Tehran vows to retaliate Australia’s expulsion of ambassador
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that Tehran will respond to Australia’s decision to expel Iran’s ambassador over “anti-Semitism” allegations, stressing that the concept of anti-Semitism has no place in the nation’s culture and history.
Australia declared Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi "persona non grata" and ordered him and three other officials to leave the country within seven days after accusing the Islamic Republic of being behind antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
The incident marks the first time Australia has expelled an ambassador since World War II.
The country’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said intelligence services reached the "deeply disturbing conclusion" that Iran was behind the torching of a kosher cafe in Sydney's Bondi suburb in October 2024 and a major arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024.
"They were attempting to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community," he claimed.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei denied the accusations and vowed "reciprocal reaction" to any such “improper and unjustifiable diplomatic” action by Australia.
Dismissing the existence of any anti-Semitic inclinations in Iran’s time-honored cultural, historical, and religious background, the spokesman said, “This phenomenon is [rather] a Western and European one.”
“If you look at history, persecution of Jews because of their religion is a matter rooted in Europe; and it is they who must be held accountable for their historical past, which has continued to this day.” It seems that the decision is made to compensate recent rare criticisms in Australia against Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, the Iranian official said.
Australia advised not to appease war criminals
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also reacted to Canberra’s decision.
“I am not in the habit of joining causes with wanted War Criminals, but Netanyahu is right about one thing: Australia's PM is indeed a ‘weak politician’,” he said in a post on X on Tuesday.
“Iran is home to among the world's oldest Jewish communities including dozens of synagogues. Accusing Iran of attacking such sites in Australia while we do our utmost to protect them in our own country makes zero sense. Iran is paying the price for the Australian people's support for Palestine. Canberra should know better than to attempt to appease a regime led by War Criminals. Doing so will only embolden Netanyahu and his ilk,” the Iranian foreign minister said.
On Sunday, tens of thousands of Australians held nationwide rallies against Israel’s devastating war in the Gaza Strip, urging sanctions on Israel and an end to Australia's arms trade with the regime.
Meanwhile, a recent decision by the country’s prime minister to recognize the Palestinian state had led to a war of words between the two countries.