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Attacks targeting Jewish and Israeli institutions in Europe this year reveal a growing trend of Iran-affiliated groups recruiting local criminals, including minors, Bloomberg reported Saturday.
"The incidents show how the war between Israel and Iran’s proxies across the Middle East is also driving Tehran to escalate its covert operations in Europe — and that is rattling governments already concerned that the conflict is stirring tension between communities divided over immigration," the report said.
Incidents include a 15-year-old in Stockholm taking a taxi with a loaded gun heading toward the Israeli embassy and a 13-year-old in Gothenburg shooting at the offices of the Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems.
This fall, Swedish and Norwegian security agencies warned of Iranian-backed operations. In response, Norway temporarily raised its terror alert to high in October, armed its police, and introduced border controls with Sweden.
In early October, Iran International exclusively reported that Tehran enlisted criminals to carry out armed attacks on Israeli embassies in Stockholm and Copenhagen, coinciding with its extensive missile barrage against Israel, according to a Swedish police source and another informed source.
Shots were fired at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm that same week, followed by two explosions near Israel’s embassy in central Copenhagen in the early hours of Wednesday. No injuries were reported.
Two Swedish teenagers, aged 16 and 19, were later arrested in connection with the incidents. Authorities did not immediately release details about their identities. A Swedish police source told Iran International that evidence found during the preliminary investigation pointed to the Islamic Republic’s involvement.
Earlier, in May, Swedish authorities arrested two teenage boys, aged 14 and 15, after a shooting near the Israeli embassy. At the time, Sweden’s intelligence agency accused Tehran of recruiting gang members to attack Israeli interests in the country.
A Swedish insider speaking to Iran International stated that investigations revealed the group behind the May attack was also “directed by agents linked to the Islamic Republic.”
According to separate statements last year by Säpo (Sweden’s intelligence agency) and Mossad, the Swedish criminal group Foxtrot was among those recruited by Tehran. The group, led by Rawa Majid, a Swedish citizen of Kurdish origin allegedly detained in Iran, is conducting sabotage operations on behalf of Tehran.
The Islamic Republic has never acknowledged recruiting criminals for operations outside its borders, yet its leaders have repeatedly expressed support for attacks on Israeli interests globally.
