Iranian intelligence services and Revolutionary Guards operatives are recruiting teenagers through criminal intermediaries to launch a wave of low-level hybrid warfare attacks in Europe and the UK, according to investigators, security officials, analysts and police documents.
A first wave of attacks began in early March, ten days after US and Israeli strikes on Iran, targeting Jewish community sites in Belgium, the Netherlands and US banks. A second wave has focused on the UK, with arson and attempted arson attacks on synagogues, a Jewish charity and the offices of an Iranian opposition TV network in London. On Tuesday, British police arrested seven people for allegedly plotting a further firebombing, and a teenager pleaded guilty to an arson attack on a synagogue in west London.
Analysts and security officials say that although there is no direct proof of Iranian involvement, multiple factors strongly suggest the attacks are part of a campaign to destabilise US allies and harm Jewish communities. Julian Lanchès of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism said: 'We don’t have any absolute evidence ... but a number of factors point to Iran.' MI5 director general Ken McCallum said the service had tracked more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots in the UK in 12 months.
The attacks have been organised using criminal networks that recruit low-level operatives, often teenagers, via social media platforms such as Snapchat. In Paris, a 17-year-old told police he was recruited through a Snapchat group to plant a makeshift bomb in front of a Bank of America branch. French interior minister Laurent Nuñez made a 'direct link' to Iran, saying Tehran uses proxies and criminals to carry out highly targeted actions against US interests, Jewish communities and Iranian opposition figures.
