Federal government to lobby Iran to take asylum seekers

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop will reportedly try to persuade Iran to take back hundreds of failed asylum seekers when she makes a visit to Tehran next week.

Iran has previously refused to accept thousands of Iranians who have arrived by boat to Australia and have been denied refugee protection.

A diplomatic source has told Fairfax Media that the question of returning failed asylum seekers has been an ongoing discussion between Ms Bishop and her Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif.

"One of the biggest challenges that we are facing with failed asylum seekers is those refusing to return home," the source said.

Ms Bishop will travel to Tehran next week as the federal government aims to build closer ties with Iran in a bid to help with the fight against Islamic State extremists.