Hussain Hazbavi 
Australia on Thursday officially designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a state sponsor of terrorism, after intelligence linked the group to attacks targeting Jewish centers in Sydney and Melbourne.
The government said it took this step following an ASIO assessment confirming that the IRGC orchestrated attacks against Australia’s Jewish community.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had earlier stated, alongside Australia’s intelligence chief, that the IRGC was responsible for the October 2024 arson attack on Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney and the December 2024 attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne.
According to ASIO, the IRGC used a “complex web of proxies” to carry out operations on Australian soil, aiming to create fear and division within Australia’s multicultural society.
In response, the government passed the Criminal Code Amendment (State Sponsors of Terrorism) Act 2025, establishing a framework to take action against foreign state entities involved in terrorism targeting Australia.
The IRGC is the first entity to be designated under this new law.
Although the United States labeled the IRGC a terrorist organization in 2019, this marks the first time Australia has listed a foreign state entity under its federal terrorism framework.
