Australia lists Iran’s IRGC as state sponsor of terrorism over antisemitic attacks

Foreign Ministry says Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps orchestrated arson incidents in Sydney and Melbourne in 2024 to ‘sow division’ by targeting Jewish Australians

Australia has listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a state sponsor of terrorism, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Thursday, following an intelligence assessment that the paramilitary force had orchestrated arson attacks against Australia’s Jewish Community.

“The Government committed to taking this step following ASIO’s [Australian Security Intelligence Organisation] assessment that the IRGC had orchestrated attacks against Australia’s Jewish Community — on the Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney in October 2024 and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024,” the ministry said in a statement.

“These cowardly attacks on Australian soil were designed to undermine and sow division in our multicultural society, by targeting Jewish Australians to inflict harm and stoke fear,” it said.

The IRCG was the first listing of a state sponsor of terrorism under a new law passed this year, the statement noted.

“The Minister for Home Affairs was satisfied that the IRGC met the criteria for listing as a state sponsor of terrorism under Division 110 of the Criminal Code,” the Foreign Ministry said.

The law makes it an offense “to direct the activities of, be a member of, associate with members of, recruit for, train with, get funds to, from or for, or provide support to, a state sponsor of terrorism,” according to the statement.

Offenders can be punished with up to 25 years in prison.

“Listing the IRGC is an important deterrent and disruption to terrorist activity, and puts members of the public on notice that the IRGC is a state sponsor of terrorism under Australian law, and certain dealings with them are now criminal offences,” the ministry said, and “a reminder that terrorist activity does not stop at our borders.”

After Australia in August accused Iran of directing the two antisemitic arson attacks in the cities of Sydney and Melbourne last year, it gave Tehran’s ambassador seven days to leave the country — its first such expulsion since World War II.

The arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne was one of the most devastating in a string of antisemitic incidents. The fire gutted much of the building, shocked Australians, and was tagged by police as a “likely terrorist incident.”

Iran has a history of targeting Jews and Israelis abroad, especially in South America and Europe. Iran has been linked to attacks on Jewish and Israeli institutions in Sweden, Germany, and Cyprus, among others.

Also in August, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a scathing letter to his Australian counterpart, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, accusing him of failing to act against antisemitism in Australia.