Australia Accuses Iran of Anti-Semitic Attacks and Expels Ambassador

Australia announced the expulsion of Iranian ambassador, Ahmad Sadeghi, and three other diplomatic staff after the country’s intelligence agency discovered that Iran was behind at least two anti-Semitic attacks on Australian soil. The measure was announced by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at a press conference. The Iranian officials were given seven days to leave the country. It is the first time Australia has expelled a foreign ambassador since World War II. The Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) linked Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to two arson attacks last year targeting a Jewish-owned restaurant in Sydney and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Albanese said at a press conference. “These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” said the Prime Minister. Australia also suspended operations at its embassy in Iran for the safety of its consular staff, and Australians in Iran were urged to leave the country. Albanese stated that the IRGC of Iran – an elite wing of the Iranian Armed Forces considered instrumental in suppressing internal dissent and projecting Iran’s power abroad by funding militias throughout the Middle East – would also be listed as a terrorist organization. The US took steps to designate it a terrorist group in 2019. “I have said many times that the Australian people want two things: they want the killing in the Middle East to stop and they do not want the conflict in the Middle East brought here. Iran has sought to do exactly that,” Albanese added. “They have sought to harm and terrorize Australian Jews and sow hate and division in our community,” he added. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said the anti-Semitic attacks in Australia were commanded by the IRGC and executed by “a cake of layers” of intermediaries. “This was commanded by the IRGC through a series of foreign facilitators and coordinators who found their way to task Australians with assignments,” he said. The two ASIO-linked attacks from Iran include an arson in October 2024 at Lewis’ Continental Kitchen restaurant near Bondi Beach in Sydney, which had been serving kosher food to Sydney residents for over 50 years. The second attack was at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne last December, when two masked attackers were seen throwing liquid inside the premises before setting it ablaze. Anti-terrorism investigators in Victoria indicted two men for the Adass Synagogue attack. The most recent arrest was made last week. Police allege that three individuals broke into the place of worship and deliberately set it on fire. Anti-Semitic attacks in Australia have increased since Israel’s retaliation against Hamas’ cross-border attack on October 7, 2023. “ASIO is still investigating possible Iranian involvement in several other attacks. But I want to emphasize that we do not believe the regime is responsible for all acts of anti-Semitism in Australia,” Burgess said. Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke called Iran’s actions an “extraordinary attack” that hit a “new and completely unacceptable level.” “Australia has been attacked and Australia has been harmed,” Burke said. Foreign Minister Penny Wong instructed Australians to leave Iran, as the government’s ability to protect them would be “extremely limited.” “I urge any Australian considering travel to Iran, please do not. Our message is: if you are Australian in Iran, leave now if it is safe to do so,” she said. The Iranian embassy in Canberra did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.