Australia said on Tuesday (August 26) it would expel Iran's ambassador to Canberra, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Tehran of executing two antisemitic attacks in the key cities of Sydney and Melbourne.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi and three Iranian officials had seven days to leave, in Australia's first expulsion of an envoy since World War Two.
"Iran's actions are completely unacceptable," she told the briefing.
Australia's security agency had gathered credible intelligence that the Iranian government had directed at least two attacks, Albanese told a news conference.
"Iran has sought to disguise its involvement, but ASIO assesses it was behind the attacks on the Lewis Continental Kitchen in Sydney on October 20 last year, and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne on December 6."
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation said it was likely that Iran had directed further attacks, he added.
"These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil," Albanese said. "They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community."
Australia has suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran and all its diplomats were safe in a third country, Albanese said, adding that his government would designate Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
However, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Abbas Araghchi said that Australia's decision against mutal relations is unfluenced by internal Australian affairs.
Meanwhile, Israel's embassy in Australia welcomed the action against its major rival Iran.
"Iran's regime is not only a threat to Jews or Israel, it endangers the entire free world, including Australia," it said in a statement on X.
Since the Israel-Gaza war began in October 2023, Australian homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles have been targeted in antisemitic vandalism and arson.
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Oil prices fell after the U.S. expanded economic sanctions on Iran, as Tehran vowed to retaliate and warned it had tools to respond, raising concerns over potential disruption to regional oil supplies.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Kyiv wants peace but will not surrender to Russia, as foreign leaders joined Independence Day events marking 35 years since Ukraine’s independence.
Only four commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, following 13 transits a day earlier, as disruptions continue to restrict traffic through the key energy chokepoint.
A newly created pro-government political party has secured a commanding victory in Kazakhstan's snap parliamentary election, according to exit polls, strengthening President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev's influence at a pivotal moment in the country's political transition.
Kyiv has recently received a small number of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. It comes as Britain and France pledged stronger military support for Ukraine.
Kyiv has recently received a small number of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. It comes as Britain and France pledged stronger military support for Ukraine.
Canada has announced nearly $20 billion in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods and billions in support for workers and businesses, escalating its trade dispute with Washington after President Donald Trump's latest duties took effect.
Pakistani exporters are facing soaring shipping costs to the U.S., with freight rates more than tripling on some routes as the Iran-U.S. conflict drives up war-risk insurance and fuel costs.
The trial of a Libyan man accused of building the bomb that destroyed Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, killing 270 people, has been postponed by a U.S. federal judge.
France and Saudi Arabia have agreed on plans for a $7 billion manga-themed amusement complex near Paris, inspired by the hugely popular Japanese franchise Dragon Ball Z.
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