TEHRAN: Iran on Tuesday (Aug 26) vowed “reciprocal action” after Australia expelled its ambassador over accusations that Tehran was behind antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney and Melbourne.
“The accusation that has been made is absolutely rejected,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei during a weekly press conference, adding that “any inappropriate and unjustified action on a diplomatic level will have a reciprocal reaction”.
Earlier Tuesday, Australia declared Iranian ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi “persona non grata” and ordered him and three other officials to leave the country within seven days.
It also withdrew its own ambassador to Iran and suspended operations at its embassy in Tehran, which opened in 1968.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said intelligence services had concluded that Iran was behind the torching of a kosher cafe in Sydney’s Bondi suburb last October and directing a major arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December.
No injuries were reported in the two attacks.
