Israeli intelligence has warned Australia about Iranian terror networks

Senior Israeli intelligence officials say Australia was warned months in advance about the establishment of foreign-linked terrorist infrastructure on its territory, including activities targeting Jewish communities, amid growing concerns about operations directed from Iran and a potential resurgence of ISIS in Syria.

According to a senior Israeli intelligence official who spoke extensively with Fox News Digital, Israel’s foreign intelligence service provided Australian authorities with concrete warnings about what the official described as Terrorist activity directed from Iran operating in Australia. The warning, the official said, was not specific to the Bondi Beach attack, but to broader efforts to build terror networks with the intention of harming Jewish targets.

“We stopped a few tick bombs,” the officer said. “The target was on people’s heads.”

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The official said Israeli intelligence identified Iranian leadership and coordination, including operatives who allegedly possessed weapons and operated “in the center of Jewish communities,” while not being detected by local authorities.

In the months leading up to the Bondi Beach attack, the Australian government expelled Iran’s ambassador after its domestic security services publicly accused Iran of directing or allowing attacks against Jewish targets in Australia. Tehran rejected the allegations and denied involvement.

After the shooting, Iranian state media published an official condemnation of the attack, denouncing the killing of civilians and rejecting any connection between Iran and the violence. Australian officials said the investigation into the attack remains ongoing and they have not attributed it to a foreign state. An intelligence source said that we will know in the next few days if there was such a lead.

The Israeli intelligence assessments align with warnings from a senior foreign diplomatic source, who described the current threat environment as driven by a global contagion effect, in which extremist networks around the world amplify and celebrate the attacks, encouraging others to replicate.

According to the diplomatic source, online jihadist ecosystems play a central role in accelerating this dynamic, quickly turning incitement into action. From an operational point of view, the source said such attacks are increasingly attractive to extremists because they are relatively simple to carry out while producing a disproportionate impact.

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Two sources warned that the threat extends beyond Jewish targets, warning that attacks against Christian communities are also plausible, particularly during periods of overlapping Jewish and Christian holidays that tend to increase extremist motivation.

The former Israeli intelligence official said Australia is not an isolated case, describing what he said is a sharp global increase in Iran-linked terrorist activity for Jews.

“Since the war, there has been a great increase in Iran’s attempts to carry out terror in the world against the Jews,” the official said. “Not just Australia.”

The official said Israeli intelligence has identified or disrupted similar activities in Europe, Africa and Asia, including Germany, Austria and many places beyond the Middle East, as well as alleged plots in South America, India and Thailand.

“If you know how many terror attacks The Mossad prevented itit would blow your jaw off,” the officer told Fox News Digital.

A second senior Israeli intelligence source said the threat landscape has worsened after two years of war in the Middle East, which the source said has energized radical Islamist movements around the world.

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According to the source, the threat increasingly comes from lone actors or sleeper cells, which require minimal resources and are more difficult to detect, but can also cause mass casualties and inspire copycat attacks.

The source warned in particular developments in Syriasaying the instability there could allow ISIS to regroup and regroup, creating new waves of violence beyond the region. “I’m worried about Syria and that ISIS will come back,” the source said, also warning that the recent attack in Australia could inspire more violence elsewhere.

Intelligence warnings arose after a Sunday night terror attack in a public celebration of Hanukkah in Bondi Beach, one of Australia’s most iconic and densely populated places.

Australian authorities said two gunmen – a father and his adult son – opened fire on the beachkilling at least 15 people and injuring dozens. Police said the father was killed at the scene, while the son was shot by officers and taken to a hospital in critical condition. Authorities classified the shooting as a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community.

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While Australian officials have not linked the Bondi Beach attack to the direction of foreign intelligence, the incident has intensified scrutiny of earlier warnings, the Increase in anti-Semitic incidents across the country and whether sufficient action has been taken to disrupt emerging threats.

Australian leaders condemned the attack, increased security around Jewish institutions and pledged to review anti-terror measures.