Australia Expels Iranian Envoy Over Antisemitic Attacks
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps directed arson attacks on Jewish sites in Sydney and Melbourne, calling them “acts of aggression by a foreign nation.”
Australia has expelled Iran’s ambassador after accusing Tehran of orchestrating antisemitic arson attacks on Jewish targets in Sydney and Melbourne. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the decision Tuesday in Canberra, flanked by Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Australia’s spy chief. He said intelligence showed Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was behind the December 2024 attacks on a kosher restaurant in Sydney and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. “These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression on Australian soil,” Albanese said. The envoy, Ahmad Sadeghi, has seven days to leave, marking the first expulsion of a foreign ambassador by Australia since World War II.
Attacks In Sydney And Melbourne
According to authorities, the synagogue in Melbourne’s Ripponlea suburb was set ablaze in December, causing millions of dollars in damage. The building, constructed in the 1960s by Holocaust survivors, was targeted by three men, two of whom have been charged. In Sydney, a kosher restaurant was gutted in a separate arson attack, with one suspect linked to an Australian motorcycle gang. No injuries were reported in either incident, but Albanese said the IRGC had used proxies, including criminal networks, to disguise its role.
Government Response And Security Measures
Albanese confirmed that Australia will formally designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. The Australian embassy in Tehran has suspended its operations, with diplomats relocated to a third country. Security chief Mike Burgess said the IRGC had “directed people in Australia to undertake crimes” through intermediaries. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the expulsions, which also included three other Iranian officials, sent a “clear message that Iran’s actions are unacceptable.”
Reactions In Australia And Abroad
Jewish groups in Australia welcomed the move. Daniel Aghion, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the attacks “destroyed a sacred house of worship, terrified our community, and targeted Jewish Australians.” The Iranian-Australian community also praised the decision, with AUSIRAN and other organizations citing years of harassment linked to the embassy. Iran’s foreign ministry rejected the accusations as “baseless” and promised a reciprocal response. Israel’s embassy in Canberra welcomed the step, saying Iran “endangers the entire free world, including Australia.”