Iranian journalist Pouria Zeraati was stabbed multiple times outside his London home in March 2022 by assailants suspected to have been hired by Iran. Zeraati worked for Iran International, an exiled TV station critical of Iran.
British authorities had taken extensive measures to protect Zeraati and Iran International employees, but the use of foreign criminal proxies made the plot harder to detect.
Iran increasingly hires criminals from groups like Hells Angels and Thieves in Law to carry out assassinations and kidnappings of dissidents abroad, seeing it as a lower-risk tactic than using their own operatives.
A key figure connecting Iran to criminal groups is alleged drug kingpin Naji Sharifi Zindashti, who is said to have orchestrated multiple assassination plots on Iran’s behalf, including attempting to hire Hells Angels to kill an Iranian defector living in the US.
The tactic allows Iran to carry out repressive operations abroad while avoiding direct attribution, and criminals are easy to find and pay for violence. However, it also leads to botched operations due to the criminals’ incompetence at times.
The rise in outsourcing reflects Iran ramping up efforts to silence critics abroad amid major anti-government protests in Iran criticizing its leadership and policies.
Source: Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/12/iran-criminal-gangs-target-dissidents/)
