Australia has ordered Iran’s ambassador and three other officials to leave the country after accusing Tehran of orchestrating antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday that intelligence services had linked Iran to an October 2023 arson attack on a Sydney café and a December firebombing at Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue.
“These incidents were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression aimed at undermining social cohesion and sowing discord in our community,” Albanese said. He confirmed that Australia has withdrawn its diplomats from Tehran for safety reasons, while also designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
According to Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) chief Mike Burgess, Tehran had attempted to conceal its role by using “cut-outs,” including members of organised crime gangs, to carry out the attacks. The café targeted in Sydney was Lewis Continental Kitchen, while the Melbourne synagogue, built by Holocaust survivors in the 1960s, was set ablaze during a service, forcing worshippers to flee.
Iran has strongly denied the accusations, with its foreign ministry insisting that Australia’s decision was “driven by domestic policies.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the expulsions as a historic step, noting it was the first time since World War Two that Australia had expelled an ambassador. She urged Australians not to travel to Iran and called on citizens already there to leave immediately if safe to do so.
The incidents come amid heightened tensions following Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, which has fueled both antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents in Australia. Civil society groups have documented a spike in hate crimes against Jewish and Muslim communities alike.
Israel’s embassy in Canberra welcomed the move, saying Iran’s regime poses a threat not only to Jews and Israel but “to the entire free world, including Australia.”
Albanese said the government remains committed to protecting Australians from foreign interference, stressing that such attacks “will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”
