Australia’s intelligence agency discovered Iranian involvement in at least two antisemitic attacks by tracing funds back to the Islamic Republic, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed on Wednesday.
“We speak about foreign interference. This is another level. This is foreign action and foreign violence being committed against Australians funded and using criminal elements here,” said Albanese.
Most of the evidence linking the attacks to Iran came from Australian investigations, he added.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) had determined that the Islamic Republic was behind two arson attacks: one at the Adas Israel synagogue in Melbourne on Dec. 6, 2024, and another on a kosher restaurant, Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, in Sydney on Oct. 20, 2024.
Iran used criminal gangs to cover their tracks. Those criminals were likely unaware that Iran was pulling the strings, said Albanese. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess referred to these proxies as “cut-outs,” on Tuesday.
Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, explaining “cut-outs” on Wednesday, said, “‘Cut-outs’ is a term used in the intelligence community that refers to intermediaries who are there to effectively make sure that, as you go down the chain, people don’t realize who was higher up the chain.”
One of the “cut-outs,” a suspect in the synaogogue attack, Younes Ali Younes, 20, appeared via video link at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
Younes spoke only to say he heard and understood the proceedings. He has not yet entered a plea. His lawyer, Mark Aouad, wouldn’t comment. The case is scheduled to return to court on Dec. 4, according to Reuters.
Following the Melbourne attack, which caused millions in damages, the Australian state of Victoria established an anti-hate task force, but the revelation of Iranian interference changes the complexion of the attack from one of homegrown antisemitism to “aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation,” in the words of Albanese at a Tuesday press conference.
On Tuesday, Albanese announced Australia would expel the Iranian ambassador and three other diplomats over the matter.
“They have sought to harm and terrorize Jewish Australians and sow hatred and division,” said Albanese.
It was the first time Canberra had expelled an ambassador since World War II, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The Iranians have seven days to leave the country.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, criticized the move, calling it “an assault on diplomacy and the relationship between the two nations.”
Australia is also moving swiftly to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
Australia is not the only Western country accusing Iran of engaging in hostile actions on its soil, Reuters reported.
In a July 31 joint statement, 14 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and France, condemned the Islamic Republic’s involvement in a wave of assassination, kidnapping and harassment plots by Iran’s intelligence services.
On Tuesday, The Sydney Morning Herald offered more details on the first Iran-linked attack, involving Lewis’ Continental Kitchen.
The attack on Lewis’s, a kosher deli in Bondi Beach, was reportedly masterminded by Sayed Moosawi.
Moosawi is president of a chapter of the Nomads Motorcycle Club, or “Nomads bikie,” an outlaw motorcycle club in Australia with numerous chapters nationwide.
Moosawi moved to Australia with his family as a refugee from Afghanistan in 2005. He has a history of violence, the paper said.
To direct the attacks, he communicated under the moniker “James Bond” on Signal, an encrypted messaging app, according to court documents.
“I got something good lined up,” Moosawi allegedly messaged associate Wayne Ogden on Sept. 30, 2024.
The scheme took on a Keystone Cops flavor as the criminals twice set fire to the wrong establishment with a similar name, the Curly Lewis Brewery, described by police as “a popular licensed premises on the beachfront promenade” with no ties to the Jewish community, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The first attempt was two weeks after Moosawi’s message. Ogden and another suspect, Juon Amuoi, approached the Curly Lewis Brewery at 2:00 a.m. carrying a sledgehammer, but were “spooked” when spotted by a passerby.
“Use [sic] both fail the test cant do one small thing, f---ing 16 years [sic] kid could of got it done,” Moosawi allegedly told Ogden.
Others were then recruited for the crime, Guy Finnegan and Craig Bantoft, according to court documents.
Moosawi told them he had been paid $12,000 to arrange the arson and offered Finnegan and Bantoft $4,000 to do it.
On Oct. 17, 2024 at 1:00 a.m., Finnegan and Bantoft went back to the Curly Lewis Brewery, poured accelerant under the door and set it on fire. Sprinklers extinguished it.
Moosawi was furious. “Use [sic] f---ed the whole thing now If use [sic] f---ing couldn’t do it from the start then why did use [sic] even went there for f--- me It’s not even done 2% burned f--- me dead,” Moosawi messaged Finnegan.
On Oct. 20, 2024, at 2:30 a.m., Ogden went to the establishment they had meant to target, the Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, broke through the rear entrance, poured out a jerrycan of fuel and set the restaurant on fire, causing more than $1 million in damage.
Bantoft and Finnegan have pleaded guilty to setting fire to the Curly Lewis Brewery and face a host of additional charges, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Ogden and Amuoi are also facing multiple charges over the Lewis’ Continental Kitchen attack. They are being held until hearings on Oct. 21.
Moosawi was released on $2 million bail. He will return to court on Oct. 21, charged with directing a criminal group and accessory to arson, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Israel has claimed credit for pushing Australia to act. Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Spokesman David Mencer suggested on Tuesday that Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent criticism of the Albanese government’s failure to tackle rising Jew hatred spurred it to action.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has made a very forthright intervention when it comes to Australia, a country in which we have a long history of friendly relations,” Mencer said.
“He made those comments because he did not believe that the actions of the Australian government had gone anywhere near far enough to address the issues of antisemitism... for the Australian government to take those threats [against Australia’s Jewish community] seriously is a positive outcome,” he said.
Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke denied that Israel influenced his country’s latest move, calling it “complete nonsense.”
Netanyahu castigated Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for his government’s failure to counter Australia’s surging antisemitism.
Last week, Australia-Israel relations turned sour when Netanyahu, in a letter to Albanese dated Aug. 17, expressed his concern at the “lack of decisive action by your government to confront [antisemitism].”
A day later, Australia denied entry to Israeli parliamentarian Simcha Rothman of the Religious Zionism Party ahead of a planned solidarity visit with the country’s Jewish community.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced retaliatory measures, including revoking the visas of Australian representatives to the Palestinian Authority, and instructing Israel’s embassy in Canberra to closely scrutinize any future visa requests.
