Prominent Australian academic denies links to powerful Iranian politician

Prof Abbas Rajabifard of the University of Melbourne says he was listed as a co-author of research with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator in recent peace talks, without his knowledge Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A University of Melbourne academic has denied collaborating on research with the speaker of Iran’s parliament – who has been leading Tehran’s peace negotiations with the US – saying he was named as an author on a journal article without his knowledge. On Monday Guardian Australia revealed that Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s top negotiator, had built extensive ties to Australia over the past decade, including links to a University of Melbourne engineering research centre. In March 2023, Ghalibaf – a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander – appeared as co-author of a journal article with a University of Melbourne engineering academic, Prof Abbas Rajabifard, who leads the research centre that employed Ghalibaf’s son Eshagh seven years earlier. On Tuesday, Rajabifard told the Guardian he had “no involvement in the article” and had the journal remove his name from