Australia Links Melbourne Synagogue Arson to Iran; Local Suspects Charged

Australia’s intelligence agencies have traced the funding behind a December arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue to Iran, officials confirmed this week, while noting that the local perpetrators were likely unaware they were being manipulated by Tehran.

On Wednesday, 20-year-old Younes Ali Younes appeared before Melbourne Magistrates Court charged with setting fire to the Adass Israel synagogue on December 6 and stealing a car used in the attack. He did not enter a plea and did not seek bail. His lawyer declined to comment. A co-accused, 21-year-old Giovanni Laulu, had appeared in court last month on the same charges.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday that intelligence had conclusively shown Iran’s involvement in the Melbourne arson and a separate attack in Sydney last year. In response, Australia expelled Tehran’s ambassador, joining Britain, Sweden, and other Western governments that have accused Iran of directing covert operations through criminal proxies.

Albanese praised the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and law enforcement agencies for uncovering a complex “supply chain” of offshore and onshore payments funneled to petty and organised criminals. “Security forces have done extraordinary work to trace the funding of these criminal elements who were being used as tools of the Iranian regime,” he told parliament.

Australia’s spy chief, Mike Burgess, said investigators identified a network of “cut-outs”—intermediaries designed to mask Tehran’s role. He warned that Iran may have orchestrated other operations. The Prime Minister said evidence also linked the conspiracy to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The diplomatic fallout was swift. Australian diplomats quietly departed Tehran just after midnight, hours before Albanese’s public announcement alongside senior ministers and intelligence officials. Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected the allegations outright.

The turning point in the Melbourne case came when Australian Federal Police and ASIO seized mobile phones and other digital devices from suspects. Investigators also focused on a stolen blue Volkswagen Golf, which CCTV footage showed being used to transport jerry cans of fuel to the synagogue. Three hooded men, one carrying an axe, were seen unloading the fuel and igniting the blaze before fleeing. Authorities allege Younes stole the vehicle to carry out the attack, which caused extensive damage to the A$20 million synagogue while people were inside. No injuries were reported.

Police described the Volkswagen as a “communal crime car,” linked to several unrelated incidents, and confirmed they were pursuing connections to a prominent Australian crime figure deported to Iraq in 2023.

At a press briefing in late July, then-AFP Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett described the arson as politically motivated and confirmed that offshore criminal groups were involved. “We suspect these criminals worked with criminal associates in Victoria to carry out the attack,” she said, noting ongoing cooperation with the Five Eyes intelligence alliance of Australia, the United States, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke told ABC Radio that those recruited for the attack may not have realised who was ultimately directing them. “You have a series of intermediaries, so that people performing different actions don’t necessarily know who is behind it,” he said.

The case has drawn international attention, with Israel praising Canberra’s firm response. Meanwhile, the investigation continues into whether the Melbourne arson forms part of a broader campaign of Iranian covert activity in Australia.