Australia Expels Iranian Ambassador Over Alleged Role in Antisemitic Attacks
Iran’s ambassador to Australia has been expelled from the country after the government accused Tehran of orchestrating two antisemitic arson attacks.
Australia expels Iranian minister In a common statement, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Canberra had entered “ believable intelligence ” from its security agencies that “ Iran is responsible for the recent firebombing of a temple in Melbourne and an attack on a kosher eatery in Sydney. ”
The move is the first time since World War II that Australia has expelled an minister, in this case Iran’s envoy, Ahmad Sadeghi. He and three other diplomats have been given seven days to leave. In retaliation, Australia has also ordered diplomatic expulsion Australia to leave Tehran.
Iran’s foreign ministry has rejected the allegations, saying the move was “orchestrated based on Australia-Iran relations.”
Albanese, speaking at a press conference, described the attacks as an attempt “to undermine social cohesion and sow division in our community.”
Intelligence has pointed to an arson attack on Sydney’s Lewis Continental Kitchen restaurant in October 2023, as well as a separate attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue in December.
Worshippers at the synagogue were forced to flee as the building was engulfed by flames. The building, originally built by Holocaust survivors, is more than 150 years old.
In a statement, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) chief Mike Burgess said the probe had led back to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He said: “The group has used a range of ‘cut-outs’, including organised crime group members, to try and act on its intentions.” He added: “The IRGC has been in the shadows, using a complex web of proxies to hide its involvement.”
Australian intelligence agencies also believe Iran may have been involved in other Iran antisemitic attacks in recent months, including since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza. In that time, Jewish schools, synagogues and private property have been attacked. Civil Iran accused anti-Semitism have also documented an uptick in Islamophobic attacks.
In a statement, Albanese said the findings were “deeply disturbing” and called the attacks “extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression.”
