Iran running 'terror cell network' across Europe - warning after UK plot foiled

An state-backed terror network operating across Europe - including the UK - is actively recruiting from criminal gangs and Muslim communities, a former Israeli intelligence official has warned. The same shadowy collective is believed to be linked to teenage assassins operating across Sweden and other parts of Europe.

The organisation, backed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is also suspected of attempting to carry out a major on British soil, on the . Avi Melamed told the Daily Express: "The Iranian regime operates a network of terror cells across Europe, recruiting operatives primarily from criminal elements and the Muslim population in Europe."

Mr Melamed, a former intelligence official with Israel's military and police, said Western countries were undermining their own deterrence by allowing Tehran to use hostage diplomacy to bargain for the release of imprisoned Iranian operatives.

He said: "The West has strong intelligence and counterterrorism capabilities to thwart the Iranian terror threat.

"However, it suffers from a deterrence deficit because the Iranian regime has identified a key vulnerability of Western governments- using the arrest of European citizens in Iran as leverage to pressure for the release of Iranian terror operatives who have been tried and imprisoned in Europe."

Mr Melamed said the UK and its allies must act decisively to prevent further plots from materialising.

He explained: "The Iranian regime's current strategy seeks to conduct attacks in a way that will allow it to continue denying direct responsibility.

"This pattern of attack must be disrupted through intelligence, counterterrorism measures, and a unified Western policy that does not allow Iran to escape accountability."

Jonathan Hall KC, the UK's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, also issued a stark warning about the scale of the threat, which he says the public underestimates, earlier this week.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Monday, Mr Hall said there had been about 20 Iranian-linked plots since 2022.

He said: "There's a bit of a mismatch at the moment between what the authorities are saying - which is quite openly now, 'this is a major problem' - and what the public tends to understand.

"I think there is a slight ignorance at the moment amongst the population about just how aggressive Iran, for example, is willing to be."

The Iranian regime was expanding its scope of targets beyond Iranian dissidents and journalists to include Jewish and Israeli individuals, Mr Hall warned.

He said: "Just recently, actually, they expanded a bit more and they become very aggressive, not only about Iranians, but also about Israeli targets, or even about Jewish targets."

He also cited the UK's recent sanctions against the Foxtrot network - an organised crime group based in Sweden - as evidence of Iran's widening tactics.

He explained: "This is a Swedish group, mainly of teenagers, who carry out assassinations. They have been sanctioned by the UK specifically on the basis that they help Iran."

The Foxtrot network, believed to be subcontracted by Iranian operatives, has been linked to a series of violent attacks, including the recruitment of teenage hitmen to carry out killings across the Scandinavian country.

Mr Hall also cautioned that current laws may not go far enough. He has submitted a report proposing an alternative to formal proscription of the IRGC under terrorism legislation, which he described as "not the right piece of legislation" for what is technically a branch of the Iranian government.

He also warned that the internet was now a powerful tool for regime operatives in Tehran to remotely co-ordinate attacks via messaging platforms like Telegram.

He added: "They could simply sit there at their desk and organise mayhem," he said, citing previous plots to assassinate former US National Security Adviser John Bolton and even US President Donald Trump.

Security Minister Dan Jarvis confirmed to MPs on Tuesday that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was involved in the foiled UK plot.

Delivering a statement to the House of Commons, Mr Jarvis said: "The Iranian regime and/or its proxies were responsible for at least 15 threats since January 2022, with the most recent attack being disrupted in the past weeks."

He added: "These were threats to life against British or UK-based individuals perceived to be enemies of the Iranian regime."

Mr Jarvis said the Government was considering further measures in response to the growing threat, including potential new powers to restrict hostile state activity.

The plot was foiled by counterterrorism agencies, in what Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Wednesday called "the biggest operation in recent years".

Posting on X, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said: "We are seeing stories in the media that Iranian nationals are allegedly involved in a supposed plot to target the Israeli embassy in London.

"Iran in no uncertain terms categorically rejects any involvement in such actions and confirms that we have not been informed of any allegations via proper diplomatic channels."