Iran’s Terror Groups in the West
Iranian intelligence services are systematically intensifying their activities against regime critics, journalists, politicians, and activists in Europe and the United States. A current case illustrates this escalation: Belgian parliamentarian Darya Safai, who advocates for a tougher EU policy toward Iran and initiated a parliamentary resolution to classify the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, received a warning from Belgian security authorities about planned kidnapping plots during her visits to Turkey.
The Iranian regime has fundamentally changed its approach and increasingly works with international criminal syndicates. This strategy enables Tehran to obscure its own responsibility and keep political costs low. These operations are coordinated by the special unit “Unit 840” of the Revolutionary Guard. This shift occurred particularly after Iranian actors in the West came under increased surveillance and their direct operational capabilities were restricted.
Numerous documented cases demonstrate this development. In New York, two members of the Eastern European mafia group “Thieves-in-Law” were convicted of attempted murder of Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad, allegedly acting on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard. In Berlin, a Dane of Afghan origin is in custody for allegedly spying on Jewish sites and individuals for potential arson attacks. A similar case occurred in Munich, where a French drug dealer was arrested for corresponding espionage activities. In London, despite police protection, a journalist from the exile broadcaster Iran International was stabbed by Eastern European criminals after he interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Particularly revealing are the collaborations with prominent criminals. Alleged mafioso Ümit Bulbul reportedly received protection from international prosecution in Iran in exchange for assistance with attacks on Israeli targets. A similar arrangement allegedly existed with Ramin Yektaparast, the former local chief of the Hells Angels in Mönchengladbach, who lived a luxury life in Iran before being killed under unclear circumstances in 2024. Yektaparast is suspected of organizing an arson attack on the Bochum synagogue on behalf of the Revolutionary Guard. Swedish mafia boss Rawa Majid fled to Iran at the end of 2023, was initially arrested, but then apparently reached an arrangement with the regime and has since orchestrated several attacks against Israeli facilities in Europe.
The blueprint for this approach was likely provided by alleged drug dealer Naji Sharifi Zindashti, who according to American investigators allegedly commissioned Hells Angels members in Canada to murder an Iranian defector in Maryland. The cracking of the Sky ECC encryption software popular in mafia circles by Dutch and Belgian security authorities in 2021 was crucial in uncovering such plans. The Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad also prevented numerous attack plans, though some of the hired actors proceeded amateurishly due to lack of training.
The intensification of these operations follows a recognizable pattern. After the killing of Quds commander Qassem Soleimani by America and leading nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh by Israel, both in 2020, the number of Iranian-commissioned murder and intimidation attempts increased significantly. Since the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement in 2022, attacks against Iranian-origin dissidents in the West have further increased. The arrest of an Iranian diplomat in Germany in 2018 is considered a turning point; he was convicted in Belgium for involvement in a thwarted terrorist attack in Paris and later freed through Iranian hostage diplomacy.
These terrorist methods serve as part of Iran’s deterrence policy both domestically and internationally. The international community is responding with increased cooperation: 14 states, including Germany, signed a joint declaration acknowledging a growing threat from Iranian intelligence services and documenting their attempts to kill, kidnap, or intimidate journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and officials.
