Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador on Tuesday after determining Tehran was behind two antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced.
Albanese said the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) concluded that Iran’s government orchestrated the October 2024 firebombing of Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, a kosher deli in Sydney, and the December 2024 arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. Worshippers were inside the synagogue at the time and forced to flee.
“These were dangerous acts of aggression directed by a foreign state,” Albanese said during a press conference in Canberra. “They were calculated attempts to divide our society.”
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Iran’s ambassador, Ahmad Sadeghi, and three other diplomats have been ordered to leave within seven days. Australia also suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran, relocating its staff to a third country. Albanese said the government will introduce legislation to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
ASIO chief Mike Burgess said Iran used intermediaries with ties to organized crime to mask its involvement and likely directed additional incidents. “Iran and its proxies lit the matches—both literally and figuratively,” he said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong noted this is the first time since World War II that Australia has expelled an ambassador. She urged Australians in Iran to leave immediately and advised against all travel to the country.
Israel’s embassy in Canberra welcomed the steps, calling Iran a global threat.
The expulsions come amid worsening ties between Australia and Israel, following Albanese’s decision to back recognition of a Palestinian state. Albanese has publicly downplayed recent criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he does not take such remarks personally.