How Iran Funded A Terror Attack on Jews in Australia

israelnationalnews

Australia’s intelligence agency has traced the funding behind the arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, linking the operation to Iran, officials confirmed this week. Authorities said those charged with the crime were likely unaware they were acting under Tehran’s direction.

On Wednesday, 20-year-old Younes Ali Younes appeared before Melbourne’s Magistrates Court charged with arson over the December 6 attack on the Adass Israel synagogue, as well as theft of a vehicle. He did not seek bail and entered no plea. His lawyer declined to comment.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said intelligence agencies uncovered evidence that both the synagogue attack and a separate incident in Sydney last year were directed by the Iranian government. He announced the expulsion of Iran’s ambassador and confirmed that Australia’s diplomats had been withdrawn from Tehran.

According to Albanese, investigators traced financial transactions through a chain of intermediaries to show that criminals were being used as “tools of the Iranian regime.” Australia’s security chief, Mike Burgess, warned that additional Iran-linked operations may have taken place.

The investigation intensified after federal police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) seized digital devices from suspects in Victoria. CCTV footage showed three hooded figures unloading fuel containers and setting the synagogue alight before fleeing in a stolen Volkswagen Golf.

Victoria’s Joint Counter Terrorism Team charged Younes with stealing the car and endangering lives by targeting the synagogue, valued at $20 million, while people were inside. A co-accused, Giovanni Laulu, 21, faces the same charges.

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the perpetrators may not have known who was directing them. “You have a series of intermediaries so that people performing different actions don’t in fact know who is directing them,” he explained.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has rejected Australia’s accusations. Meanwhile, security agencies across Europe have previously warned of Tehran’s use of criminal networks to carry out covert operations on foreign soil.