MELBOURNE, Australia
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have allegedly employed two operatives who once resided in Australia to orchestrate arson attacks on Jewish sites in Sydney and Melbourne, as revealed by the head of Australia’s domestic spy agency on Wednesday.
“Iran still sees Australia as a valid target for covert violence,” stated Mike Burgess, Director-General of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organization (ASIO).
Last year, Australia attributed the fires at Louis’ Continental Kitchen, a kosher restaurant in Sydney, and the Adas Israel Synagogue in Melbourne—occurring two months apart—to Iran.
This situation notably strained diplomatic relations, resulting in the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador, although Tehran strongly refutes these claims.
In his annual security threats update, Burgess disclosed that an Australian national currently in Iran directed the Sydney bombing, while the Melbourne incident was overseen by a former Australian resident living in Iraq.
To safeguard the ongoing investigation and legal proceedings, Burgess withheld the suspect’s name.
According to Burgess, the Australian national has been identified as a senior agent for the Revolutionary Guards, who maintain global networks.
The Revolutionary Guards had been monitoring former Australian residents via Iraqi militias, assessing their criminal affiliations, and providing support for ongoing criminal activities, Burgess noted.
“The landscape changed significantly after ASIO publicly acknowledged Iran’s role in the arson,” he added.
“Supporters of this individual in Iran lost interest, and with added pressure from both Australian and local law enforcement, he ended up in prison.”
Burgess described the investigation into the attacks in Sydney and Melbourne as “one of the most intricate and challenging investigations in ASIO’s recent history.”
He has previously mentioned that the Revolutionary Guards are thought to be behind other anti-Semitic incidents in Australia since the onset of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in 2023.
Multiple individuals have been charged concerning the arson incidents, though it remains uncertain whether they were aware of the entities they were assisting.
