Australia expelled Iran's ambassador on Tuesday, accusing the country of being behind anti-Semitic arson attacks in Melbourne and Sydney.

It marks the first time Australia has expelled an ambassador since World War II.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said intelligence services had reached a "deeply disturbing conclusion" that Iran directed at least two alleged anti-Semitic attacks.

According to Albanese, Tehran was behind a fire attack on a kosher cafe, the Lewis Continental Cafe, in Sydney's Bondi suburb in October 2024.

It also directed an arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024, the prime minister claimed at a news conference, citing the intelligence findings. No physical injuries were reported in the two attacks.

"These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil," Albanese said, accusing Tehran of attempting to “undermine social cohesion and sow discord.”

Diplomatic ties will resume

Australia declared Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi "persona non grata" and ordered him and three other officials to leave the country within seven days.

Australia also withdrew its own ambassador to Iran and suspended the embassy's operations in Tehran.

The diplomats were said to be "safe in a third country", Albanese noted.

Australia will also legislate to list Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, he said.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said it was the first time in the post-war period that Australia had expelled an ambassador.

Australia would maintain diplomatic lines with Iran to advance the interests of Australians, Wong said.

Australia claims Iran’s ‘proxy web’

Australia has had an embassy in Tehran since 1968.

Though Australians have been advised not to travel through Iran since 2020, Wong said that Canberra's ability to provide consular assistance was now "extremely limited".

"I do know that many Australians have family connections in Iran, but I urge any Australian who might be considering travelling to Iran, please do not do so," she said.

"Our message is, if you are an Australian in Iran, leave now if it is safe to do so."

Australia's spy chief Michael Burgess said a "painstaking" intelligence service investigation had uncovered links between the anti-Semitic attacks and Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

According to Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, the Guard is believed to have directed at least two and "likely" more attacks on Jewish interests in Australia.

He claimed the force had used a complex web of proxies to obscure its involvement.

Burgess stressed, however, that Iran's embassy in Australia and its diplomats were not implicated.

The Australian intelligence service is still investigating possible Iranian involvement in a number of other attacks, Burgess said.