Iran vowed retaliation on Tuesday after Australia expelled its ambassador over allegations that Tehran orchestrated antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei dismissed the accusations as “absolutely rejected,” warning that “any inappropriate and unjustified action on a diplomatic level will have a reciprocal reaction.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced earlier that Iran was behind the torching of a kosher café in Sydney’s Bondi suburb in October 2024 and a major arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne two months later.
Canberra declared Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi “persona non grata” and ordered him and three other diplomats to leave within seven days. Australia has also withdrawn its own ambassador from Tehran and suspended operations at its embassy, which had been open since 1968.
Baqaei suggested the decision was politically motivated, claiming it was linked to domestic protests in Australia over Israel’s war in Gaza. “It seems this action was taken to compensate for the limited criticism Australia has directed at the Zionist regime,” he said.
