Australia expels Iran’s ambassador over antisemitic attacks in Melbourne and Sydney

Australia has expelled Iran’s ambassador after intelligence services concluded that Tehran was behind two antisemitic arson attacks in Melbourne and Sydney, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday.

The move marks the first time since World War II that Canberra has expelled an ambassador.

Albanese said intelligence agencies had reached the “deeply disturbing conclusion” that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) orchestrated the October 2024 firebombing of the Lewis Continental Cafe, a kosher cafe in Sydney’s Bondi, and the December 2024 arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne.

No one was physically harmed in either incident.

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

The government declared Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi persona non grata and gave him, along with three other Iranian officials, seven days to leave the country. Australia has also withdrawn its own ambassador from Tehran and suspended embassy operations there.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong emphasised the gravity of the decision, noting it was the first time in the post-war era that Australia had expelled a foreign ambassador. She added that while limited diplomatic channels would remain open, consular support in Iran was now “extremely limited.”

“I do know that many Australians have family connections in Iran, but I urge any Australian who might be considering traveling to Iran, please do not do so,” Wong warned. “Our message is, if you are an Australian in Iran, leave now if it is safe to do so.”

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) chief Michael Burgess said a “painstaking” investigation confirmed that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard directed at least two, and likely more, attacks targeting Jewish interests in Australia. While Iran’s embassy and its diplomats in Canberra were not implicated, Burgess said the IRGC used a “complex web of proxies” to conceal its role.

“Iran’s actions are utterly unacceptable. They put lives at risk. They terrified the community, and they tore at our social fabric,” Burgess said. “Iran and its proxies, literally and figuratively, lit the matches and fanned the flames.”

Daniel Aghion, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the Jewish community might take some comfort in the findings but warned the attacks revealed a disturbing reality. “There will be great anxiety that we have been targeted in such a callous and calculated way, by a ruthless and violent foreign force, because of who we are,” he said.

Following the revelations, the Australian government announced plans to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. Israel’s embassy in Canberra welcomed the move, calling it “a step we have long advocated for.” The statement added: “Iran’s regime is not only a threat to Jews or Israel, it endangers the entire free world, including Australia. A strong and important move.”

Iran’s embassy in Canberra did not immediately comment on the expulsion.