Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corp listed as state sponsor of terror over Jewish attacks
Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been listed as a state sponsor of terrorism after being accused of carrying out twin attacks on the Jewish community in Sydney and Melbourne last year.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke found Iran’s Revolutionary Guard met the criteria under a new legal framework introduced this year to be officially listed as a state sponsor of terrorism on the last day of parliament’s final session on Thursday.
The list bans some relationships with the Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary force with ties to Iran’s proxies that has a near-monopoly on some of Iran’s business sectors and is intended to act as a deterrent against terrorist activity.
It follows ASIO’s claim that the Islamic Republic of Iran was behind attacks on Lewis’s Continental Kitchen in Bondi in October 2024 and Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne in December 2024.
Mr Burke said the listing was “a direct response to the despicable actions of the Iranian government” and would give police, security and intelligence agencies greater powers to “eliminate hatred and violence”.
“All Australians deserve to feel safe, welcome and at home, a view that underpins the legal changes that have allowed the IRGC to be listed,” he said.
“The Australian government will continue to pursue all avenues to combat bigotry, including anti-Semitism.”
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong described the alleged attacks as “unprecedented and dangerous acts of aggression” on Australian soil.
“It has no place in Australia,” he said.
Daniel Aghion, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jews, praised the government for the listing.
“Even though it was the Jewish community that was so callously and calculatedly targeted by a brutal and violent foreign power, these crimes posed a danger to all Australians simply because of who we are,” he said.
“ECAJ has been calling for the IRGC to be listed as a terrorist organization since 2022.
“The Revolutionary Guard operates through proxies of terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, and also more insidiously, through a wide economic and cultural network that reaches many parts of the world, such as universities, media and social media.
“This is a deeply malevolent organization seeking to impose an alien and disgusting way of life on Australia and other western democracies.”
As a result of the listing, it will now be illegal to direct the activities of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, become a member, engage with, recruit members, provide training, receive funds, provide funding or support for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Offenders face up to 25 years in prison.
The Iranian ambassador was given seven days to leave the country in August after ASIO claimed a Middle Eastern power was behind the attacks.
The country has denied involvement in either incident.
The Revolutionary Guard has a long and complex history in Iran; It emerged from the chaos following the 1979 revolution that brought a theocratic regime to power and the subsequent war with neighboring Iraq.
The group is the primary axis through which Iran expands its influence over aligned factions in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen, but it is also deeply rooted in internal security apparatuses and local businesses.
