Sweden says Iran using Swedish gangs to target Israel, other states
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Police cordoning off a street in the Swedish capital Stockholm, after officers on patrol heard gunfire overnight, on May 17.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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STOCKHOLM - Iran is recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs, some of them children, as proxies to commit “acts of violence” against Israel and others in Sweden that Tehran considers a threat, Sweden’s intelligence agency said on May 30.
The announcement came two weeks after night-time gunfire was reported outside Israel’s embassy
“The Swedish Security Police notes that the Iranian regime is using criminal networks in Sweden to carry out acts of violence against other states, groups or people in Sweden that it considers a threat,” the intelligence service, commonly known as Sapo, said in a statement.
It cited in particular “Israeli and Jewish interests, targets and operations in Sweden”.
Tensions have flared between Israel and Iran since the start of the war in Gaza on Oct 7.
In a dramatic escalation after a years-long shadow war of killings and sabotage attacks between the arch-foes, Iran in April fired 350 drones and missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted.
“Iran has previously used violence in other countries in Europe in a bid to silence critical voices and perceived threats against its regime,” it said.
“Our assessment is that this is a regional conflict that has spread globally and now also includes Sweden as an arena for this conflict,” the head of Sapo’s counterintelligence service, Mr Daniel Stenling, told a press conference.
The Scandinavian country has struggled to contain surging gang violence in recent years, with shootings and bombings now weekly occurrences across the country.
The gang violence was originally linked to control over the drugs market, but was “changing shape very quickly”, the deputy head of the Swedish Police National Operations Division, Mr Hampus Nygards, told the press conference.
The networks have increasingly recruited ever-younger youths and children eager to gain status and earn quick money, well aware they can’t be jailed if under the age of 15.
Mr Stenling said on May 30 that “very young individuals, even children, can be used to carry out Iranian activities that threaten security in Sweden”.
Foxtrot and Rumba
Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter (DN) on May 30 cited documents from Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad as saying that the head of the Swedish gang Foxtrot, Rawa Majid, and his archrival Ismail Abdo, head of the Rumba gang, had both been recruited by the Iranian regime.
DN said the Mossad documents showed that Majid – a Swedish-Turkish dual national nicknamed the “Kurdish Fox” – was recently arrested in Iran and given an ultimatum of either cooperating with the Iranian regime or going to jail.
Swedish media, meanwhile, reported earlier this week that Abdo, who also holds Turkish citizenship, was recently arrested in Turkey during a traffic control and was released shortly afterwards on bail, despite an international arrest warrant.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told media at the time that Abdo’s release was “frustrating”.
The Jerusalem Post also reported on May 30, without citing any sources, that the Mossad believed Iran was behind a grenade attack against Israel’s embassy in Belgium last weekend.
Asked whether the Swedish intelligence agency’s information about Iran came solely from Mossad, Swedish Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told the May 30 press conference: “I feel very confident about the information our authorities have.”
Meanwhile, Mr Stenling said Israelis and Jews in Sweden need not worry about their security.
“I totally understand that this information can cause concern for people in Sweden... We are working hard to ensure a secure environment for everyone in Sweden, including Israeli and Jewish interests in Sweden.”
Sapo said it was collaborating with the police, military and international allies “to meet the threat from Iran”.
Relations between Sweden and Iran have deteriorated since a Swedish court in July 2022 handed down a life sentence against a 62-year-old Iranian former prison official, Hamid Noury, for crimes committed during a 1988 purge of dissidents.
As Noury’s trial got under way, Iran arrested Swedish EU diplomat Johan Floderus in April 2022, accusing him of spying for Israel which carries a maximum penalty of death.
Governments, human rights groups and families of foreign nationals held in Iran have accused Tehran of engaging in “hostage diplomacy”.
No date has been set for the verdict in Floderus’ case. AFP
