Australian prosecutors have filed a serious indictment against a third suspect in the 2024 arson attack on Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne, more than two years after the fire. According to the case, the man and two others set the synagogue alight in late December 2024 while aware that worshippers were inside, though the congregants escaped with only minor injuries.
The attackers allegedly broke into the synagogue grounds wearing masks, doused the front and interior with a large amount of flammable liquid, and ignited the building late at night. Fire crews found the structure engulfed in flames, and 65 firefighters battled the blaze for more than an hour. The synagogue sustained heavy damage, and community leaders described the attack as a clear antisemitic assault.
Australian authorities later said the attack was part of an Iranian-directed network. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of orchestrating the synagogue fire and another arson attack two months earlier at a kosher restaurant in Sydney. ASIO chief Mike Burgess said Iran used a “complex network of proxies” to conceal its role. Australia then expelled Iran’s ambassador and three additional diplomats.
Police and the joint counterterrorism team have been pursuing the suspects for months. The first suspect, Giovanni Laulo, 21, was arrested in July 2025, the second, Younis Ali Younes, 20, in August 2025, and the third suspect, a man in his 20s with prior criminal allegations, has now been charged. Police are still investigating whether the three knew they were working for Iranian intelligence or were simply being used as contractors. Assistant Commissioner Paul O’Halloran said the Jewish community had been informed of the arrests and added, “People have the right to feel safe in their place of worship.”
