Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi agreed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is a weak politician, as stated in a social media post on Tuesday.
This past June, Israel and Iran were involved in a 12-day war that destroyed much of Iran's nuclear infrastructure.
“I am not in the habit of joining causes with wanted War Criminals,” Araghchi prefaced.
These comments came on the heels of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) accusing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of being behind a string of antisemitic hate crimes, including arson and vandalism.
The ASIO gave the Iranian ambassador to Australia and three other diplomats just days to leave the country, an act that offended Iranian officials.
Araghchi vehemently denied the accusations, citing his relationship with the Jewish communities of Iran. “Accusing Iran of attacking such sites in Australia while we do our utmost to protect them in our own country makes zero sense.”
Several Jews have been arrested recently in Iran for alleged collaboration with Israel.
The rise in antisemitism can be tied to rapidly growing anti-Israel attitudes
Netanyahu’s statements were, in part, also related to the uptick in antisemitic hate crimes. Albanese barred an Israeli official, Religious Zionist MK Simcha Rothman, from entering the country less than 24 hours before he was set to arrive on a solidarity trip with the Australian Jewish population.
Australia's decision to bar an Israeli leader from visiting a Jewish community facing high levels of antisemitism was what prompted Netanyahu’s claim that Albanese is “a weak politician who betrayed Israel and abandoned Australia’s Jews.”