SUBJECTS: ASIO’s findings into Anti-semitic attacks in Australia, listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador
ANTHONY ALBANESE: ... say that there are reports from Victoria, from Porepunkah, about an active incident that has been underway there. There is grave concern for some of the police officers who are involved. Our thoughts are with the police for the work that they do each and every day. The men and women who wear our uniform and wear the uniform of the police force take risks each and every day, and the Victorian Police Commissioner will be providing updates during the afternoon as more facts that are able to be released become clear.
Commissioner.
REECE KERSHAW: Thanks, PM. Just from the police blue family, the wider family across Australia and overseas, our thoughts and prayers are with the Victoria Police right now, the Commissioner and the community. And we hope that they are all safe and well. However, we are hearing that there are some grave concerns for some of those police officers, and our hearts go out to the community. Thank you, PM, for your kind words.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Thanks very much, Commissioner.
On an unrelated matter is the reason for the calling of this press conference. Since the terrible events of October 7, 2023 we have witnessed a number of appalling anti-semitic attacks against Australia’s Jewish community. I have made it clear that these sorts of incidents have no place in Australia and that I wanted ASIO and the AFP to investigate as a priority.
ASIO has now gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing
conclusion – that the Iranian government directed at least two of these attacks. Iran has sought to disguise its involvement, but ASIO assesses it was behind the attacks on the Lewis Continental Kitchen in Sydney on October 20 last year and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne on December 6 last year. ASIO assesses it is likely Iran directed further attacks as well.
These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil. They were attempts to undermine social cohesion and sow discord in our community. It is totally unacceptable, and the Australian government is taking strong and decisive action in response.
A short time ago we informed the Iranian Ambassador to Australia that he would be expelled. We have suspended operations at our embassy in Tehran and all diplomats are now safe in a third country. I can also announce the government will legislate to list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – the IRGC – as a terrorist organisation.
I’ve said many times that the Australian people want two things: they want killing in the Middle East to stop and they don’t want conflict in the Middle East brought here. Iran has sought to do just that. They have sought to harm and terrify Jewish Australians and to sow hatred and division in our community. The actions of my government send a clear
message – a message to all Australians that we stand against anti-semitism and we stand against violence, and a message to nations like Iran who seek to interfere in our country that your aggression will not be tolerated.
I’ll hand over to the ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess and then hear from the Foreign Minister and the Home Affairs Minister.
MIKE BURGESS: Thank you, Prime Minister. In this year’s annual threat assessment I warned Australia’s complex, challenging and changing security environment is becoming more dynamic, diverse and degraded. Dynamic because we are confronting increasing number of threats; diverse because some nation states are using criminal proxies to undertake acts of foreign interference; espionage and politically motivated violence; degraded because authoritarian regimes are more willing to engage in reckless high-harm activities. Unfortunately, all three of those characteristics apply in this case.
For the past 10 months anti-semitism has been one of ASIO’s most pressing priorities, involving the full use of our capabilities and powers. We have investigated dozens of incidents targeting Jewish communities, places of worship, businesses and prominent individuals. ASIO now assesses the Iranian government directed at least two and likely more attacks on Jewish interests in Australia.
Our painstaking investigation uncovered and unpicked the links between the alleged crimes and the commanders in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC. The IRGC used a
complex web of proxies to hide its involvement. This is the sort of obfuscation and boundary-blurring I warned about earlier this year.
It’s important to understand that ASIO is both a collector of intelligence and assessor of intelligence. Formal assessments such as this one are not done quickly or taken lightly. Our analysts carefully weigh and weight every piece of intelligence. In this case, their conclusions are clear. ASIO is still investigating possible Iranian involvement in a number of other attacks, but I want to stress we do not believe the regime is responsible for every act of anti-semitism in Australia.
It goes without saying the that Iran’s actions are utterly unacceptable. They put lives at risk. They terrified the community and they tore at our social fabric. Iran and its proxies literally and figuratively lit the matches and fanned the flames.
I want to assure all Australians that ASIO and our law enforcement partners take these matters extremely seriously. You do not just have the right to be safe; you have the right to feel safe.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Foreign Minister.
