Australia announced Tuesday it will expel two Iranian diplomats, including Tehran's ambassador, after intelligence officials concluded the Islamic Republic directed antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne last year. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia's spy agency had gathered "credible intelligence" linking the incidents to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
"The Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks," Albanese told reporters in Canberra. "Iran has sought to disguise its involvement but ASIO assesses it was behind the attacks." He called the findings "a deeply disturbing conclusion."
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation said its officers had "uncovered and unpicked" links between the October 20 attack on Lewis' Continental Kitchen in Sydney and the December 6 attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. "ASIO now assesses the Iranian Government directed at least two and likely more attacks on Jewish interests in Australia," Director-General of Security Mike Burgess said in a statement.
"These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil," Albanese added, underscoring the seriousness of the decision to remove Iran's ambassador.
The move represents an unprecedented step in modern Australian diplomacy. "This is the first time in the post-war period that Australia has expelled an ambassador," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. "And we have made this decision because Iran's actions are completely unacceptable." She said Iran's activities had "crossed a line."
Australian diplomats stationed in Tehran have been withdrawn, with operations at the embassy suspended. Albanese confirmed staff were relocated to a third country following the announcement.
The prime minister also said his government would move to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, adding a new layer of sanctions and restrictions on Tehran's military apparatus.
The allegations against Iran come amid heightened regional and global tensions. Antisemitic incidents in Sydney and Melbourne have spiked since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the ensuing conflict in Gaza. Albanese's government earlier this month said it would support Palestinian statehood recognition at the United Nations in September, drawing a sharp rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia's Jews," Netanyahu said.
