The Australian government announced Tuesday that it has expelled the Iranian ambassador, withdrawn its ambassador from Tehran, and suspended embassy operations there, accusing Iran of being behind two antisemitic attacks in Melbourne and Sydney.
اضافة اعلان
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said at a press conference that Australia has given the Iranian ambassador and three other Iranian diplomats seven days to leave the country.
This marks the first time since World War II that Australia has expelled an ambassador, according to Agence France-Presse.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that intelligence agencies reached an “extremely concerning conclusion” that Iran orchestrated at least two antisemitic attacks.
At a press briefing, he said Tehran was behind an arson attack targeting Lewis Continental Café, a kosher eatery in Sydney’s Bondi suburb in October 2024.
He added that intelligence also determined Iran was responsible for another arson attack against the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024. Neither attack caused casualties.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign state on Australian soil,” Albanese said. “They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow division in our community. This is absolutely unacceptable.”
The prime minister suggested Iran may also be behind other antisemitic incidents in Australia. As a result, Australia declared Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi persona non grata, ordering him and three other Iranian diplomats to leave within seven days.
Australia has also withdrawn its ambassador from Iran and suspended its embassy operations in Tehran. Albanese confirmed that Australian diplomats posted to Iran are now “safe in a third country.” He added that Australia will also begin the process of designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
Foreign Minister Wong stressed that this is the first time Australia has expelled an ambassador in the postwar era.
“We have taken this decision because Iran’s actions are utterly unacceptable,” she said, while clarifying that Australia would maintain limited diplomatic channels with Tehran to safeguard the interests of Australians in the country.
Australia has maintained an embassy in Tehran since 1968.
Since the outbreak of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023, Jewish homes, schools, synagogues, and vehicles in Australia have been targeted in acts of vandalism.
