Iran International's correspondent in Stockholm
A new investigation by Sweden’s public broadcaster SVT alleges that Tehran enlisted Swedish gangs to carry out targeted attacks in Europe, with Iran International among the key targets.
The documentary draws on intelligence documents, gang member testimonies and expert analysis to piece together what it called a disturbing operational pattern: Iranian operatives offering incentives in exchange for targeting designated entities.
Among the top targets identified are Israeli interests and diplomatic missions and the London-based Persian language outlet Iran International.
Iran International, which has a broad viewership inside Iran, has long faced threats from the Islamic Republic, but the report appeared to provide previously unreported details on Iran's mobilization of street-level criminal networks to carry out attacks.
In one case, the documentary alleges, Tehran promised to eliminate a gang leader—Rawa Majid, known as the Kurdish Fox—if his enemies agreed to target Israeli interests or Iran International.
Plot origins
The connection began in early 2023, according to SVT, when Majid was briefly in Iran.
Citing Israeli intelligence sources, the documentary suggests Majid was presented with a choice: face imprisonment or cooperate with Iranian authorities. He allegedly chose the latter.
His first assignment was to carry out a grenade attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, but the grenade failed to detonate.
Shortly after, Iranian operatives contacted Majid’s rivals, including the so-called “Rumba” faction led by a man named Ismail Abdo.
The sources cited in the documentary say they were promised Iranian assistance in assassinating Majid if they agreed to strike targets such as synagogues, embassies or Iran International.
Repression: a new phase
Targeting perceived enemies has long been a hallmark of the Islamic Republic but its recruitment of criminal gangs to execute their plans is relatively new.
It indicates a shift in Tehran’s campaign to project force abroad, according to security experts interviewed in the SVT program. Unlike direct state operations, this method offers plausible deniability and minimal diplomatic fallout.
“Outsourcing violence to criminal gangs is a way for the Islamic Republic to do its dirty work abroad—cheaper, deniable, and far more dangerous,” one analyst told SVT.
The inclusion of Iran International among the targets underscores the gravity of the threat faced by its journalists, who have previously faced surveillance, harassment and cyberattacks.
