Australia expels Iranian ambassador after spy agency finds Tehran responsible for antisemitic attacks on its soil

Australia’s Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had linked Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to two arson attacks last year that targeted a Jewish-owned restaurant in Sydney and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a press conference.

“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” Albanese said.

Besides Sadeghi, three other diplomatic staff have been given seven days to leave the country, Albanese said.

It’s the first time Australia has expelled a foreign ambassador since the Second World War.

Australia has also suspended operations at its embassy in Iran for the safety of its consular officials.

It has also asked its citizens in Iran to leave the country.

Iran’s IRGC, an elite wing of the Iranian military, will also be listed as a terrorist agency. The US moved to declare it a terrorist group in 2019.

“I’ve said many times that the Australian people want two things: They want killing in the Middle East to stop, and they don’t want conflict in the Middle East brought here. Iran has sought to do just that,” Albanese said.