Australia expels Iranian ambassador as PM Albanese accuses Tehran of directing antisemitic attacks

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday accused Iran of orchestrating antisemitic attacks in the country and announced the expulsion of Tehran’s ambassador. He also confirmed that Australia’s embassy in Tehran would cease operations, citing a surge in antisemitic incidents since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023.

Albanese said Australian intelligence had linked Iran to two incidents, an attack on a Sydney restaurant and another on a Melbourne mosque, as both cities continue to report a sharp rise in antisemitic events.

“ASIO has gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion. The Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks. Iran tried to conceal its role, but ASIO assesses it was behind them,” Albanese told reporters, citing findings from the domestic spy agency.

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Australia has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents since the Israel-Gaza conflict began in 2023. According to a Reuters report from January, police arrested 40 people over antisemitic offences and another eight in connection with arson cases.

Australia has not only expelled Iran’s ambassador but also shut down its embassy operations in Tehran, Reuters reported.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would also move to designate Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.

The country has witnessed a series of antisemitic incidents in recent months. In Sydney, antisemitic graffiti was sprayed on a Jewish bakery in October 2024, followed by arson attacks and vandalism in a Jewish neighbourhood the next month.

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More recently, in July this year, protesters stormed an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne while a Shabbat dinner was underway. Around the same time, a synagogue’s door was set ablaze with flammable liquid, though fortunately no injuries were reported, CNN noted.