2LT International News

SYDNEY, Australia: Australia has accused Iran of carrying out two antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne, and on August 26, it ordered Tehran’s ambassador to leave within seven days. This marks the first time since World War II that Australia has expelled a foreign ambassador.

The allegations come against the backdrop of a surge in antisemitic incidents across the country since the Israel-Gaza war began in October 2023. Homes, schools, synagogues, and vehicles in Australia have been vandalized or set on fire during this period.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had gathered reliable evidence linking Iran directly to at least two of these attacks.

“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression carried out by a foreign government on Australian soil,” Albanese told reporters. “They were attempts to divide our society and stir up conflict within our communities.”

According to Albanese, Iran had tried to cover up its role in the December 2023 arson attacks, which targeted a kosher restaurant in Sydney and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. He also said intelligence suggested Iran was likely behind other attacks in Australia.

As a response, Australia has suspended all operations at its embassy in Tehran. The government confirmed that its diplomats are safe and currently in another country. In addition, the Albanese government plans to formally designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced that Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and three other Iranian officials must leave Australia within a week. This is the first time in nearly 80 years that Australia has taken such a step against a foreign envoy.

Israel’s embassy in Canberra welcomed the decision, calling Iran a danger not just to Jews or Israel, but to the wider world, including Australia. “Iran’s regime is not only a threat to Jews or Israel, it endangers the entire free world, including Australia,” it said in a statement posted on X.

The accusations follow a period of heightened conflict between Iran and Israel. In June, the two countries fought a 12-day air war after Israel struck Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Australia is home to around 90,000 people of Iranian origin.

Meanwhile, investigations into the arson attacks are still underway. Two men have been charged in connection with the December fire at the Adass Israel Synagogue, which was built in the 1960s by Holocaust survivors in the Melbourne suburb of Ripponlea. Last week, police in Victoria said they were reviewing electronic devices seized from one of the suspects’ homes. He is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

Police believe three people broke into the synagogue and deliberately started the fire.

In Sydney, the kosher restaurant Lewis Continental Kitchen in Bondi was gutted by flames in another arson attack. Media reports say that a man arrested in January over that incident had links to a well-known Australian motorcycle gang. He has denied the charges in court and is currently out on bail.