Gravitas | Iran-linked crime network accused of recruiting teen hitmen
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Gravitas | Iran-linked crime network accused of recruiting teen hitmen")
An Iranian man walks past an anti-US billboard at Enghelab Square in central Tehran on August 3, 2026. Photograph: (AFP)
The BBC reports that the Iran-linked Foxtrot crime network recruited teenagers to carry out attacks on Israeli targets across Europe. Tehran denies the allegations.
An Iran-linked organised crime network is under scrutiny after reports claimed that it has recruited teenagers to carry out contract killings, including attacks on Israeli targets across Europe.
The BBC reports that the Foxtrot network, a European criminal organisation allegedly linked to the Iranian regime, is believed to be responsible for around 35 murders, along with several attacks and attempted attacks on Israeli targets across Europe since 2022.
According to the BBC, the group routinely recruits vulnerable teenagers, deliberately targeting younger recruits because they are allegedly more willing to take risks and less likely to consider the consequences of getting caught.
The report says Foxtrot promises cash for the attacks, but many recruits are arrested during or soon after the operation, meaning the network often avoids paying them.
The case has drawn new attention after a British court convicted 19-year-old Norwegian national Johannes Natland of conspiracy to commit murder.
The Norwegian teenager was arrested in a hotel in the UK's Huddersfield in March last year with two firearms and ammunition.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Prosecutors told jurors that Foxtrot recruited him after someone using the alias "Agent 47" arranged the hiring of an assassin, with 28,500 U.S. dollars set aside for the operation.
The BBC reports that Foxtrot leader Rawa Majid, also known as "The Kurdish Fox," is based in Tehran and is allegedly directed by the Iranian regime to target its enemies, including dissidents, journalists and Israeli targets.
The network emerged in Sweden in the late 2010s before expanding into Norway and other parts of Europe.
Recruiters allegedly use encrypted messaging apps and social media to lure teenagers, sometimes as young as 13, into carrying out shootings, murders, grenade attacks and bombings.
Senior figures reportedly commission and finance attacks, while younger recruiters advertise jobs online and identify vulnerable teenagers.
Many recruits reportedly do not know who ultimately ordered the crime.
In 2025, the United Kingdom sanctioned Foxtrot and Majid.
Then-UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the group had targeted Jewish and Israeli interests across Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime.
The United States also sanctioned the organisation, accusing it of illegal drug trafficking and attacks on Israelis and Jews in Europe.
Iran has denied the allegations, with its embassy in London categorically rejecting any connection between the Iranian government and the Foxtrot network.