Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador to Australia after ASIO concluded that Tehran orchestrated a series of anti-Semitic attacks on Australian soil.
The unprecedented move marks the first time since the Second World War that Australia has expelled a foreign ambassador.
Speaking alongside AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw, ASIO chief Mike Burgess, and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Mr Albanese said ASIO had gathered “credible intelligence” linking Iran to at least two attacks — the firebombing of the Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Bondi in October 2024 and the arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue in December.
“ASIO has now gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion that the Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks,” the Prime Minister said.
“It is totally unacceptable, and the Australian Government is taking strong and decisive action in response. A short time ago, we informed the Iranian Ambassador to Australia that he would be expelled. We have suspended operations at our embassy in Tehran.”
Mr Albanese warned that Iran had “sought to harm and terrorise Jewish Australians and sow hatred and division in our community”. Australians in Iran have been advised to leave if it is safe to do so.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong described Iran’s conduct as “extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil”, confirming that the ambassador, Ahmad Sadeghi, along with three other officials, had been declared persona non grata and given seven days to depart.
ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess explained how Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had used a “layer cake” of intermediaries, including members of organised crime groups, to carry out attacks.
“Some of the alleged perpetrators did this because they were paid to do it,” he said.
Mr Burgess added that while Iran’s involvement had been proven in specific cases, ASIO did not believe the regime was behind every act of anti-Semitism in Australia.
“It goes without saying that Iran’s actions are unacceptable. 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,” he said.
The investigation remains ongoing into possible Iranian involvement in other incidents.
Source: news.com.au
