Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) utilized two handlers with deep ties to Australia to orchestrate a pair of antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne, according to the nation’s top intelligence official.  

Delivering his annual national security threat assessment, Mike Burgess, Director-General of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), confirmed that Tehran still views Australia as a legitimate target for state-sponsored violence.  

The revelation sheds new light on the 2024 firebombings of Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, a kosher eatery in Sydney, and the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. The attacks sparked a major diplomatic rift last year, culminating in the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador—allegations that Tehran continues to deny.  

According to Burgess, the Sydney attack was masterminded by an Australian citizen currently living in Iran who serves as a senior operative within the IRGC's Quds Force. Meanwhile, the Melbourne synagogue firebombing was directed by a former Australian resident based in Iraq, whom the IRGC recruited through local militia groups to exploit his extensive network of local criminal connections.  

While neither suspect was named due to ongoing criminal prosecutions, Burgess noted that the handler in Iraq was recently arrested and imprisoned by local authorities after intense pressure from Australian and local law enforcement. "That changed dramatically after ASIO publicly named Iran's involvement," Burgess said, noting that his Iranian backers quickly lost enthusiasm for protecting him.  

Describing the investigation as one of the most complex in ASIO's recent history, Burgess reiterated that several local cut-outs are already facing charges on the ground, though it remains unclear if they were even aware they were executing orders for the Iranian regime.  

Photo - A Jewish man stands in front of a firebombed synagogue in Melbourne, Australia/X-screenshot