PENNY WONG: Thank you, Prime Minister. Can I first thank the ASIO Director-General, the AFP Commissioner and, of course, my colleague Mr Burke for the work they’ve done on this issue and to keep their – and the work they do with their teams to keep Australians safe.
Even before today the Albanese government had taken stronger action on Iran than any previous Australian government, and we have long known that Iran and its proxies try to destabilise countries in our region and beyond. The director-general has now outlined the conclusions of ASIO. Iran that is sought to undermine the cohesion of our community, they have tried to divide the Australian community, and they’ve done so with acts of aggression that not only sought to terrify Australians but put Australian lives in danger. And keeping Australians safe is our number one priority.
There is no doubt that these extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil have crossed a line. And that is why we have declared Iran’s Ambassador to Australia persona non gratia, as well as three other Iranian officials. And they will have seven days to leave the country.
This is the first time in the post-war period that Australia has expelled an ambassador. And we have made this decision because Iran’s actions are completely unacceptable. We will continue to maintain some diplomatic lines to advance the interests of Australians.
In relation to our embassy in Iran, Australia has had an embassy in Iran since 1968, and at that time and since that time it has never been endorsement of the regime; it has been a channel to advocate for our interests and for our people. However, the government has
now taken the step to withdraw our Ambassador to Iran, and we have suspended the operations of our embassy in Iran for the safety of our officials and Australia’s border security. Australia’s officials are, as the Prime Minister said, now in a third country. And I thank these DFAT officers and their families for their service and for their fortitude.
Since 2020 Australians have been advised not to travel to Iran. Our ability to provide consular assistance is extremely limited. I do know that many Australians have family connections in Iran. But I urge any Australian who might be considering travelling to Iran, please do not do so. Our message is if you are an Australian in Iran, leave now if it is safe to do so.
This has been a distressing time for many Australians. I, again, thank ASIO and AFP for their efforts. The Albanese government has been so determined through this period to keep our community united. We have sought to lower the temperature in Australia and to not reproduce the conflict in the Middle East in Australia. And I again urge others to consider whether their actions help those who want to divide our nation.
We all want the killing in the Middle East to stop and we want to retain our character as a nation that welcomes people of different race, religion, views united by respect for each other’s humanity and our collective desire to live in peace. We will always safeguard our communities and protect Australians from all forms of hate.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Minister Burke.
TONY BURKE: Thanks, Prime Minister. I want to thank ASIO, the Australian Federal Police and all the state and territory police forces for the work that has led to today’s announcement. I know the significant amount of work and analytical rigour that goes into ASIO assessments. This is an unprecedented attack on our society. It’s aimed at creating fear, stoking internal divisions and eroding social cohesion.
It’s true that no-one was injured in these attacks. It is not true that no-one was harmed. The community of the Adass Israel Synagogue was harmed. The community that shopped at the Lewis Continental Kitchen and the owners were harmed. The Jewish community were harmed. Other communities who were blamed were harmed, but simply Australia was attacked and Australia was harmed.
There is anti-semitism in Australia. It is real. It is debilitating. Yet this attack was driven by anti-semitism that originated in Iran. That said, nothing changes the fact that it was an anti-semitic attack, and nothing changes the fact that the impact is identical. For some anti-semitic elements in Australia, the attack has emboldened them. Any anti-semitic attack – in fact, any attack based in any dehumanising bigotry – is an attack on Australia.
This extraordinary attack which occurred on our soil means we have to adapt our response to the changing threat. That’s why the government intends to introduce a new regime
under the Criminal Code So that we can list the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. This sends the strongest possible signal that this conduct has reached a new and totally unacceptable low. The existing regime designed decades ago was not intended to deal with the threats we are now facing.
Australia stands together. These attempts at division will fail, and they already have. We stand together in unity and strength. The anti-semitism that drove this attack cannot be allowed to fall blame to Australians of Iranian heritage. That is exactly the kind of disunity and division that these attacks were designed to create, and we reject that and stand together.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Okay, we’ll hear from Andrew then Mark then Jacob.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, if we know that the Iranian regime oversaw this and it had the involvement of the IRGC, what do we know – perhaps this is better directed at Mike
Burgess – what do we know of the actual perpetrators? Were they Australian permanent residents? Were they visitors, tourists and so on?
