Intelligence from the Global Frontier

← All desks · Catalogue

Rawa Majid

Leader, Foxtrot Network -- sanctioned by the UK as an Iranian proxy for extraterritorial violence

2 items across 2 editions  ·  last active 4 Aug 26

In the brief

No. 35 · Tuesday, 4 August 2026

Europol task force ties an Iran-based network to 35 killings and a campaign recruiting European teenagers as hitmen

National SecurityIranSweden
So what?  A state-linked network recruiting minors as disposable, deniable hitmen across eleven countries gives Tehran a way to strike Israeli and dissident targets in Europe while keeping formal distance from the violence, complicating attribution every time an attack occurs. The recruitment pipeline running through ordinary social media, rather than closed extremist channels, means the pool of potential recruits is far larger and harder for European police to pre-empt than a traditional cell structure.
Sources: Europol · The Jerusalem Post (2026-08-03)
No. 30 · Thursday, 30 July 2026

UK court convicts Norwegian teen in Iran-linked London murder-for-hire plot

National SecurityUnited KingdomNorwaySwedenIran
So what?  A European organized-crime network operating as an Iranian contractor for assassinations, rather than Tehran's own operatives, is harder to screen against because it hides state intent inside ordinary criminal recruitment channels that liaison and attaché security posture isn't built to catch. Watch whether UK prosecutors bring a parallel case tying a second Foxtrot-recruited operative to a different target before sentencing, since that would confirm an active recruitment pipeline rather than an isolated plot.
Sources: CBS News · CNN (2026-07-29)

Related

Mission areas National Security