SYDNEY: Australia accused Iran of directing two “antisemitic” arson attacks in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne and gave Tehran’s ambassador seven days to leave the country on Tuesday, its first such expulsion since World War Two. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian Security Intelligence Organization had gathered credible intelligence that Iran was behind at least two attacks.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Albanese told a press briefing. “They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community.” Iran had sought to “disguise its involvement” in last year’s attacks on a kosher restaurant in Sydney and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Albanese said. No injuries were reported in the attacks.
Since the Zionist war in Gaza began in Oct 2023, Australian homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles have been targeted in “antisemitic” vandalism and arson, while Islamophobic incidents have also surged. Australian civil society group the Islamophobia Register said incidents of that nature rose 500 percent in workplaces, universities and the media since Oct 2023, with 1,500 reported.
Australia’s decision was motivated by internal affairs, and “antisemitism” had no place in Iranian culture, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry said. “The accusation that has been made is absolutely rejected,” Esmaeil Baqaei said during a weekly press conference, adding that “any inappropriate and unjustified action on a diplomatic level will have a reciprocal reaction”.
Earlier Tuesday, Australia declared Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi “persona non grata” and ordered him and three other officials to leave the country within seven days. It also withdrew its own ambassador to Iran and suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran, which opened in 1968.
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in a post on X, called Albanese a “weak politician” and said the accusation against Iran “makes zero sense”. “Iran is paying the price for the Australian people’s support for Palestine. Canberra should know better than to attempt to appease a regime led by War Criminals,” Iran’s top diplomat said, referring to Zionist politicians.
Baqaei said the measures appeared to be “influenced by internal developments” in Australia, including recent protests against the Zionist entity’s war in Gaza. “It seems that this action is taken in order to compensate for the limited criticism the Australian side has directed at the Zionist regime,” he added.
Australia’s security agency said it was likely that Iran had directed further attacks, Albanese said, adding that Australia has suspended operations at its Tehran embassy and all its diplomats were safe in a third country. The government would designate Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, Albanese added, joining the United States and Canada, which already blacklist the IRGC.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Sadeghi and three Iranian officials had seven days to leave. “Iran’s actions are completely unacceptable,” she told the briefing. Wong said it was the first time in the post-war period that Australia had expelled an ambassador. Canberra will maintain diplomatic lines with Iran to advance the interests of Australians, Wong said. Though Australians have been advised not to travel through Iran since 2020, Wong said Canberra’s ability to provide consular assistance was now “extremely limited”.
The IRGC was directing people in Australia to undertake crimes, said Mike Burgess, director general of the security agency. “They’re just using cut-outs, including people who are criminals and members of organized crime gangs to do their bidding or direct their bidding,” he added.
The Zionist embassy in Australia welcomed the action against its major rival Iran. The Australian Iranian Community Organization welcomed the expulsion and the move to declare the IRGC as a terrorist group. “We are really happy to see them go,” its president, Siamak Ghahreman, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in an interview. About 90,000 Iranian-born people live in Australia.
Ties between the Zionist entity and Australia have been strained since Canberra’s center-left government decided to recognize a Palestinian state on Aug 11. The move came after tens of thousands marched across Sydney’s Harbour Bridge, calling for peace and aid deliveries to Gaza. The conflict has killed more than 62,000 people in Gaza, while the Zionist blockade has caused a food shortage that is leading to widespread starvation. On Sunday, thousands joined nationwide pro-Palestinian protests. – Agencies