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Australia Expels Iranian Ambassador Over Antisemitic Attacks

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Australia has taken the unprecedented step of expelling Iran’s ambassador, accusing Tehran of orchestrating antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. It is the first time since World War II that Canberra has expelled an ambassador.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, addressing a press conference on Tuesday, said intelligence services had reached the “deeply disturbing conclusion” that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind at least two attacks on Jewish sites in the country.

He said Tehran directed the firebombing of a kosher café in Bondi, Sydney, in October 2024, as well as a destructive blaze at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December the same year. No casualties were recorded in either incident.

“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Albanese said.

“They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community.”

As a result, ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi was declared persona non grata and ordered, alongside three other Iranian officials, to leave Australia within seven days. Canberra has also withdrawn its own ambassador from Tehran and suspended operations at the embassy established in 1968. Albanese confirmed that Australian diplomats were now “safe in a third country.”

The prime minister further disclosed plans to legislate the designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong underscored the gravity of the move.

“It was the first time in the post-war period that Australia had expelled an ambassador,” she said.
Wong explained that while diplomatic channels with Tehran would remain open, consular support for Australians in Iran was now “extremely limited.”

“I do know that many Australians have family connections in Iran, but I urge any Australian who might be considering travelling to Iran, please do not do so. Our message is, if you are an Australian in Iran, leave now if it is safe to do so,” she advised.
Michael Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, said the link between the attacks and the Revolutionary Guard was uncovered after a “painstaking” investigation.
He revealed that the Guard had “directed at least two and ‘likely’ more attacks on Jewish interests in Australia,” often using “a complex web of proxies” to disguise its role. Burgess added that Iran’s embassy and diplomats in Canberra were not directly implicated, though further investigations into other incidents remain ongoing.

Daniel Aghion, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the findings confirmed the fears of the Jewish community.
“Yet there will be great anxiety that we have been targeted in such a callous and calculated way, by a ruthless and violent foreign force, because of who we are,” he said.

The Bondi café fire gutted the business, while the blaze at Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue destroyed much of the building, leading police to classify it as a “likely terrorist incident.” Both incidents occurred against the backdrop of heightened antisemitic attacks worldwide following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 assault on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Counter-terrorism expert Levi West of the Australian National University said the diplomatic impact of Canberra’s action was likely to be contained given limited bilateral ties.

“We don’t have any defence arrangements like we do with other Middle East countries or intelligence relationships,” he noted.
Israel’s embassy in Australia welcomed the move to proscribe the Revolutionary Guard.

“This is a step we have long advocated for,” the embassy said in a statement posted on social media.
 
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