Canberra orders Iranian envoy out over attacks targeting Jewish community

Australia has expelled Iran’s ambassador after the country’s domestic intelligence agency determined that Tehran directed at least two attacks targeting Australia’s Jewish community.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on August 26 that the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had obtained “credible intelligence” showing that the Iranian government was behind the attacks on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, a Jewish-owned business in Bondi, Sydney.

ASIO’s director-general, Mike Burgess, revealed that the operations were ordered by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and carried out through what he described as a “layer cake of cut-outs” — a network of paid intermediaries inside Australia tasked with carrying out the attacks.

Burgess said that while the IRGC orchestrated the incidents, Iranian diplomats stationed in Australia were not involved. However, he confirmed that the IRGC will be formally designated as a terrorist organisation, with the legislation expected to be presented to the federal parliament in the coming days.

Following the findings, Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi was declared persona non grata by the Australian government. Australia’s embassy in Tehran will suspend its operations, and Australian diplomats in Iran were relocated to a third country before the announcement for security reasons.

“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Albanese said in his statement. “They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community. It is totally unacceptable, and the Australian government is taking strong and decisive action in response.”

Burgess stressed that ASIO does not believe Iran is behind every antisemitic incident in Australia, but confirmed that other cases are under investigation for potential links to Tehran.

“It goes without saying that Iran’s actions are unacceptable,” Burgess said. “They put lives at risk, they terrified the community, and they tore at our social fabric. Iran and its proxies lit the matches and fanned the flames. This was directed by the IRGC through a series of overseas cut-outs, facilitators, to coordinators that found their way to task Australians.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong underscored the severity of the government’s response, describing the move as unprecedented in modern Australian history.

“That is why we have declared Iran’s ambassador to Australia persona non grata, as well as three other Iranian officials, and they will have seven days to leave the country,” Wong said. “This is the first time in the post-war period that Australia has expelled an ambassador, and we have made this decision because Iran’s actions are completely unacceptable.”

By Tamilla Hasanova