MIKE BURGESS: So all I would comment on at this stage – so I won’t comment on any matters that might well go before the courts or are before the courts and subject to police investigations. What we have said is there’s a direction connection, that the IRGC are directing through a series of cutouts, people in Australia to undertake these crimes.
JOURNALIST: So there have been arrests?
MIKE BURGESS: I’m not going to comment on any matters that are actually on foot.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Mark.
JOURNALIST: Yeah, well, that’s pretty much my question. But also, is there evidence that the embassy was directly involved in this, or who are these proxies that you’re talking about?
MIKE BURGESS: So the embassy was not involved. No Iranian diplomats here in Australia were involved in this. This was directed by the IRGC through a series of overseas cutouts, facilitators to coordinators, that found their way to tasking Australians.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Jacob.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, thank you. Prime Minister, you and members of your government have been accused by Israel’s government essentially of turning a blind eye to anti-semitism. The Prime Minister of Israel says you’ve abandoned Australian Jews. In light of these revelations today, does he owe you an apology?
ANTHONY ALBANESE: I’m not interested in personal issues. What I’m interested in is
making a difference – making a difference for Australia’s social cohesion, adopting a position which is principled, which is in line with what Australians want to see.
Here then here then here.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, what’s the Iranian government or diplomats, what’s their response been after these allegations were told to them?
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well, we have informed the Iranian Ambassador just this morning, I think in the last half hour. So we have been – this is a decision by Australia that we have informed them of.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, how long has the government suspected that Iran was involved in these attacks? And what is the nature of the evidence that shows that Iran was involved in these attacks?
MIKE BURGESS: So we informed the government yesterday of our assessment. Our investigations have been ongoing since October last year and involves ASIO’s own collected intelligence, the great work of the Australian Federal Police and liaison with foreign partners.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Charles.
JOURNALIST: At the time of the Lewis Continental attack, NSW Police – I have the quote here – said, “We have nothing to suggest this attack is targeted and I would stress there should be no community concern.” Do you admit NSW Police got that wrong, and are we now at the situation where the Jewish community should not be concerned?
MIKE BURGESS: No, I don’t believe NSW Police got it wrong; they had to deal with what they had before them at the time. This is a painstaking, long investigation. These matters are hard, and it’s taken this long to have the evidence to actually know that the Iranians directed this attack.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: We’re going to go David, here and then here.
JOURNALIST: Mr Burgess, just a couple of things: given local embassy staff weren’t involved and this was directed by the IRGC through local cutouts, as you call them, is that threat ongoing? Are they still able to do this, or have you stopped that? And you said these two attacks, possibly more but not every anti-semitic attack, is Iran the major player with the anti-semitic attacks we’ve seen in Australia?
MIKE BURGESS: So a number of things in that question. Obviously we have investigations on foot about attacks that have already occurred. Of course, if I knew or Reece knew about attacks that were being planned I’m confident we and the police would stop them.
Sorry, your other question was?
JOURNALIST: Is Iran a major player when it comes to the anti-semitic attacks?
MIKE BURGESS: So if you remember – go back to the 7th of October 2023 – we saw the rise in tension and emotion and we saw protests. Most of that, thankfully, in our great country was peaceful protest. But there were some threatening, intimidation – intimidating actions at that time. But it was in October ’24 that we saw that transition – and I’m on the record as saying this – from threatening, intimidating behaviours to direct targeting of people, businesses and places of worship. Iran started the first of those, but not all of those are directed by Iran in our view.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Here – you two decide which one.
JOURNALIST: Is the government in any way considering this to be an attack from the nation of Iran on the nation of Australia, or is it more considered to be an attack on the Jewish community, an act of terrorism?
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Any attack on our social cohesion is an attack on Australia. We are proud of the country that we’ve built – a country where people can live overwhelmingly side by side of different faith, of different background in harmony. We cherish it. We protect it. We defend it, and that’s what we’re doing here today.
JOURNALIST: Can I just clarify: were these attacks by Iran, were they working criminal gangs either in Sydney or in Melbourne or in both cases? And what was the nature of the assistance? Like, was this about Iran funding criminal gangs in Australia? Was it about Iran sending operatives out here to Australia?
