Iranian Ambassador to Australia Ahmad Sadeghi (L) walks toward his car within the grounds of the Islamic Republic of Iran's embassy in Canberra on August 27, 2025 (Hilary Wardhaugh / AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praises Australia’s decision to expel Iran’s ambassador over antisemitic arson attacks, calling it a “first step.”
“A few days ago I appeared several times in the Australian media and attacked the Australian government’s conciliatory stance against antisemitism,” Netanyahu says in a Hebrew-language statement on X.
“I am pleased that Australia decided to expel the Iranian ambassador, after it was revealed that Iran was behind two antisemitic incidents in the country,” Netanyahu says. “This is a first step – and hopefully not the last.”
In a scathing and unprecedented attack in recent days, Netanyahu had said Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was “weak,” accusing him of failing to act against antisemitism.
Albanese accused Iran yesterday of being behind a pair of 2024 antisemitic arson attacks in Australia, and expelled Tehran’s ambassador, calling the Iranian actions “dangerous acts of aggression” designed to undermine his country’s social cohesion.
Albanese announced that Canberra had also pulled its diplomats from the Islamic Republic and will list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organization. It marks the first time Australia has expelled an ambassador since World War II.
This handout photo shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing an event celebrating the legalization of West Bank settlement outposts, on August 26, 2025. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)
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From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
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