US, UK, France and allies condemn Iran for plots to 'kill, kidnap and harass' journalists, dissidents and Jews

Nations have seen growing threat from Iranian intelligence agencies

The Iranian embassy in London. Britain says it has disrupted more than 20 Iran-linked plots to kidnap or kill individuals since 2022. Reuters

The US and more than a dozen of its allies, including the UK and France, have condemned what they called a surge in assassination, kidnapping and harassment plots by Iranian intelligence services targeting individuals in Europe and North America.

“We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,” the countries said.

The statement, issued by Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US, called on the Iranian authorities to immediately stop such illegal activities.

They said Iranian intelligence services were increasingly collaborating with international criminal organisations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials in Europe and North America.

“This is unacceptable,” the statement said. “We consider these types of attacks, regardless of the target, as violations of our sovereignty.”

The statement called on Iranian authorities “to immediately put an end to such illegal activities in our respective territories”.

In October, Reuters reported that Iran was behind a wave of attempted assassinations and abductions across Europe and the US.

The UK says it has disrupted more than 20 Iran-linked plots to kidnap or kill people in the country since 2022, including British citizens and others Tehran views as threats.

The British government announced in March that it would require the Iranian state to register all political influence activities, citing increasingly aggressive behaviour by Tehran's intelligence services.

In May, Tehran summoned the British charge d'affaires following the arrest of Iranian citizens on spying charges, triggering a reciprocal gesture in London.

British police arrested seven Iranian citizens in two separate operations. Three men were charged last week with engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service.

British intelligence officials said this month that Iran is hosting the headquarters of al Qaeda, giving the terrorist leadership a lifeline after years of setbacks.

“The transactional arrangement between Iran and the senior leadership of al Qaeda is concerning,” Parliament's security and intelligence committee reported.

“Being based in Iran has allowed [al Qaeda] to retain some oversight of franchises internationally, creating a complex intelligence landscape, as Iran is a less accessible environment for the West than other parts of the Middle East – which, in turn, may have increased the [al Qaeda] threat.”

Washington has accused Iran of attempting to orchestrate assassination attempts on US soil.

A foreign citizen was charged in November with involvement in a plot, allegedly ordered by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, to assassinate US President Donald Trump. Also last year, the Justice Department charged a Pakistani man with ties to Iran in a murder-for-hire scheme whose targets were believed to be Mr Trump and other US political figures.

And several people, including an Iranian intelligence officer, were charged last year with attempting to kidnap or kill Masih Alinejad, a US-based activist and journalist who is an outspoken critic of Tehran.