Iran-Australia Crisis: Tehran's Ambassador Expelled Over Attacks

Australia has taken the extraordinary step of expelling Iran’s ambassador and suspending operations at its embassy in Tehran, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that Tehran was directly involved in orchestrating antisemitic attacks on Australian soil.

At a press briefing in Canberra, Albanese said intelligence showed that Iran coordinated multiple plots targeting Jewish Australians, including the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024.

“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Albanese declared. “They were designed to fracture social cohesion and spread fear within the Jewish community.”

Ambassador Ordered Out

The ambassador, Ahmad Sadeghi, has been given seven days to leave the country. This marks Australia’s first expulsion of a foreign envoy since World War II. Albanese is expected to stand alongside Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and the Australian Federal Police to formally announce Sadeghi’s removal.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong added that three other Iranian officials will also be expelled.

“Iran has sought to disguise its involvement,” she said, explaining that Australia “will not tolerate foreign governments directing violence against our citizens.”

Attacks That Shook the Community

The arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue, built in the 1960s by Holocaust survivors in Melbourne’s Ripponlea neighborhood, sent shockwaves through the Jewish community. Police say three men broke into the synagogue and set it ablaze. Two suspects have been charged, and investigators continue to examine electronic devices seized during raids.

In Sydney, a kosher restaurant in Bondi, Lewis Continental Kitchen, was also torched. Authorities now believe Tehran’s operatives were behind that attack as well.

IRGC Declared Terror Group

In parallel with the expulsions, the Albanese government announced that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) will be designated a terrorist organization, a move that places Australia among the few democratic nations still maintaining formal relations with Tehran but now formally outlawing one of its most powerful institutions.

“All our diplomats are safe in a third country,” Albanese confirmed, after suspending embassy operations in Tehran.

Global and Local Reaction

Israel’s embassy in Canberra welcomed the measures, describing Iran as “a danger not only to Jews and Israel but to the entire free world.”

Within Australia, Jewish leaders expressed relief at the government’s decisive stance but warned of ongoing threats. “We survived the Holocaust, and now we’re facing attacks in the country that gave us refuge,” one Melbourne community leader said.

The synagogue burned down in Australia (Photo: Courtesy of the photographer)

A Turning Point in Relations

The move underscores a historic rupture: Australia has maintained diplomatic relations with Iran even as many Western allies severed ties. With the expulsion of Sadeghi and the designation of the IRGC, analysts warn of a prolonged freeze in Canberra–Tehran relations.

“This is about sovereignty, security, and standing firm against antisemitism,” Albanese concluded. “Australia will not tolerate foreign governments directing violence against our people.”