MIKE BURGESS: So what I can say is that it’s a layer cake of cutouts between IRGC and the person or the alleged perpetrators conducting crimes. In between them they tap into a number of people – agents of IRGC and people that they know in the criminal world – and work through there. So it’s a series of chain –
JOURNALIST: [Indistinct] criminal gangs [indistinct] –
MIKE BURGESS: There is an organised crime element offshore in this. But that’s not to suggest organised crime are doing it; they’re just using cutouts, including people who are criminal and members of organised crime gangs, to do their bidding or direct their bidding.
JOURNALIST: In Australia?
MIKE BURGESS: In Australia, but you’re going to are there crime gangs in Australia doing this. Not in my view – these are cutouts all the way through that was offshore, but they have connections to Australia obviously.
JOURNALIST: Were the Australians involved –
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Phil. Phil. Phil. Phil Coorey.
JOURNALIST: Thanks, PM. Look, just stepping back a bit, your government has faced calls in the past from the opposition and others to list the IRGC as a terrorist outfit and to expel the ambassador and you’ve resisted that on the grounds that it’s important to have, you know, diplomatic relations with Iran if only for the intelligence benefits through the Five Eyes and so forth. Is it now the case what’s happened has outweighed that imperative? And is it also the case that there’ll be no more diplomatic relations so long as the IRGC remains in power in Iran?
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Well, it’s the case that having received this information yesterday we went through our formal channels and made decisions that were in Australia’s national interests based upon this changed information.
Now we’re going to go – I’m trying to give each outlet one crack rather than multiples. Here then here then here then here then we’re full time.
JOURNALIST: At the height of some of these attacks, I believe police or investigators used the terms like “criminals for hire or something in that sort of realm and that the end they were working to was to cause concern around social cohesion in Australia. Is that – sort of as a follow-up to James’s earlier question – is that broadly what you are believing this – these particular two incidents are about? Was that part of these criminals for hire or contract criminals that have–
MIKE BURGESS: So, it is correct that this tore at our social fabric. It was aimed at messing with social cohesion in Australia.
JOURNALIST: But [indistinct], like [indistinct] money was involved?
MIKE BURGESS: Some of the perpetrators – alleged perpetrators did this because they were paid to do it.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Katina.
JOURNALIST: Mr Burgess, you talked – you said that you’ve got enough evidence for these two specific attacks but you believe it might be broader than that. Are you looking at incidents, other incidents, just in Sydney and Melbourne or elsewhere in the country? And
just perhaps for Mr Burke on the listing, is that the Home Affairs legislation put to parliament today, or how quickly can that be done?
MIKE BURGESS: I’ll only confirm we have ongoing investigations into anti-semitic attacks in Australia.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: And the answer to that is no.
Here, here, here.
JOURNALIST: Does this form a pattern with other countries, or was Australia particularly targeted, perhaps because of the size of our Australian Jewish population?
MIKE BURGESS: So the IRGC has form in conducting – going after dissidents or anyone they consider a threat to the regime in other countries. But this is particularly new – unique to Australia in terms of having a crack at our social cohesion.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: Anna.
JOURNALIST: Thank you. Prime Minister, in terms of the information you have and the warning about Australians who might be in Iran at the moment, do you fear that Australians may be subject to retaliation in Iran because of this action? And to you, Director-General, just in terms of the risk that this creates, given the embassy didn’t direct these attacks, do you think there’s still a strong likelihood that there will be more incidents even after taking this action?
MIKE BURGESS: So, again, we and the police are open to the possibility that could occur, and we’re doing our best to get it before it stops. Of course, we’re not all seeing and all knowing.
ANTHONY ALBANESE: On the former, we took action to ensure that Australian embassy staff were appropriately removed and safe. That was done – obviously very quickly, as we’ve said, transparently. We were provided with this advice and evidence, more evidence obviously than is appropriate to make public because these are ongoing issues. So we took that advice. So we put in place measures, including the safe removal of all of our staff from the Tehran embassy in order to ensure that they were kept safe.
Thank you very much.
