Australia declares Iran ambassador persona non grata over IRGC arson

Australia announced on August 26 that it had declared Iran's ambassador to Canberra persona non grata and ordered three other Iranian diplomats to leave after intelligence agencies concluded Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was linked to a series of arson attacks on Jewish sites in 2024, including a firebombing at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and an attack on a kosher business in Sydney. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the incidents as extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression that threatened social cohesion and intimidated Australia’s Jewish community.

The government said the assessment, compiled by domestic and allied intelligence agencies and briefed to ministers, pointed to IRGC involvement in at least two attacks and likely more. Domestic spy chief Mike Burgess and officials from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation provided the assessment that prompted Canberra’s response, a senior minister said. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke defended the action as necessary to protect Australians and uphold sovereignty, saying there was no delay between receiving the intelligence and deciding on the response.