Australia expelled Iran's ambassador on Tuesday, accusing the country of being behind antisemitic arson attacks in Melbourne and Sydney.
It marks the first time Australia has expelled an ambassador since World War II.
Intelligence services reached the "deeply disturbing conclusion" that Iran directed at least two antisemitic attacks, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Tehran was behind a fire attack on a kosher cafe, the Lewis Continental Cafe, in Sydney's Bondi suburb in October 2024, the prime minister told a news conference.
It also directed a major arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024, the prime minister said, citing the intelligence findings.
No physical injuries were reported in the two attacks.
"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."
Australia declared Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi "persona non grata" and ordered him and three other officials to leave the country within seven days.
Australia also withdrew its own ambassador to Iran and suspended the embassy's operations in Tehran.
'Web of proxies'
The Australian diplomats were all "safe in a third country", the prime minister said.
Australia will also legislate to list Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, he said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it was the first time in the post-war period that Australia had expelled an ambassador.
Canberra will maintain diplomatic lines with Iran to advance the interests of Australians, Wong said.
Australia has had an embassy in Tehran since 1968.
Though Australians have been advised not to travel through Iran since 2020, Wong said Canberra's ability to provide consular assistance was now "extremely limited".
"I do know that many Australians have family connections in Iran, but I urge any Australian who might be considering traveling to Iran, please do not do so," she said.
"Our message is, if you are an Australian in Iran, leave now if it is safe to do so."
Australian spy chief Michael Burgess said a "painstaking" intelligence service investigation had uncovered links between the antisemitic attacks and Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
The probe found that the Guard directed at least two and "likely" more attacks on Jewish interests in Australia, said Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization.
'Fanned the flames'
The Revolutionary Guard, the ideological arm of Iran's military, used a complex web of proxies to hide its involvement in the attacks, he said.
Iran's embassy in Australia and its diplomats were not involved, however, the spy chief said.
The Australian intelligence service was still investigating possible Iranian involvement in a number of other attacks, Burgess said.
"Iran's actions are utterly unacceptable. They put lives at risk. They terrified the community, and they tore at our social fabric," he said.
"Iran and its proxies, literally and figuratively, lit the matches and fanned the flames."
The Jewish community may find some solace in the investigation breakthrough, said Daniel Aghion, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
"Yet there will be great anxiety that we have been targeted in such a callous and calculated way, by a ruthless and violent foreign force, because of who we are," he said.
Last year's arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne was one of the most devastating in a string of antisemitic incidents.
The fire gutted much of the building, shocked Australians and was tagged by police as a "likely terrorist incident".
'Important move'
Israel's embassy in Australia welcomed the government's decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
"This is a step we have long advocated for," it said in a statement posted on social media.
"Iran's regime is not only a threat to Jews or Israel, it endangers the entire free world, including Australia. A strong and important move."
Iran's embassy in Canberra did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
With AFP
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