Iran hiring children to target Israelis abroad: Report

What’s New

Iran is hiring children to attack Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe, Bloomberg reported.

Attacks involving teenagers in Scandinavian countries show a concerning trend that highlights how tensions in the Middle East are escalating beyond their borders, and anger regarding the killing of civilians in Gaza has made some individuals more susceptible to recruitment.

Newsweek contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment via email.

Why It Matters

Iran’s alleged procurement of children and teenagers to carry out attacks abroad suggests that members of the vulnerable demographic may be easier to recruit and hire, which could lead to an increase in attacks.

What To Know

Petter Nesser, a terrorism researcher at Norway’s defense research institute, told Bloomberg that people associated with the Iranian regime have used platforms such as TikTok, Telegram and WhatsApp to contact young mercenaries to carry out attacks on Jewish or Israeli institutions or targeted individuals.

Prices for murder begin at 1,500 euros ($1,560), Nesser added, while a person tracking such trades told Bloomberg that a petrol bomb attack costs as little as 120 euros.

Several incidents highlight the growing trend of Iran allegedly hiring teenagers to carry out attacks on Israeli and Jewish institutions in Europe. In October, Iran International reported that a 15-year-old in Stockholm took a taxi to the Israeli Embassy and fired gunshots. On another occasion, a 13-year-old in Gothenburg, Sweden, fired gunshots at the offices of the Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems.

In another instance, two Swedish teenagers, 16 and 19, were arrested in connection with shots fired at the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm and two explosions near the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen. In May, law enforcement in Brussels arrested two boys, 14 and 15, in connection with organizing a shooting near an Israeli Embassy.

In May, Säkerhetspolisen, Sweden’s Security Service, alleged that Tehran was using criminal networks in Sweden to carry out attacks against other states, groups and individuals it deemed as threats.

The agency wrote in a news release: “Iran has been carrying out security-threatening activities in and against Sweden for several years. Iran’s security-threatening activities have in the past mainly targeted dissident groups and certain individuals in the Iranian diaspora. The Swedish Security Service assesses that Iran, as well as Russia and China, pose the greatest security threats to Sweden.”

In March, the ministers of justice for Sweden, Norway and Denmark—Gunnar Strömmer, Emilie Enger Mehl and Peter Hummelgaard, respectively—met to discuss the recruitment of young people for crime and how to reduce its frequency. Norwegian security services also put out a warning against Iranian-backed operations this fall, and the U.K.’s MI5 issued similar warnings.

What People Are Saying

Swedish Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer said in a March news release: “Organized crime is a cross-border issue, which is why cooperation with other countries is absolutely crucial. We’re now bringing together our Nordic neighbors to share our experiences and discuss how we can substantially step up crime prevention efforts through collaboration, early interventions and knowledge-based methods. We must do all we can to break the trend of children and young people being recruited into gangs.”

Swedish Minister for Social Services Camilla Waltersson Grönvall said in the same release: “If we are serious about restoring safety and security in society, we must give children and young people a safe upbringing and a bright future. We must stop recruitment to criminal gangs, and all positive forces need to cooperate now as we work to reverse this negative trend. This is needed both domestically and internationally, including with our Nordic neighbors.”

What Happens Next

It remains to be seen whether Iran’s alleged recruitment will spread to other countries in Europe.