Australia has formally classified Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, citing intelligence linking the group to attacks on Jewish sites within the country. The decision follows an assessment by Australian security agencies that the IRGC directed at least two antisemitic incidents, including one targeting a Melbourne synagogue and another a Jewish restaurant in Sydney.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that credible intelligence supported the conclusion that these operations were overseen by the IRGC. In response to the designation, Australia is expelling Iran’s ambassador and suspending operations at its embassy in Tehran.
The IRGC, established after Iran’s 1979 revolution, functions as an elite military and political force with significant influence over the nation’s security and economic sectors. It maintains its own army, navy, and air force, distinct from Iran’s conventional military, and reports directly to the country’s supreme leader.
The United States designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization in 2019, with Canada following suit in 2024. Other Western nations, including members of the European Union and the United Kingdom, have considered similar measures but have yet to implement them.
Globally, the IRGC has been implicated in multiple international incidents. It was accused by Argentine authorities of involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people. In 2020, the IRGC admitted to mistakenly shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane shortly after takeoff from Tehran, resulting in 176 fatalities. More recently, U.S. prosecutors charged an IRGC official in connection with a plot to kidnap an Iranian-American journalist.
The IRGC also oversees the Quds Force, a unit responsible for extraterritorial operations and support for regional militant groups, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. These alliances, part of what Tehran refers to as the “Axis of Resistance,” have extended Iran’s influence across the Middle East, though recent conflicts have diminished their operational capacities.
In addition to its security role, the IRGC holds substantial economic interests, controlling sectors from construction and telecommunications to oil exports. It is also believed to manage a clandestine network of oil tankers used to bypass international sanctions.
