Australia Expels Iranian Ambassador. Claims They are Behind Antisemitic Attacks

 

BY C STONE | STONE NEWS NETWORK ||| AUSTRALIA

Sources: Fox and NY Times

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the country's main domestic spy agency, ASIO, has gathered 'enough credible evidence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion. That the Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks.'

via fox news:

Antisemitic incidents in both Melbourne and Sydney rose steeply following the Oct. 7, 2023 massacre in Israel that triggered Israel’s ongoing offensive on Gaza. 

The prime minister also said Australia plans to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

The announcement triggered a scathing response from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who accused Australia of betraying Israel. 

"History will remember Albanese for what he is: A weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews," Netanyahu said.

via NY Times:

Mike Burgess, Australia’s head of intelligence, said a monthslong investigation had uncovered links between the two attacks and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which Australia said it would designate as a terrorist organization. Mr. Burgess said organized crime groups outside Australia had been involved in the attacks, but he declined to elaborate.

Agents of the Revolutionary Guards, a powerful branch of Iran’s military, used “a complex web of proxies to hide its involvement” in the attacks, Mr. Burgess said at the news conference.

It was the latest allegation that the group, which the United States considers a terrorist organization, had carried out operations overseas. This year, British officials warned that the Revolutionary Guards were operating in Britain, engaging in digital espionage, cyberattacks and political interference. They are also believed to have waged disinformation operations in an attempt to sway last year’s U.S. presidential election.

Iran’s ambassador to Australia, Ahmad Sadeghi, was informed of the expulsion about half an hour before the announcement was made, Mr. Albanese said. Iran’s Embassy in Canberra did not immediately respond to requests for comment.