A terrorist group that appeared out of nowhere has launched attacks across Europe — FT
European countries have faced a wave of attacks on synagogues, banks, and civilian targets, carried out by the newly formed pro-Iranian group "Ashab al-Yamin."
A large-scale destabilization campaign has swept through Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and the United Kingdom, raising serious concerns about the start of an Iranian “hybrid war” on the continent.
According to the Financial Times, the group emerged in the media less than a month ago.
As early as March 9, it announced the start of “military operations against U.S. and Israeli interests around the world,” followed by a series of attacks.
In particular, radical forces claimed responsibility for setting fire to a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, and attacking an ambulance in London.
The geographic scope of the attacks expanded rapidly throughout March. In the Netherlands, a synagogue in Rotterdam and a Jewish school in Amsterdam were targeted, while in Hemstede, law enforcement managed to prevent another terrorist attack in time.
In Paris, police detained teenagers who attempted to detonate explosives near the Bank of America office, which is also linked to this network.
Experts note that the sudden emergence of such a group is an extremely atypical phenomenon in the world of terrorism.
Julian Lanshe of the International Center for Counter-Terrorism emphasized: “The sudden emergence of the group means there are significant doubts that this is a genuine, serious terrorist group with offline or domestic structures. I think this is an Iranian intelligence project.”
Analysts point out that Iran has adopted hybrid warfare methods previously developed and actively used by Russia.
Instead of training professional terrorists, the organizers recruit operatives through social media platforms such as Snapchat, Telegram, and TikTok.
The perpetrators are often young people between the ages of 14 and 23 who agree to commit crimes for a small monetary reward.
Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East program at Chatham House, noted that Tehran has previously enlisted criminals to crack down on dissidents.
In her view, the current situation “may be a larger-scale version of the same model,” where criminals are hired on a one-off basis to carry out specific destructive tasks.
As a reminder, terrorists had planned to assassinate the leader of the Dutch nationalists.
Iran is also threatening to restrict traffic in yet another strategic strait.
