Ms Bishop wrapped up the first visit to Tehran by an Australian minister in more than a decade on Sunday by declaring confidence that a nuclear deal was within reach. Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop in Tehran, after meeting with Iran's president Hassan Rouhani. Credit:Andrew Meares And she said countries such as Israel - which has been sharply critical of the nuclear talks with Iran - should be satisfied. Ms Bishop revealed Australia first made unofficial overtures to begin intelligence sharing with Iran last October, soon after accepting the invitation to visit Tehran. But she said the push became more urgent in December after Iranian refugee Man Haron Monis took hostages in the Sydney cafe siege and it later became clear Iran had wanted him as a "criminal".

She said intelligence sharing with Iran would have major benefits, including to track Australians who have joined Islamic State, also known as Daesh. "They are very present in Iraq. The [Iranian] Revolutionary Guard is on the ground, they are working with the security forces. They are carrying out operations in Tikrit and elsewhere, they are all over the place," Ms Bishop said. Ms Bishop agreed the intelligence sharing was extraordinary and said she believed Iran had much to offer, including about the senior role of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in the former regime of Saddam Hussein. Iran and Australia will also work together on de-radicalisation efforts to counter the allure of extremist propaganda. Ms Bishop was also at pains to stress Australia's limited role for troops in Iraq did not extend to combat.

"Iran is determined to use their resources and energy and efforts to defeat Daesh," Ms Bishop said. "They see Daesh as the most significant global threat at present, that was the way Rouhani put it to me. "I see practical outcomes in months ahead. I see that our intelligence agencies will have an opportunity to work much more closely." Ms Bishop met President Rouhani and other key members of the Iranian leadership during the 36-hour visit and said there was strong confidence for a nuclear deal. "I'm operating on the basis that there is such momentum on both sides that a positive outcome will be reached," she said. "I think there is genuine regret the relationship with the United States has deteriorated to the extent that it did and has remained so for such a long time. They all have personal recollections of studying in the US, of better times. I found those insights quite telling."

She said she would share perspectives on Iran with Israel but did not expect the growing closeness to Tehran would complicate Australia's ties with Israel. "My sense is that Israel is waiting to see the detail of the final agreement," she said. She said Iran had the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside Israel, with about 20,000 Jews in the country. "It is a very different perspective that you get here," she said. The potential stumbling block to a nuclear deal is the attitude of the US Congress, but the rapprochement in recent months has seen US and Iran officials dealing more closely than at any time since Iran's 1979 revolution.

Ms Bishop said she was pleased Iran had also agreed to send officials to Australia for talks on returning Iranian asylum seekers deemed not to be refugees. And she said criticism of her decision to wear a headscarf in Tehran was unwarranted. "My view is this is our first visit in 12 years, I don't want it to be our last. So If somebody asks me to wear a headscarf in order to met the President, I'll wear a headscarf. We want to come back again. "For those who think that our discussion on returns has failed, we've just opened the dialogue." She said she won assurances from Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif that failed asylum seekers would not be mistreated on return.