Australia Breaks Diplomatic Ties with Iran Over Alleged Antisemitic Attacks on Jewish Sites
In Melbourne, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese asserted that Iran orchestrated two anti-Semitic attacks in Australia, leading to the termination of diplomatic relations with Tehran. The Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) alleged that the Iranian government orchestrated arson attacks on the Lewis Continental Kitchen, a kosher food company in Sydney last October, and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne last December.
Iran’s response was not immediate. Since the commencement of the Israel-Hamas conflict in 2023, there has been a surge in anti-Semitic incidents reported in both Sydney and Melbourne. Australian authorities suspect that foreign entities are hiring local criminals to carry out these attacks within the country.
Authorities have already apprehended at least one suspect in relation to the Sydney cafe fire investigation and two individuals accused of torching the Melbourne synagogue. Addressing the media, Albanese stated, “ASIO has now gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion. The Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks.”
Shortly before this announcement, the Australian government summoned Iran’s Ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi and informed him of his expulsion. Additionally, Australian diplomats stationed in Iran were withdrawn to a third country, Albanese confirmed. The Australian Embassy in Iran was subsequently closed, and an alert was issued advising Australians in Iran to leave the country immediately if it’s safe to do so due to the high risk of arbitrary detention or arrest.
Australia raised its travel advisory for Iran to the highest level, urging citizens not to travel there. The move follows Iran’s history of detaining Westerners or those with foreign ties as bargaining chips in negotiations.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong emphasized that some diplomatic channels would remain open with Tehran to promote Australia’s interests. This marks the first time since World War II that Australia has expelled an ambassador. Albanese announced plans to legislate listing Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, which has been implicated in attacks abroad over the course of its existence, although it generally denies any involvement.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry welcomed the potential terrorist designation for the Revolutionary Guard, expressing outrage that a foreign entity was behind these crimes. The statement read, “These were attacks that deliberately targeted Jewish Australians, destroyed a sacred house of worship, caused millions of dollars of damage, and terrorized our community.”
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas conflict, several individuals have been arrested in Israel on charges of being paid or encouraged by Iran to engage in vandalism and surveillance activities there. The actions against Iran come a week after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu labeled Albanese a “weak politician who had betrayed Israel” due to recognizing a Palestinian state. This public rebuke followed Albanese’s August 11th announcement that his government would formally recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly in September, which was met with tit-for-tat cancellations of visas for Australian and Israeli officials.
Neither ASIO director-general Mike Burgess nor Albanese provided details on the evidence supporting Iran’s involvement. Burgess confirmed that no Iranian diplomats in Australia were implicated. He stated, “This was directed by the IRGC through a series of overseas cut-out facilitators to coordinators that found their way to tasking Australians.” Burgess added that Iran was responsible for a transition in October last year when the violence more directly targeted people, businesses, and places of worship. “Iran started the first of those,” Burgess said.