World
Australia to proscribe IRGC after Iran-linked antisemitic attacks
Prime Minister Albanese said there was ‘credible intelligence’ that Tehran was behind arson attacks on a synagogue and a kosher catering firm last year
August 26, 2025 09:05
Prime Minister Albanese said there was ‘credible intelligence’ that Tehran was behind arson attacks on a synagogue and a kosher catering firm last year
August 26, 2025 09:05Australia's prime minister has confirmed his government will designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
Anthony Albanese confirmed the move after Australian intelligence suggested that Iran was behind a pair of antisemitic attacks in the country last year.
Arson attacks at Lewis' Continental Kitchen in Sydney and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne could be traced to Tehran by "credible intelligence", he told a press conference.
The IRGC is a paramilitary arm of the Iranian Army tasked with enforcing the regime’s will at home and abroad. It has long faced accusations of carrying out espionage and targeting Jewish communities overseas in order to damage support for Israel.
Albanese said: "ASIO [the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation] has now gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion that the Iranian government directed [these attacks].
"These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil.
"They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community. It is totally unacceptable, and the Australian government is taking strong and decisive action in response."
He also confirmed that Canberra had informed the Iranian ambassador that he would be expelled, while Australia's embassy in Tehran would suspend operations.
Australian embassy staff stationed in the Islamic Republic have been evacuated to a safe third country, Albanese confirmed.
The move comes after a furious diplomatic row between Australia and Israel after a far-right minister was barred from visiting the country to meet the victims of those antisemitic attacks.
Simcha Rothman, of the Religious Zionism Party, had his visa cancelled just hours before he was due to depart for a speaking tour Down Under. He was also banned from entering the country for three years.
And Jerusalem has also taken exception to Canberra's decision to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly next month, joining France, the UK and Canada.
During the fallout from the decision, Prime Minister Netanyahu called Albanese a "weak politician who betrayed Israel".
Asked about the comments yesterday, Albanese replied that he did not "take these things personally", adding that Netanyahu "has had similar things to say about other leaders".
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