Australia has expelled Iran’s ambassador after accusing Tehran of directing two anti-Jewish attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the move marks one of the strongest diplomatic actions taken by Canberra in decades.
Speaking in Canberra on Tuesday, Mr Albanese said the attacks — one at the Lewis Continental Kitchen in Sydney on October 10 and another at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne on December 6 — were aimed at “undermining social cohesion.”
“It is totally unacceptable, and the Australian government is taking strong and decisive action,” he said.
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The prime minister also announced plans to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
Iranian envoy given seven days to leave
Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and three other diplomats had been declared persona non grata. They have been given seven days to leave the country.
“This is the first time since World War II that Australia has expelled an ambassador,” Ms Wong told reporters. She added that Canberra has also suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran, moving its diplomats to a third country.
Despite the expulsions, Ms Wong said Australia will keep limited channels of communication with Tehran to protect national interests. She urged Australians still in Iran to return home and warned others against travelling there.
