Australia is expelling the Iranian ambassador after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Tehran of directing at least two antisemitic attacks on Australian soil.
Mr Albanese said that Australian intelligence services had linked Iran to incidents targeting a Sydney restaurant and a Melbourne mosque.
The expulsion follows a steep rise in antisemitic events across both cities since the Israel-Hamas conflict began in 2023.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a “deeply disturbing conclusion”, Mr Albanese said.
“The Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks.
“Iran has sought to disguise its involvement but ASIO assesses it was behind the attacks.”
The kosher cafe Lewis’s Continental Kitchen, in the Sydney suburb of Bondi, was hit by an arson in October 2024.
Two months later, there was an arson attack on Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne’s Ripponlea.
No one was injured in the attacks, which occurred in suburbs with large Jewish populations.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Mr Albanese said.
“They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community. It is totally unacceptable. The Australian government is taking strong and decisive action in response.”
Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi has been given one week to leave Australia, along with three other officials.
The Guardian reported that it was the first time an ambassador had been expelled from Australia since the Second World War.
The Iranian embassy in Canberra, Australia’s capital, has also been shuttered.
Australia has maintained diplomatic relations with Iran since the revolution in 1979.
It had an embassy in Tehran until June, when it was closed following United States strikes on the city.
There are no longer any Australian diplomats in Iran, and any Australians remaining in the country have been urged to leave if it is safe to do so.
