Australia's ambassador to Iran has been hauled in and given a dressing down by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's officials over Kevin Rudd's criticism of the regime's brutal crackdown on demonstrators.
The provocative move comes amid growing tension between Iran and the West, with the hardline president claiming the British and US governments are meddling in the country's affairs in the wake of violent unrest over recent election results.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Iranian officials called Australian ambassador Marc Innes-Brown into the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday to complain about Mr Rudd's recent comments that Tehran's violence against its own citizens was "a travesty of democracy".
However Mr Innes-Brown held firm, repeating to the Iranian officials that Australia remained deeply concerned about the elections and the resulting violence.
"He expressed Australia's desire to see a fair and thorough review of the election and for protesters to be allowed to exercise their right to freedom of expression and assembly," a DFAT spokeswoman said.
"He also called for the lifting of restrictions on telecommunications and the media."
Mr Rudd told parliament on Thursday that Australia had been shocked at Iran's brutal reaction to protests against the election result.
"Voters and ordinary citizens are so concerned by the election results they risk their lives to speak up for their vote," he told parliament.
"They are peaceful protesters facing violent reprisals and growing arrests."
The diplomatic rebuke of the Australian ambassador follows the arrest this week of nine employees of the British embassy in Tehran, with the regime claiming they were involved in stirring up dissent after the election.
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has called for the immediate release of the staff and dismissed claims the embassy played a role in helping fuel unrest.
Several British diplomats have been thrown out of Iran as part of the country's protest about claims of interference. A number of Iranian staff have been expelled from the UK as part of a tit-for-tat response.
