TEHRAN – The Australian ambassador has left Tehran after Canberra ordered Iran’s envoy and several diplomats to leave Australia, prompting the Islamic Republic to downgrade Australia’s diplomatic status in Iran in a reciprocal move, the Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the decision followed standard diplomatic norms and international law, though Tehran viewed the move as unjustified.

“We do not welcome the reduction of relations because we believe there was no reason or justification for this action, and it affects ties between the two nations,” Baghaei told reporters.

He confirmed that the Australian ambassador had departed Iran but noted that Iran’s consular section in Canberra remains active to provide services for Iranian nationals in Australia.

Baghaei also dismissed as “ridiculous and baseless” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s August 25 allegations that Iran was behind two so-called anti-Semitic attacks in Australia. Albanese subsequently announced the expulsion of Iran’s envoy Ahmad Sadeghi, the suspension of Australia’s embassy operations in Tehran, and urged Australians living in Iran to leave immediately.

The Iranian spokesman rejected the accusations outright, stressing that anti-Semitism has no place in Iran’s cultural, historical, or religious traditions. “This phenomenon is a Western and European one,” he said. “If you look at history, persecution of Jews because of their religion is rooted in Europe, and it is they who must be held accountable for their past.”

Baghaei further argued that Canberra’s decision was aimed at justifying its anti-Iranian stance and compensating for recent, limited criticism of Israel voiced by some Australian politicians, including Albanese.

The row comes amid a broader diplomatic dispute between Australia and Israel. Last month, Albanese announced that Australia would formally recognize Palestinian statehood and revoked a visa for a visiting Israeli minister. In response, Israel canceled visas for Australian diplomats accredited to the Palestinian Authority, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branded Albanese a “weak leader.”

Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke hit back, saying true strength is not measured “by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry,” describing Netanyahu’s attacks as part of Israel’s “lashing out” against other governments.