Sweden accuses Iran of recruiting criminals, targeting Israel

Stockholm [Sweden], May 31: Stockholm's intelligence agency says Iran is recruiting criminal gang members in Sweden, some of them children, as proxies to carry out 'acts of violence' against Israel in the country. This Northern Europe.
The accusation comes two weeks after media reported a shooting outside the Israeli embassy in the Swedish capital Stockholm at night and three months after police found a live grenade in Israel's diplomatic mission campus.
"The Iranian regime is using criminal networks in Sweden to commit acts of violence against other countries, groups or nationals in Sweden that it considers a threat," the agency said. Swedish intelligence, commonly known as Sapo, said in a statement on May 30, according to AFP.
The statement specifically stated that Iran targets "the interests, goals and activities of Israel and the Jews in Sweden".
Tensions between Israel and Iran have increased sharply since fighting broke out in Gaza on October 7, 2023. In April, Iran launched 350 drones and missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, in response to an attack that Tehran said was carried out by Israel that killed Iranian generals in Israel. Syria.
"Iran has previously used violence in other European countries to silence critical voices and what they perceive as threats to their regime," Sapo alleged.
"According to our assessment, this regional conflict has spread globally and now Sweden is also an arena in this conflict," said Daniel Stenling, head of Sapo's counterintelligence department. spoke at a press conference on May 30.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that the country's Foreign Ministry had announced that it would summon Iran's charge d'affaires to meet on May 31 "to clearly state how serious we find this information."
"Sweden will not become a place where state actors use criminal networks to advance their own interests," Mr. Billstrom said in a statement sent to AFP.
The Scandinavian country has faced challenges in containing rising gang violence in recent years, with shootings and bombings occurring weekly across the country.
Criminal networks increasingly recruit children eager to gain status and make quick money, well aware that they will not go to prison if they are under 15 years of age.
Mr. Stenling said on May 30 that "very young individuals, even children, could be used to carry out activities that Iran is behind, threatening security in Sweden."
Citing files from Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) on May 30 revealed that Rawa Majid, the leader of the Foxtrot gang in Sweden, and his arch-rival Ismail Abdo, who head of the Rumba gang, were all recruited by the Iranian government.
According to DN, Mossad documents show that Majid - who holds dual Swedish-Turkish citizenship and is nicknamed the "Kurdish Fox" - was recently arrested in Iran and asked to cooperate with the Iranian government. otherwise you will have to go to jail.
Meanwhile, Swedish media reported earlier this week that Abdo, who also has Turkish citizenship, was recently arrested in Türkiye while participating in traffic and was released on bail shortly after, despite the order. international arrest.
At the time, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the media that Abdo's release was "disappointing".
The Jerusalem Post newspaper also reported without citing sources on May 30 that Mossad believed Iran was behind the grenade attack on the Israeli embassy in Belgium last weekend.
When asked whether the Swedish intelligence agency's information about Iran came solely from Mossad, Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said at a press conference on May 30: "I feel very confident about the information." that our authorities hold."
Sapo said it was cooperating with the police, military and international allies "to deal with the threat from Iran".
Relations between Sweden and Iran have deteriorated since a Swedish court sentenced Hamid Noury, a former Iranian prison official, to life in prison in July 2022 for crimes committed during the purge of terrorists. dissidents in 1988.
Iran has not spoken out about Sapo's or Mossad's accusations.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper