【By Liu Bai, Observers Network】The Australian government recently decided to expel the Iranian ambassador on the grounds of "supporting anti-Semitism," causing a sudden escalation in tensions between the two countries.

On August 26 local time, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi responded on a social media platform, sharply criticizing Australian Prime Minister Albanese as a "weak politician." Meanwhile, the Israeli government quickly took credit, directly stating that the Australian government's actions against Iran were all the result of the Israeli government's efforts.

Salehi quoted Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's previous criticism of Albanese. He wrote on X: "I am not used to being on the same page with war criminals who are wanted, but Netanyahu was right about one thing: the Australian prime minister is indeed a 'weak politician.'"

In the post, Salehi attached a screenshot of a previous report where Netanyahu criticized Albanese. Recently, after Australia announced its conditional recognition of the State of Palestine, Netanyahu posted a strong criticism of Albanese, calling him a "weak" leader and accusing him of "betraying Israel and abandoning Australian Jews."

Salehi continued, "Iran has one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, with dozens of synagogues within its borders. Accusing Iran of attacking such places in Australia is completely unreasonable, because we are doing our utmost to protect them in our own country."

"Iran is paying a price for the Australian people's support for Palestine. Canberra should understand that it should not try to appease a regime led by war criminals. Doing so will only embolden Netanyahu and his allies even more."

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), in response to the Iranian Foreign Minister's claim that this move was aimed at appeasing Israel, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong refuted it.

"We have obviously seen the Iranian Foreign Minister's statements. We reject this claim. We believe in this assessment," she explained. This assessment refers to the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) determining that Iran had planned at least two "anti-Semitic" attacks in Australia.

Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ismail Khatami said that Iran is considering how to respond to Australia's decision. "In principle, any improper and baseless diplomatic action will be met with an equivalent response," he stated.

"This accusation is completely unacceptable, and we firmly refute it," Khatami said.

When asked if she was concerned about potential retaliation from Iran, Wong said that Australia had taken measures to evacuate personnel from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in Tehran.

"We did this because ensuring the safety of our personnel is our top priority," she said.

Within Australia, the federal opposition supports the government's decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a "terrorist organization," but also criticizes the government for not taking this action sooner.

Wong responded that the current government's measures against the IRGC are more forceful than those of the previous coalition government.

Regarding the recent diplomatic dispute between Australia and Iran, Israel has also joined in.

The Israeli government claims that Australia publicly accused Iran of orchestrating "anti-Semitic" attacks in Australia and decided to expel the Iranian ambassador, which are all the results of the Israeli government's efforts.

In a press briefing, Israeli government spokesperson David Manners claimed that Australia took these actions due to "guilt."

When answering a question from ABC reporters, Manners said, "Prime Minister Netanyahu made very straightforward comments regarding Australia. Australia is a country with which we have maintained friendly relations for a long time."

"From the perspective of Israel, it is a positive outcome that Australia is seriously addressing the threats against Israel and the Jewish people, including Jewish Australians," Manners said.

"Australian Jews feel threatened," Manners said, "this country (Israel) has suffered damage to its relationship with Australia, therefore, we welcome the Australian government's actions following the timely intervention of Prime Minister Netanyahu."

Manners also added that how to deal with foreign interference "threats" from Iran depends on Australia itself.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, when interviewed by ABC, was asked to comment on Israel's "taking credit," and he rejected it, saying, "It's complete nonsense."

"There was no minute wasted between us receiving this assessment and starting to study the response measures," he said, "we took this action because Iran attacked Australians. We reached this conclusion without the involvement of any other country."

He also rejected Iran's claim that this decision was intended to appease Israel.

Albanese announced on the 26th that he would expel the Iranian ambassador to Australia and suspend the operations of the Australian embassy in Tehran. He also stated that once the relevant legislative procedures are completed, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps would be officially designated as a "terrorist organization" by Australia.

Mike Burgess, head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), stated that the agency has determined that the attack on a Jewish restaurant in Sydney last October and the attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December were both linked to Iran. Additionally, intelligence agencies believe that Iran may have been involved in more attacks.

After the attack on the Melbourne Jewish synagogue in December, Netanyahu blamed the Australian government for the incident, claiming that the Albanese government's support for a UN resolution requiring Israel to end its occupation of Gaza was the cause of the attack.

At that time, Netanyahu also posted on X, "This condemnable act is closely related to the extreme anti-Israel stance of the Australian Labor Party government."

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