Why is Iran seeking the help of Swedish criminal teenagers to get its affairs done? A sign of weakness, interprets Iran expert Rouzbeh Parsi.
Iran largely lacks resources to carry out violent actions on its own in Europe, according to Rouzbeh Parsi, program director at the Middle East and North Africa program at the Foreign Policy Institute.
The Israeli intelligence agency Mossad now claims that Iran has taken help from the Swedish criminal networks Foxtrot and Rumba to carry out two attempted attacks on Israel's embassy in Stockholm during the first half of the year.
Since several sources have also reported that Foxtrot leader Rawa Majid was arrested in Iran and then released, it becomes even harder for Iran to deny its involvement, according to Rouzbeh Parsi.
It was in January that a hand grenade was thrown at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm without detonating. In May, shots were fired at the embassy and a boy under 15 years old was arrested on suspicion of involvement.
What is the point of attacking Israeli targets and interests so far from Israel?
On Friday, Iran's embassy in Sweden rejected the reports from Säpo and Mossad about Swedish gangs acting as Iran's representatives. In a statement on the embassy's website, they call the reports "fake news".
