Australia expels Iran ambassador over antisemitic attacks

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran on Tuesday of orchestrating at least two antisemitic attacks on the country and said he's expelling the Iranian ambassador to Canberra as a result.The big picture: Albanese said at a briefing that officials from Australia's spy agency had "credible intelligence" that Tehran likely directed more attacks in addition to the one in Sydney and the one in Melbourne last year.Canberra's embassy in Tehran has suspended operations and Australian officials told Ahmad Sadeghi, Iran's Iranian ambassador to Australia, that he would be expelled — the first time such an expulsion has happened, noted Foreign Minister Penny Wong at the briefing.What they're saying: "These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil. They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community," Albanese said."It is totally unacceptable, and the Australian government is taking strong and decisive action in response."Iranian officials did not immediately respond to the announcement.Driving the news: Mike Burgess, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), said Tehran was behind the arson attacks at Lewis' Continental Kitchen in Sydney and the Adass Israel Synagogue of Melbourne and there were "likely more attacks" on Jewish targets."Our painstaking investigation uncovered and unpicked the links between the alleged crimes and the commanders in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC," Burgess said."The IRGC used a complex web of proxies to hide its involvement."What's next: The Australian government "will legislate to list Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, as a terrorist organization," Albanese said.Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

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