The Olympic Games in Paris begin in 57 days. According to media reports, Israel’s foreign intelligence service Mossad is warning of Iranian support for terror against Jewish and Israeli institutions before the major sporting event.
Israeli media reported on Thursday that, according to the Mossad, Tehran was relying on criminal groups in Europe. The allegations could not be independently verified.
The Jerusalem Post named two groups called Foxtrot and Rumba. They were “directly responsible for violent activities and sponsoring terrorism in Sweden and throughout Europe.” They had received financial support and instructions from Iran.
The Swedish intelligence service Säpo confirmed the suspicions. The head of counter-espionage, Daniel Stenling, announced on Thursday that, according to the agency’s information, the Iranian regime is using criminal networks to commit acts of violence in Sweden. It is assumed that Iran has both the will and the ability to act against Sweden’s interests, it said.
According to Mossad, Iran is behind an incident in which a man is said to have thrown an airsoft grenade in the direction of the Israeli embassy in the Brussels municipality of Uccle just under a week ago. This also applies to shots fired near the Israeli embassy in Stockholm two weeks ago. There were no casualties in either incident.
According to Mossad information, Foxtrot is behind the incident in Sweden. The group is otherwise known for murders and drug trafficking and is also active in other European countries. According to reports, the leader of Foxtrot, a Swedish citizen with Kurdish roots, was arrested in Iran for criminal activities and then recruited for terrorist activities and released.
According to Mossad, Iran is trying to use the global wave of anti-Semitism in the wake of the Gaza war to recruit new accomplices for terrorist attacks. Mossad is working with European intelligence services to thwart these activities.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Israel has been Iran’s declared arch-enemy. This year, a court in Buenos Aires held the Iranian government responsible for a bomb attack on the Jewish community center in the Argentine capital in which 85 people were killed and 300 others injured 30 years ago. The Shiite militia Hezbollah carried out the attack on the orders of the Iranian government, the judges ruled in April. According to media reports, they also held Iran responsible for an attack on the Israeli embassy in Buenos Aires in 1992 in which 29 people were killed.