Iran is trying to hire gangsters to attack dissidents in the West.
British security officials are understood to be aware of attempts by Iranian spies to recruit members of organised crime groups to target opponents of the regime on British soil. It follows recent claims by Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, the British domestic intelligence service, that Iran sought to kidnap or assassinate British residents on at least 10 occasions last year. Separately, dissidents in London have been warned about Iran’s latest modus operandi by counter-terrorism police as the regime seeks to clamp down on widespread human rights protests.
Iranian spies are thought to be forging closer ties with criminals as sanctions and increased scrutiny by the security services aim to make it more difficult for them to deploy their own agents and assets in Britain and other Western nations. The use of hired “muscle” to carry out a murder or attack could also allow Iran to deny any involvement as it seeks to maintain diplomatic ties.
Tehran’s use of criminals in murder-for-hire plots is at the heart of an American case involving a journalist and women’s rights activist. Last month the US authorities charged three members of an eastern European gang with the attempted assassination of Masih Alinejad, who is an Iranian-born US citizen.
Read the article by Dipesh Gadher in The Australian.