MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran of directing at least two antisemitic attacks in Australia and said the country is expelling the Iranian ambassador on Tuesday.

Albanese said that Australian intelligence services had connected Iran to attacks on a Sydney restaurant and a Melbourne mosque.

There has been a steep rise in antisemitic events in the two cities since the Israel-Hamas war began in 2023.

“ASIO has gathered enough credible intelligence to reach a deeply disturbing conclusion. 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,” Albanese told reporters, referring to the main domestic spy agency.

Featured

In 2022, Georgia Power projected its winter peak electricity demand would grow by about 400 megawatts by 2031. Since then, Georgia has experienced a boom of data centers, which require a large load of electricty to run, and Georgia Power's recent forecast shows peak demand growing by 20 times the 400-megawatt estimate from just three years ago. (Illustration by Philip Robibero/AJC)

Credit: Illustration: Philip Robibero / AJC