Netanyahu Slammed as ‘Wrong’ After Australia Boots Iranian Ambassador
Australia expels Iran's ambassador following intelligence linking IRGC to antisemitic attacks, rejecting Netanyahu's claims of influence while warning citizens to leave Iran.
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Australia has forcefully rejected Israeli claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s intervention influenced Canberra’s decision to expel Iran’s ambassador, calling the suggestion “complete nonsense.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC Radio that the move was based solely on Australian intelligence findings that Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed at least two antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne last year.
“There wasn’t a minute between receiving the assessment and beginning work on a response,” Burke said.
Israel Takes Credit, but Canberra Pushes Back
Earlier this week, Israeli government spokesperson David Mencer suggested Netanyahu’s “forthright intervention” may have prompted the decision, after months of strained ties with Australia over its recognition of Palestinian statehood at the UN. Netanyahu has accused Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of “betraying Israel and abandoning Australia’s Jews.”
Canberra flatly denies any link. Officials insist the expulsion of Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi, the first such measure since World War II, was a direct response to Iranian involvement in local attacks, including an arson incident at a kosher restaurant in Sydney and another at Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue.
Rising Antisemitism and Security Fears
Australia has faced a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023. Homes, schools, synagogues, and vehicles have been vandalized or targeted in arson, while Islamophobic incidents have also surged.
Burke noted that while perpetrators of the synagogue and restaurant attacks may not have known they were being directed by the IRGC, “that doesn’t change the seriousness of Iran’s involvement in ordering attacks on Australian soil.”
Embassy Closed, Travel Warning Issued
Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced that Australia has shuttered its embassy in Tehran and urged citizens to leave Iran immediately. Around 4,000 Australians are believed to currently reside there. “If you are in Iran, you should come home,” Wong told Nine News.
Iran has denied any role in the attacks, dismissing Canberra’s accusations as part of a Western campaign against the Islamic Republic.