Iran vows to reciprocate after Australia expels envoy

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
26 Aug 2025 21:26

Iran has vowed reciprocal action after Australia expelled its ambassador, accusing Tehran of coordinating antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks during a joint press conference with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto after their bilateral meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, May 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Tehran has vowed reciprocal diplomatic action after Australia expelled the Iranian ambassador, accusing Iran of orchestrating antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne last year.

On Tuesday, August 26, Australia declared Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi "persona non grata" and gave him and three other diplomats seven days to leave the country.

In a simultaneous move, Canberra also withdrew its own ambassador from Tehran and suspended operations at its embassy there, which had been active since 1968.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that intelligence services had concluded Iran was behind the firebombing of a kosher café in Sydney’s Bondi suburb in October and the attempted arson at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December. No injuries were reported in either incident.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei dismissed the accusations as “absolutely rejected,” warning that “any inappropriate and unjustified action on a diplomatic level will have a reciprocal reaction.”

Speaking at a weekly press conference in Tehran, Baqaei suggested that the move was influenced by domestic political developments in Australia, particularly public protests against "Israel's" war on Gaza.

"It seems that this action is taken in order to compensate for the limited criticism the Australian side has directed at the Zionist regime ("Israel")," Baqaei said.

Tehran accuses Canberra of appeasement

Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took to X to denounce Albanese, calling him a “weak politician” and claiming that the allegations are illogical.

"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,'" Araghchi said. "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."

Araghchi continued, "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 government maintains that the expulsion is part of a broader effort to align Western diplomacy with "Israel" and suppress global solidarity with Palestine.