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Iran’s ambassador to Australia has left the country after being expelled over allegations that Tehran orchestrated antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
Ahmad Sadeghi, who was ordered out earlier this week in what Canberra said was its first expulsion of an ambassador since the Second World War, rejected the claims as “baseless”. Three other Iranian diplomats were also told to leave.
At the Sydney airport on Thursday evening, Mr Sadeghi told local broadcasters Nine and Seven: “These are all baseless allegations and lies.”
Hours earlier, he had waved to cameras outside his Canberra residence, saying: “I love Australian people, bye bye.”
Prime minister Anthony Albanese was briefed by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation on Monday on evidence of payments to criminals that he said linked two attacks, on a synagogue and a kosher restaurant, to offshore individuals and Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
No one was injured in either attack, but both buildings suffered extensive damage.
Fire crews and police at the scene of a fire at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea, Melbourne, Australia (AAP)
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil. This is an attack on our society, aimed at creating fear, stoking internal divisions and eroding social cohesion,” a statement released by foreign ministry said.
The statement said further attacks were planned.
On Tuesday, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, “absolutely rejected” Australia’s accusations, saying “any inappropriate and unjustified action on a diplomatic level will have a reciprocal reaction”, according to Al Jazeera.
Tehran suggested the move was influenced by domestic politics, pointing to large pro-Palestine demonstrations in Australian cities last weekend.
“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],” he added.
Mr Sadeghi, who has been outspoken in his support for Palestine, was declared persona non grata.
Australia has also withdrawn its own ambassador from Tehran and suspended operations at its embassy there, though foreign ministry said some channels would remain open.
The expulsions mark the lowest point in relations between the two countries since diplomatic ties were established in 1968. They also come as Mr Albanese faces pressure over the government’s stance on Israel’s war in Gaza, which has prompted fierce debate at home and a diplomatic rift with Israel.
Last week Benjamin Netanyahu called Mr Albanese “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews” after Canberra joined the UK, France and Canada in recognising Palestinian statehood at the UN.
Australia’s home affairs minister, Tony Burke, hit back at Mr Netanyahu, saying “strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry”.
