Australia on Tuesday expelled Iran’s ambassador, accusing Tehran of being behind antisemitic attacks in Melbourne and Sydney.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said intelligence services reached the “deeply disturbing conclusion” that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed at least two attacks. One was the firebombing of the Lewis Continental Café, a kosher café in Sydney’s Bondi suburb in October 2024. The other was a major arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024. No one was physically injured in either attack.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Albanese said. He warned that the attacks aimed to divide communities and spread fear.
Iran’s ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and three other officials have been declared “persona non grata” and ordered to leave within seven days. Australia has also withdrawn its own diplomats from Tehran and suspended embassy operations. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said this marked the first post-war expulsion of an ambassador, adding that consular assistance in Iran was now “extremely limited.”
Australian spy chief Michael Burgess said investigators uncovered links between the IRGC and the attacks. He noted the Guard used a network of proxies to disguise its role, though Iran’s diplomats in Australia were not directly involved. Further investigations into other possible Iranian-backed attacks are ongoing.
Albanese also announced legislation to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. Israel’s embassy in Canberra welcomed the move, calling it “a strong and important step.”
Jewish community leaders said the revelations confirmed their fears of being targeted. “There will be great anxiety that we have been attacked in such a calculated way by a foreign power,” said Daniel Aghion of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
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Shivam Verma is a journalist with over three years of experience in digital newsrooms. He currently works at NewsX, having previously worked for Firstpost and DNA India. A postgraduate diploma holder in Integrated Journalism from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai, Shivam focuses on international affairs, diplomacy, defence, and politics. Beyond the newsroom, he is passionate about football—both playing and watching—and enjoys travelling to explore new places and cuisines.
