‘World Record in Deception:’ Israel Decries Iranian Response to Massacre at Hanukkah Ceremony in Sydney

Latest Developments

Iranian Record of Attacking Jewish Targets Highlighted: Israeli officials portrayed an Iranian statement condemning the December 14 massacre at a Menorah lighting ceremony in the Australian city of Sydney as fundamentally dishonest, pointing out that the Tehran regime had “carried out deadly terrorist attacks against Israelis and Jews in the past and constantly seeks to murder Israelis and Jews around the world.” In a statement responding to his Iranian counterpart Esmail Baghaei, Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein declared, “the world record in deception belongs to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman.” Following the murder of 15 people in the attack, Baghaei said, “Terror violence and mass killing shall be condemned, wherever they’re committed, as unlawful and criminal.”
Iran State Media Lauds Attack: Iranian media outlets, meanwhile, veered between depicting the attack as a false flag operation and celebrating the slaughter. A headline in the state-run Mehr News Agency falsely claimed that the “primary suspect in the attack on Jews in Australia is the Zionist regime,” while in a statement published by Fars News, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Gen. Mohammad Reza Naghdi asserted that “the only one who benefits from the Sydney incident is the Zionist regime.” Tasnim News, which is affiliated with the IRGC, ran the triumphant headline, “At Least 10 Zionists Slain in Hanukkah Festival in Australia.”
Israel Investigating Possible Iranian Involvement in Sydney Attack: Australia proscribed the IRGC and expelled Iran’s ambassador in Canberra last August, accusing Tehran of orchestrating at least two attacks targeting Australian Jews following the Hamas-led atrocities in Israel on October 7, 2023. The two attacks cited were the firebombing of a Melbourne synagogue in December 2024 and an arson attack on a kosher delicatessen in Sydney in October, with officials adding that it was likely Iran had directed additional attacks in Australian territory. The Jerusalem Post reported that Israeli authorities are investigating whether the Iranian government or its proxies played a role in the deadly shooting in Sydney.

FDD Expert Response

“Iran’s disingenuous condemnation of the Bondi massacre illustrates the regime’s duplicitous nature. Iran continues to be the largest state sponsor of violence against Israel and the Jewish people, spending tens of billions of dollars annually to arm and sustain terror groups and proxies that target civilians. Iran’s state-run media is a conveyor belt of antisemitic propaganda that has inspired extremists around the globe to violently attack Jews.” — Tyler Stapleton, Senior Director of Government Relations at FDD Action

“Tehran’s terrorist campaigns against Jews extend beyond Israel and stem from the same ideology imposed on Iranians at home. The people of Iran have repeatedly protested the regime’s prioritization of ideological and antisemitic terror abroad over their own welfare, rejecting a core feature of the Islamic Republic. Supporting Iranians who have rejected this path is the only way to eliminate the threat the regime poses to Jewish and Western interests.” — Janatan Sayeh, Research Analyst