Australia has officially added Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to its list of terrorist organizations, following an intelligence assessment linking the IRGC to attacks targeting the Jewish community in Sydney and Melbourne.
The announcement was made today, Thursday, by Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong. The decision comes after intelligence revealed that the IRGC was involved in planning and coordinating attacks against Jewish residents in Australia.
In August, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran of directing two hate-motivated attacks targeting Jewish-owned property in Sydney and Melbourne. At the time, Australia declared Iran’s ambassador, Ahmad Sadeqi, “persona non grata” and ordered him and three other Iranian officials to leave the country within seven days.
The Australian government also suspended its embassy in Tehran, relocating diplomatic staff to a third country for safety. Albanese had previously indicated that his government intended to formally recognize the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, denied the allegations, stating that “antisemitism has no place in our policy” and accusing Mossad of fabricating the claims. He urged Australia not to allow foreign intelligence influence to shape its decisions.
Despite Tehran’s denials, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke emphasized that the government’s decisions were based solely on intelligence from domestic agencies linking the IRGC to the attacks.
Israel’s embassy in Australia welcomed the move, while Michael Burgess, head of Australia’s Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO), confirmed that investigations had revealed IRGC involvement in at least two attacks, with possible connections to additional incidents targeting Jewish interests. He also clarified that Iran’s embassy in Australia and its diplomats were not directly involved in the attacks.
No casualties were reported in either of the incidents.
This decision marks a significant escalation in Australia-Iran relations, reflecting Canberra’s firm stance on international terrorism and protection of minority communities.