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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U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced a new trade agreement with India that will see Washington reduce tariffs on Indian imports, after New Delhi pledged to stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases from the U.S. and potentially Venezuela.
President Ilham Aliyev met President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Monday, where the two leaders reaffirmed that Azerbaijan–UAE ties are built on a strategic partnership.
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi are expected to meet in Istanbul on Friday for renewed discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme, according to reporting by Axios.
Limited crossings took place at Rafah on Monday, as patients and families moved through the gates for the first time in months. Photographers captured the tension, relief, and emotional toll of separation at a crossing long marked by both isolation and hope.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States has begun negotiations with European leaders over Greenland and that an agreement is already taking shape.
The United States accused Cuba of interfering with the work of its top diplomat in Havana on Sunday (1 February) after small groups of Cubans jeered at him during meetings with residents and church representatives.
Dmitry Medvedev, said European countries have failed to defeat Russia in Ukraine and have instead inflicted serious economic damage on themselves, as he criticised EU policy, praised Donald Trump as a leader who seeks peace, and said Russia would “soon” achieve military victory in the war.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that any U.S. military attack on Iran would spark a wider regional conflict, Iranian semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday.
U.S. president Donald Trump said Iran is “seriously talking” with the United States and expressed hope that negotiations could lead to an outcome acceptable to Washington.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday announced a new trade agreement with India that will see Washington reduce tariffs on Indian imports, after New Delhi pledged to stop buying Russian oil and increase purchases from the U.S. and potentially Venezuela.
Yanis Varoufakis delivered a blunt assessment: the European Union has missed every major chance to reform, poisoned its own democratic debate and is now entering a prolonged period of structural decline.
The Kremlin has confirmed that the next round of trilateral talks between Ukraine, Russia and the United States will be held in Abu Dhabi on 4–5 February, after the meeting was postponed last week to align the schedules of all delegations.
Hungary has vowed legal action against the European Union over a planned ban on Russian gas imports by 2027, after Brussels said national objections would not override EU law.
Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of authorising intelligence operations aimed at eliminating “undesirable leaders” in Africa, claiming that Paris is pursuing a political comeback after losing ground in several former colonies.
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