According to reports from The Australian, former IRGC counterintelligence head Major General Majid Khademi travelled to Australia on a tourist visa in 2022. This visit occurred while Australian officials were internally debating whether to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group, raising security concerns.
Maj-Gen Majid Khademi, identified in reports as the former head of counterintelligence for the IRGC, entered Australia in 2022.
His visit coincided with private deliberations within Canberra regarding the potential listing of the IRGC under Australian terrorism laws.
The visit took place despite warnings that the IRGC constituted an immediate threat to national security, say the reports.
In 2025, Australia expelled the Iranian ambassador and the Australian said that Iranian officials were accused of directing antisemitic attacks in Australia, as shown in this Facebook post from Guardian Australia, and recently, on April 12 2026, The Australian reported, that Mr. Khademi was killed in recent Israeli strikes.
The visit has caused significant concern and debate regarding foreign interference and visa security in Australia.
Israel’s intelligence agency has named the Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander it says is responsible for the 2024 attacks on Jewish Australians that triggered the expulsion of the Iranian ambassador in August.
In a rare public statement, Mossad alleged Sardar Amar, a senior commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, was the mastermind behind the network responsible for attacks in Australia, Greece and Germany.
In an extraordinary 24 hours in the nation’s diplomacy in late August, Iran’s ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi was expelled from Australia, Australian diplomats were evacuated from Tehran and steps were taken to list the Guards Corps as a terrorist organisation.
The move came after Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation chief Mike Burgess revealed IRGC commanders were accused of disguising their involvement by using a series of “cut-outs” and proxies to pay criminals to set fire to the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne and Lewis’ Continental Kitchen in Sydney’s Bondi last year.
Legislation that will enable the government to designate government entities like the IRGC as terrorist organisations will be introduced to parliament on Tuesday.
The Mossad statement accused Amar of commanding some 11,000 operatives who carry out covert operations.
“Under Amar’s command, a significant mechanism was established to promote attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets both in Israel and abroad,” it said.
In order to hide Iran’s involvement, Mossad says, the network recruited non-Iranians, used criminal gangs and insisted on a high degree of compartmentalisation.
“Thanks to intensive operations by the Mossad, together with intelligence and security agencies in Israel and around the world, dozens of attack channels promoted by Iran have been thwarted,” the statement added.
“These counter-terrorism operations have saved many lives and enabled investigative and legal steps to be taken against those involved in terrorism.”
The spy agency referenced severe diplomatic measures taken against senior Iranian officials in Australia and Germany, including the removal of the envoy in Canberra and the summoning of the Iranian Ambassador to Germany for a reprimand, as a clear message of “zero tolerance for terrorist activity on their soil”.
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