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By André Pienaar
Australia’s intelligence community has squarely identified Iranian state-sponsored antisemitic terrorist attacks in Australia, highlighting Tehran’s growing global terrorist threat—and underscoring the urgent need for collective defence by the democracies. This follows the United Kingdom’s designation of Iran as its highest national security threat earlier this year, combined with an unprecedented 14-nation joint intelligence warning about the threat of Iranian terrorism to democracies.
When Australia revealed on 26 August 2025 that Iran had directed violent attacks on Jewish targets in Sydney and Melbourne, it confirmed what many had suspected: Tehran is waging a global terrorist war against democratic nations. According to intelligence from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Iran orchestrated the firebombing of Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney on 20 October 2023 and the attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne on 06 December 2023. These were not isolated acts of hate, but calculated, foreign-directed operations that form part of a broader global pattern.
As Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated in his official press conference: “ASIO now assesses the Iranian Government directed at least two and likely more attacks on Jewish interests in Australia… These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil.”
Following this announcement, the government expelled Iran’s Ambassador and three diplomats—the first such action by Australia since the Second World War—suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran, and pledged to legislate for the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
The December 2023 attack in Melbourne coincided with a failed improvised explosive device (IED) attack on the Sampson Community Centre in Cape Town, South Africa. A week later, on 18 December 2023, there was a similar arson attack on a synagogue in Montreal, Canada. In May 2025, His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom arrested five individuals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who were plotting an attack on the Israeli embassy in London. In July 2025, the German and Danish authorities disrupted an IRGC unit planning attacks on the Jewish community in Berlin.
Iran’s global reach
The IRGC, long designated by the United States as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), has developed a wide-ranging global network, using proxies, criminal syndicates, and covert influence to advance Iran’s ambitions. From Latin America to Europe and now Australia, Iranian operations follow a familiar playbook: attempted plausible deniability; the targeting of Iranian dissidents, former Western national security officials, and Jewish communities; sowing social division through grey propaganda; and the projection of armed propaganda beyond its borders.
“These were extraordinary and dangerous acts of aggression orchestrated by a foreign nation on Australian soil.”
— Australian Government statement
By striking deep inside a Five Eyes partner, Iran has again signalled its willingness to test the resilience of democracies beyond its immediate region.
Collective defence: 14 democracies respond
Just weeks earlier—on 31 July 2025—fourteen nations including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Canada, Germany and others publicly condemned the disturbing rise of Iranian intelligence as a terrorism threat across Europe and North America.
“We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America.”
Their joint statement warned that Iranian intelligence services have increasingly collaborated with international criminal organisations to kill, kidnap, and harass journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and former and serving national security officials—constituting clear violations of national sovereignty.
This statement serves as a powerful backdrop to the Australian revelations, painting them not as isolated events but as part of a broader pattern of global terrorism.
Canberra’s response: decisive and precedent-setting
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese responded decisively to these acts of terrorism. The Iranian ambassador and three diplomats were expelled—the first such action by Australia since the Second World War. The Australian embassy in Tehran was suspended, and the government announced legislation to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.
“Your aggression will not be tolerated.”
— Prime Minister Albanese on Iran’s covert operations
Canberra’s response aligns it with the United States, the United Kingdom, and Gulf allies’ longstanding position on the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, and is likely to incentivise other democracies to follow suit.
Key lessons for national security
The Australian case, reinforced by the 14-nation warning, offers three urgent lessons for policymakers:
- The Iranian threat is global. Iran’s intelligence-directed terrorism now extends into the heart of communities worldwide, with diaspora populations—especially Jewish communities—on the front lines.
- Allied coordination is essential. A fragmented approach emboldens Tehran. The United States should leverage the 14-nation statement as momentum for synchronising sanctions, intelligence-sharing, and counter-terrorism efforts across the Five Eyes, NATO and allied nations.
- Deterrence requires rapid escalation. Diplomatic expulsions are necessary but insufficient. Tehran must pay steep political, economic and, if necessary, military costs. The United States and its partners should expand sanctions on Iranian state entities, disrupt IRGC financial channels, and strengthen military deterrence in the Gulf and Indo-Pacific.
“Failure to act decisively risks normalising Iranian aggression and leaving diaspora communities worldwide vulnerable.”
— Senior Australian security official
A worldwide threat to democracies
Iran’s campaign is hybrid in nature—part psychological warfare, part terrorism, part proxy signalling. From worldwide cyberattacks and assassination plots across the United States and Europe to arson in Australia, these actions form a pattern of escalating aggression.
The Australian case is a wake-up call: if Tehran can strike in Melbourne, it can strike in any major city. Democratic partners must not treat these as isolated incidents, but as the latest phase in a coordinated global terrorist strategy.
A call to allied resolve
Australia has sent a clear message: democratic societies will not tolerate state-directed violence on their territory. The broader question now is whether the United States and its allies can match Canberra’s resolve with collective action.
Standing united—through shared intelligence, synchronised policy measures, and meaningful sanctions—can reinforce democratic resilience. Without such unity, Tehran’s shadow war will continue to chip away at the cohesion of open societies, leaving diaspora communities at risk.
André Pienaar is the Co-Founder of the Directorate of Special Operations, an elite law enforcement and counter-terrorist unit founded by Nelson Mandela. He chairs a Counter-Terrorism Task Force with the support of the Security Council of the World Jewish Congress.
