Australia is expelling Iran’s ambassador after intelligence agencies confirmed Tehran’s direct role in the firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel shul last December. The shul was severely damaged in the attack, and is still undergoing repair work.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the unprecedented move alongside ASIO Director Mike Burgess. Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi will be removed from the country after investigators found “credible evidence” he orchestrated the attack on the shul as well as other plots targeting Jewish Australians.
“ASIO assesses it is likely Iran directed further attacks as well. These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Albanese said.
“They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community. It is totally unacceptable, and the Australian government is taking strong and decisive action in response,” Albanese added.
Burgess said: “This was directed by the IRGC through a series of overseas cut-outs, facilitators, to coordinators that found their way to tasking Australians.”
He added that while it’s unlikely that all recent antisemitic incidents and attacks in Australia were orchestrated by Iran, intelligence services are looking into the possibility that the regime was behind many of them.
The attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue shocked Melbourne’s Jewish community and reignited concerns about growing antisemitism worldwide. While no fatalities occurred, the firebombing left congregants shaken and exposed alarming gaps in Australia’s counterterrorism posture.
On Tuesday, Albanese personally phoned the Rav of the Adass Shul to inform him of Iran’s role in the plot.
In a parallel move, the Albanese government is set to formally designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation. If confirmed, Australia would join the United States, Canada, and several European nations in banning the IRGC.
The dual measures signal a sharp break in Australia’s policy toward Iran. Canberra has long maintained diplomatic ties even as allies downgraded or severed relations, making it one of the few Western democracies with an active Iranian mission.
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