Australia’s intelligence agency has identified the financial sources behind the hooded criminals accused of igniting a fire at a Melbourne synagogue, establishing a connection between the antisemitic incident and Iran, according to officials. Notably, those facing charges in the case were likely unaware that Tehran was orchestrating their actions.
A 20-year-old local man, Younes Ali Younes, appeared in Melbourne’s Magistrates Court on Wednesday, charged with the December 6 arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue and theft of a car. He did not enter a plea and did not seek bail. The attorney chose not to provide a statement to Reuters.
In a statement made a day prior, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese revealed that Australia’s intelligence agencies had indicated the recent attack, along with another incident in Sydney last year, were orchestrated by the Iranian government. This announcement led to the expulsion of Tehran’s ambassador, marking Australia as the latest Western nation to level accusations against Iran for conducting hostile covert operations within its borders.
Security services in Britain and Sweden warned last year that Tehran was using criminal proxies to carry out its violent attacks in those countries, with London saying it had disrupted 20 Iran-linked plots since 2022. A dozen countries have expressed their condemnation of what they describe as a rise in assassination, kidnapping, and harassment schemes orchestrated by Iranian intelligence services.
Australia’s spy chief Mike Burgess revealed that a network of intermediaries was employed to mask Iran’s role in the attacks, cautioning that the nation may have coordinated additional operations.
On Tuesday, Albanese spoke to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commending security forces for their remarkable efforts in tracing the funding sources of criminal elements that the Iranian regime has utilised.
The inquiry traced its steps back through transactions conducted both onshore and offshore, targeting “petty and sometimes not so petty criminals,” as stated in parliament on Wednesday.
On Monday, Albanese received a briefing from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation regarding evidence of a “supply chain” that he indicated connected the attacks to individuals abroad and Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
According to reports, Australia’s diplomats in Iran received a discreet directive to depart, successfully exiting Iranian airspace shortly after midnight.
On Tuesday, a public announcement was made featuring Albanese alongside his spy chief and the ministers for foreign and home affairs, which received praise from Israel.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it “absolutely rejected” Australia’s accusation.
Weeks earlier, a significant development in the investigation unfolded as the Australian Federal Police, alongside the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), confiscated mobile phones and digital devices from suspects apprehended in Victoria state in connection with the synagogue attack. This operation also brought attention to a stolen blue Volkswagen Golf sedan, which had been utilised in unrelated incidents.
Police have released CCTV footage from the night of December 6, capturing three hooded individuals unloading red jerry cans of fuel from the trunk of a vehicle. One of the figures was seen brandishing an axe as they ignited the synagogue before fleeing the scene.
The Joint Counter Terrorism Team in Victoria has accused 20-year-old Younes of stealing a vehicle to execute an attack, claiming he recklessly endangered lives by igniting a fire at the A$20 million synagogue. At the same time, individuals were present, according to a charge sheet. The attack resulted in no injuries.
A co-accused, Giovanni Laulu, 21, appeared in court last month on the exact charges.
Authorities have described the sedan as a “communal crime car,” linking it to a series of other incidents that appear to lack a political motivation.
During a press conference held on July 30, the Australian Federal Police’s then deputy commissioner, Krissy Barrett, announced the execution of seven search warrants and the arrest of a man in connection with the synagogue attack. Barrett characterised the incident as politically motivated and linked to offshore criminals.
“Authorities believe that these criminals collaborated with associates in Victoria to execute the arson attack,” she stated, adding that a significant Australian crime figure who was deported to Iraq in 2023 remains “one of our ongoing lines of inquiry.”
The police collaborated with the Five Eyes intelligence network, which comprises the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand, according to her statement.
On Wednesday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke spoke to ABC Radio, stating that individuals involved locally may not have been aware of “who had started it.”
“There exists a network of intermediaries, ensuring that individuals engaged in various tasks remain unaware of the overarching authority guiding their actions,” he stated.
