In recent months, Israel has issued warnings that Iran was preparing terrorist infrastructure to target the Jewish community and Jewish institutions in Australia.
This morning, following the massacre at the Jewish community’s Hanukkah event, Israel is holding security and strategic discussions to determine who is behind the deadly attack on the Jewish community in Sydney, Australia.
According to Israeli assessments, the main suspect is Iran. As hours passed since the attack, Israel's assessment strengthened that Tehran is responsible for the massacre.
At the same time, investigations are underway to determine whether there is a connection to other terrorist organizations acting on Iran's behalf or inspired by it, including Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is linked to Al-Qaeda.
According to intelligence information shared with political officials, Iran has been working in recent months to smuggle weapons, build terror infrastructures, and establish "incitement cells" through social media networks, with the aim of targeting Jewish sites worldwide.
The background to Israel’s suspicions is also based on previous events. Last August, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran of organizing two antisemitic attacks in the country, and announced the severance of diplomatic ties with Tehran following the attacks.
At the time, Albanese said that the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) determined that the Iranian government had instructed to set fire to Lewis Continental Kitchen, a kosher food company in Sydney, in October 2024, as well as the "Adat Yisrael" synagogue in Melbourne in December.
According to Australian intelligence, the arson attacks were carried out in the context of a sharp rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Sydney and Melbourne since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, and Iran attempted to obscure its direct involvement in the actions.