Australia yesterday expelled Iran’s ambassador, accusing the country of being behind anti-Semitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
It marks the first time Australia has expelled an ambassador since World War II.
Intelligence services reached the “deeply disturbing conclusion” that Iran directed at least two anti-Semitic attacks, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Photo: EPA
Tehran was behind the torching of a kosher cafe in October last year, he told a news conference.
It also directed a major arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December last year, he said, citing the intelligence findings.
No injuries were reported in the two attacks.
Photo: Reuters
“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,” he said.
An Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman denied the accusations and vowed “reciprocal reaction” to any unjustified diplomatic measures by Australia.
Australia declared Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi “persona non grata,” and ordered him and three other officials to leave the country within seven days.
Australia also withdrew its own ambassador to Iran and suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran, which opened in 1968.
The Australian diplomats were all “safe in a third country,” Albanese said.
Australia will also legislate to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, he said.
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong (黃英賢) said it was the first time in the post-war period that Canberra had expelled an ambassador.
Canberra will maintain diplomatic lines with Iran to advance the interests of Australians, she said.
Although Australians have been advised not to travel to Iran since 2020, Wong said Canberra’s ability to provide consular assistance was now “extremely limited.”
“I do know that many Australians have family connections in Iran, but I urge any Australian who might be considering traveling to Iran, please do not do so,” she said.
“Our message is, if you are an Australian in Iran, leave now if it is safe to do so,” she said.
A “painstaking” intelligence service investigation had uncovered links between the anti-Semitic attacks and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Director-General Michael Burgess said.
The probe found that the Guard directed at least two and “likely” more attacks on Jewish interests in Australia, he said.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
RSS