Australia Denies Any Role of Israel in the Decision to Expel the Iranian Ambassador

SadaNews - Australia denied today, Wednesday, Israeli insinuations that its interventions led Canberra to expel Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi, at a time when Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Tehran of issuing directives to carry out at least two anti-Semitic attacks in the country’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne.

Australian Interior Minister Tony Burke told ABC radio that Israel's claims that it was behind Australia's request for Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi to leave the country were "nonsense for sure".

He added, "Not a minute passed between our receiving this assessment and our starting to act on what we will do in response."

The Australian Prime Minister announced in a press conference yesterday that intelligence had reached a "very concerning result" indicating that Iran had orchestrated at least two "anti-Semitic" attacks, explaining that Tehran was behind an arson attack targeting Louie Continental café, which specializes in providing kosher food for Jews, in the Bondi suburb of Sydney in October 2024.

Albanese added that intelligence also concluded that Iran was behind an arson attack targeting the Adas Israel synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024. Neither of the attacks resulted in human casualties.

Albanese described the attacks as "extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign state on Australian soil".

Australia's decision to give the Iranian ambassador 7 days to leave the country is the first such expulsion since World War II.

Australia's embassy in Tehran has also been closed, and the diplomats working there have been transferred to a third country.

Albanese stated that all Australian diplomats accredited to Iran are now "safe in a third country," which was not specified.

Israeli government spokesperson David Mensor said yesterday, Tuesday, that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's "clear intervention" and his criticisms of Australia's decision to recognize a Palestinian state might be behind the action taken by Australia to expel the Iranian ambassador.

Mensor added to reporters, "The relationship between this country and Australia has been damaged. Therefore, we welcome the Australian government's actions after Netanyahu's timely intervention."

Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, attacked his Australian counterpart Albanese, describing him as a "weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned the Jews of Australia" due to his intention to recognize a Palestinian state during the United Nations General Assembly next September.

Diplomatic relations between Australia and Israel have strained after the Albanese-led Labor government stated it would recognize a Palestinian state, which followed similar steps announced by France, Britain, and Canada.

Australia stated that the recognition is conditional on commitments received from the Palestinian Authority, including the non-involvement of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in any future state.

Australia announced this decision on August 11, following days of tens of thousands marching across the famous Harbour Bridge in Sydney, calling for peace and for aid to be delivered to Gaza, which is undergoing extermination and starvation campaigns by the Israeli occupation.