A collaborative Australian security task force has penalized a third individual for a 2024 firebombing at a Melbourne synagogue, an attack intelligence officials believe was orchestrated by the Iranian government, The Associated Press reported on Friday.
According to authorities, the 20-year-old suspect belonged to a trio of disguised perpetrators who forced entry into the Adass Israel Synagogue on December 6, 2024, saturated the premises with accelerants, and ignited the blaze.
The resulting inferno inflicted catastrophic structural damage on the property and left a congregant with minor injuries.
The Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team - composed of state police, federal police, and the nation's premier espionage agency - served the arson charges directly to the unnamed suspect inside a Melbourne correctional facility, where he was already detained on separate, undisclosed violations. The development follows the previous apprehensions of co-accused individuals Giovanni Laulu, 21, and Younes Ali Younes, 20, who were jailed during mid-2025 operations.
Last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese directly implicated Iran's Revolutionary Guard in organizing the synagogue firebombing, alongside an arson incident at a Sydney kosher restaurant, Lewis’ Continental Kitchen, which occurred two months prior.
Mike Burgess, who commands the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, observed that the Revolutionary Guard deployed a “complex web of proxies to hide its involvement" across both antisemitic actions. Following the security revelations, Australia declared Iran's ambassador and three fellow diplomats persona non grata, though Tehran continues to dispute the findings.
Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Crozier reported Friday that investigators are coordinating with global intelligence networks as they trace the network. A primary focus involves verifying whether the active arsonists understood the origin of their orders.
“They may not actually be aware of the people who are directing or the principals of these investigations. That remains a key line of inquiry for us," Crozier stated.
Victoria Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Paul O’Halloran confirmed that law enforcement proactively debriefed the localized Jewish community prior to making the legal progression public.
“Our heart goes out to them. Again, this brings back this terrible incident," O’Halloran reflected. “People deserve the right to feel safe and be safe in their community and particularly at their place of worship. Today’s charges are a strong testament to this."
The arrest of the newly charged suspect coincides with an ongoing federal public inquiry investigating heightened domestic antisemitism in Australia, highlighted by a December attack where two terrorists murdered 15 individuals at a Sydney Hanukkah event.
Days after the arson at Adass Israel, a car was set on fire, and two properties were vandalized with anti-Israel graffiti in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra, which has a substantial Jewish population.
In another incident, the words "F- the Jews" were spray-painted on a car in Sydney.
Early last year, the Southern Sydney Synagogue in Allawah, a suburb of the city, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.
A day later, the Newtown synagogue, located in Sydney’s inner west, was vandalized with red swastikas that were spray-painted across the building’s front wall.
(Arutz Sheva-Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)