ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Australia on Thursday officially listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “state sponsor of terrorism,” the foreign ninistry announced, citing the group’s role in attacks on Jewish community sites in 2024.
In a statement on its official website, the ministry said the decision followed a critical assessment by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) that “the IRGC orchestrated attacks on Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney in October 2024 and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024.”
The ministry added that the attacks were “designed to undermine and sow division in our multicultural society, by targeting Jewish Australians to inflict harm and stoke fear.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who made the formal decision, said the listing “is in direct response to the despicable actions of the Iranian Government, and further empowers our police, security, and intelligence agencies to stamp out hatred and violence.”
He added that the government is committed to “keeping Australians safe and restricting the operation of extremists in our country, no matter their place of origin,” and will continue to “combat bigotry, including antisemitism.”
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Penny Wong described the attacks on Jewish sites as “unprecedented and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil,” emphasizing that the IRGC “has no place in Australia.”
She noted that the government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese “has taken stronger action on Iran than any previous Australian government and will continue to work to keep Australians safe."
The IRGC is the first entity listed under the Criminal Code Amendment State Sponsors of Terrorism Act 2025, passed in early November to counter foreign state-sponsored terrorism.
Earlier in August, Australia accused Iran of carrying out anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne, and subsequently expelled Tehran’s ambassador - the first such expulsion since World War II.