a path to peace or stability, but a recipe for wider regional conflict and we call on the Australian government to clearly distance itself from this reckless course of action’, said Ms Brownlie.
The recently released US National Defence Strategy made very clear statements that the US would no longer engage in ‘interventionism, endless wars, regime change, and nation building’, but the attacks on Iran expose this as a hollow promise’, said Ms Brownlie.
‘We urge the Australian government to:
• Publicly condemn the bombing of the school in Iran and the killing of civilians in Iran and Lebanon.
• Publicly condemn the UK’s decision to allow the US to use RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia for attacks on Iran.
• Urge all parties to cease hostilities and return to diplomatic negotiations immediately.
• Pursue an independent foreign policy that prioritises peace, diplomacy, and human rights over military alliances and aggression.’
• Ensure that Australia is not drawn into this conflict, either directly or indirectly’.
- Ends
Bio: Annette Brownlie is a founding member of the Brisbane based community peace organisation, Just Peace Queensland, and current (and inaugural) chairperson of IPAN. She has served in this position for over a decade.
About IPAN: IPAN represent many organisations across Australia – community, faith and peace groups, trade unions – and concerned individuals aiming to build public dialogue and pressure for change to a truly independent foreign policy for Australia – one in which our government plays a positive role in solving international conflicts peacefully. www.ipan.org.au[i] Iran says US-Israeli attacks have killed 555 people so far in Iran | The Independent |
