Probable Iranian direction behind a series of attacks against Jewish targets in Europe: investigators hypothesize online recruitment and coordinated operations against synagogues, schools and facilities linked to Israel.
European authorities are examining the possible role of Iran in a series of attacks and intimidating actions against Jewish targets in various countries on the continent, linked to the tensions generated by the war in Middle East. According to security sources, there are indications that they are linked to operators Tehran have recruited individuals through the internet, coordinating actions against synagogues, schools and activities linked to Israel. A fictitious organization would also have been created to claim responsibility for the attacks, useful to hide any direct responsibility. Most of the actions were attributed to a group called the “Islamic Movement of Righteous Comrades”, which only appeared recently and was completely unknown to the intelligence services until a few weeks ago. According to industry analysts, the use of improvised acronyms would allow those promoting them to maintain plausible deniability, while increasing operational confusion. The videos of the episodes were released and relaunched on social networks close to the Iranian regime. Investigators and anti-terrorism specialists report that in at least one case the action was pre-announced. In a message dated March 16, the mysterious acronym invited European Union citizens “to distance themselves from American and Zionist interests”, indicating a communication escalation. The security apparatus also believes that i Iranian services have historically used common criminal figures and marginal networks for clandestine operations. The authorities suspect that these contacts are now being reactivated and brought under a new name, Harakat al-Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiawith the aim of stoking fears in Jewish communities. Although there is no official attribution yet, several European governments look to Tehran as a possible director. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corpsafter the killing of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the part of United States And Israel, he declared that the enemies “will no longer be safe anywhere in the world”, words interpreted as a sign of possible expansion of the confrontation.
The strategy is reminiscent of methods already observed in Europe after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when sabotage operations were entrusted to unwitting recruits contacted on social media. Since the start of the US and Israeli offensive against Iran, about a dozen attacks or attempts against Jewish sites have been recorded in Western Europe. There are no casualties, but the authorities fear an escalation. On March 23, a car fire was claimed in the Jewish neighborhood of Antwerp and the damaging of ambulances from a Jewish emergency service in London. At the beginning of the month, two synagogues and Jewish school between Belgium And Netherlands they were hit with Molotov cocktails, pushing Brussels to deploy soldiers to protect places of worship. On March 22, in Netherlandsan attack on a synagogue in Heemstede was foiled, where explosive devices were found.
The Belgian investigations evaluate the possible activation of dormant cells, while in the United Kingdom Two men have been arrested for destroying ambulances. The acronym responsible would first appear on Telegram on March 9, after an explosion near a synagogue in Liège. A few days later arson attacks occurred in Rotterdam And Amsterdam. Four young people were arrested on suspicion of acting on behalf of Iran. According to investigators, the perpetrators are recruited online and directed towards specific targets, while the claims are spread under a single label. The group’s symbol recalls those used by the Revolutionary Guards and from Hezbollah and, according to European officials, it would also be created quickly with artificial intelligence tools. Linguistic errors in the videos and claims of non-existent attacks fuel doubts about the organisation’s authenticity. Due to the heightened threat, Israeli diplomats and staff from Jewish organizations have taken extraordinary security measures, in some cases working remotely. The Israeli government has issued an alert to its citizens abroad, warning of possible attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets. European and Israeli sources report that Jerusalem has shared intelligence information with continental partners. In recent years, the Go Quds from the Revolutionary Guards would have recruited affiliates between criminal groups and Shiite communitiesincluding motorcycle gangs and migrants from Afghanistan And Syria. Weapons would also have been pre-positioned in various countries, including Germansae Austriaand along the Balkan route always a crucial hub for terrorism.
Recent operations have led to the arrest of members of Hamas And Hezbollah and the seizure of weapons and ammunition. Some cells may have been activated after the attacks of the last few weeks. Individuals linked to Middle Eastern militias and European criminals have been arrested in possession of addresses and photographs of Israeli targets. Plots attributable to these networks have also been identified outside theEurope. In Azerbaijan, a plan against a terrorist attack was foiled oil pipeline to Israel, an embassy and a synagogue. Similar arrests were also announced by Qatar and United Arab Emirates. In Germany, considered a strategic huba Berlin court convicted four members of Hamas accused of organizing weapons caches. The country hosts crucial US installations, including the Ramstein baseindicated by Iranian diplomatic sources as a possible target in case of use against Tehran. Britain’s MI5 stated that he monitored approx twenty Iran-related plots in the last year, many of them directed against dissidents, journalists and Jewish sites. Two Iranian citizens have been indicted for surveillance of sensitive targets, including the country’s oldest synagogue United Kingdom And Israeli diplomatic offices in London. There is no official quantification of the presence in Europe or of Hezbollah nor of Hamasbut the assessments of European and Western intelligence services outline a precise general picture.
For Hezbollahthe presence appears more structured and rooted: we talk about several hundred potentially operational entitiessupported by thousands of supporters and facilitators involved in financing, logistics and support activities. The networks are distributed in different countries, with particular attention to Germany, France, Belgium And Netherlandsand are based on flexible cells, often dormant but activated when necessary. The picture is different for Hamaswhose operational presence is more limited. Estimates indicate a few dozen individuals with direct operational potentialwhile the support network extends to hundreds of peopleengaged above all in fundraising, propaganda and logistical support. Again, the activities have been detected mainly in Western Europe, with police operations leading to the dismantling of clandestine infrastructures in recent years. Overall, both groups do not present themselves in Europe as visible or militarily structured organizations, but as hybrid and low exposure networkscapable of moving within the social and criminal fabric, maintaining a latent capacity that the authorities consider a potential threat in the event of international escalation.
