Report: Iran’s turns to international crime syndicates

Beyond Iranian exiles, Iran has been implicated in threats against US and Israeli officials, Jewish communities in the diaspora , and LGBTQ+ activists.

By Jewish Breaking News

A shocking new report by the Washington Post has uncovered a troubling trend in Iran’s tactics for silencing critics abroad.

Blurring the lines between state-sponsored terrorism and organized crime, the Islamic Republic has been increasingly turning to criminal organizations to carry out its dirty work.

The scope of Iran’s criminal partnerships is alarmingly broad. Collaborations allegedly include the Russian “Thieves in Law” gang and the Hells Angels, both known for their involvement in drug trafficking and organized crime across multiple continents.

One chilling example involves Pouria Zeraati, an exiled Iranian journalist working for the London-based Iran International news channel.

In March 2023, Zeraati was ambushed and stabbed outside his home in Wimbledon by an Eastern European syndicate hired by Iran.

In another particularly gruesome plot, Hells Angels members were contracted to assassinate a former Iranian military officer living in Maryland in 2022.

Ordered by notorious Iranian heroin kingpin Naji Sharifi Zindashti, the hitmen were told to “erase his head from his torso.”

Western intelligence services have compiled extensive evidence linking Zindashti’s criminal empire to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence.

He is accused of orchestrating multiple high-profile attacks on behalf of the regime, including the 2020 execution of Habib Chaab, an Iranian-Swedish political activist.

Beyond Iranian exiles, Iran has been implicated in threats against US and Israeli officials, Jewish communities in the diaspora , and LGBTQ+ activists.

Just last month, a plot by a Pakistani man with ties to Iran to assassinate top American political figures was thwarted.

Iran’s lethal approach to silencing dissent overseas has reached unprecedented levels, prompting repeated warnings from the US Justice Department about the regime’s hand in Western affairs.

crime syndicatesHells AngelsIranThieves in Law