Australia and Iran have made a deal to share intelligence surrounding Australian citizens fighting with Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq.
Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday in Iran to discuss the details of the deal, according to ABC News. She said the open flow of information will be beneficial in the joint fight against terrorist groups, particularly ISIS.
"It was an informal arrangement whereby we'd share intelligence that would give us information on the Australians who are taking part," she said on Sunday, according to ABC News. "I believe Iran has information that we would seek and they were very agreeable to share that information with us."
The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, advised the government to keep an open view of the deal and said he would be requesting further information. "I'm not naïve. Iran's a very sophisticated country with a different view of the world to Australia so we need to keep our eyes wide open whenever we deal with them," he said, ABC News reported.
Bishop said the Australian government had started exploring intelligence sharing with Iran in 2014, yet it became more urgent after the Sydney siege. The gunman involved with the deadly siege, in which two hostages were killed, was a refugee from Iran. He has no known links to terrorist organisations, but was influenced by extremist ideals.
The Iran-Australia agreement follows the arrest of five teenagers in Melbourne, Australia on Saturday in relation to a terrorism plot. The teens are alleged to have been involved in the planning of an attack targeting police officers during ANZAC Day ceremonies.
On top of the agreement with Iran, Australia is part of an international coalition -- including the UK and the U.S. -- that is conducting airstrikes in the fight against ISIS. Recently, Australia deployed 330 troops on the ground to help train the Iraqi military, joining 100 U.S. and New Zealand troops in Iraq.