Australia has expelled Iran’s ambassador after accusing Tehran of being behind two anti-Jewish attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was one of the strongest diplomatic steps the country has taken in decades.
Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Tuesday that the attacks — one at Sydney’s Lewis Continental Kitchen on October 10 and another at Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue 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.
Envoy given one week to leave
Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced that Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and three other diplomats have been declared persona non grata and ordered to leave within seven days.
“This is the first time since World War II that Australia has expelled an ambassador,” Wong said. She also confirmed that Australia has suspended its embassy operations in Tehran, moving its staff to a third country.
Wong stressed that while most ties are being cut, Canberra will maintain limited channels of communication with Iran to safeguard national interests. She urged Australians currently in Iran to come home and advised others not to travel there.
IRGC to be blacklisted
Albanese also revealed plans to officially list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
