Twenty two countries issued a joint statement on June 10 condemning what they described as lethal plotting and other malign actions by Iran’s security services in Europe, North America and Australia, demanding that the Islamic Republic halt such operations immediately.
The signatories are the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal and Sweden. Greece is not among them.
The statement singles out three arms of the Iranian state: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization, the Quds Force and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The Quds Force is the branch of the Revolutionary Guard responsible for operations beyond Iran’s borders, while the Ministry of Intelligence and Security is the country’s principal civilian intelligence agency.
According to the signatories, these services have engaged in plots against Iranian dissidents and journalists as well as Jewish and Israeli communities and interests. “We stand united in our determination to protect our countries and our people against these threats,” the statement reads. “The Islamic Republic of Iran must halt these actions now.”
A shadowy group and a wave of attacks
The governments also condemned a recent campaign of attacks across Europe targeting Jewish communities, Iranian journalists and U.S. interests, claimed by a group calling itself Harakat Ashab al Yamin al Islamiya, known as HAYI, and supported by what the statement calls the group’s intermediaries.
HAYI, whose name translates as The Islamic Movement of the Companions of the Right, was unknown until March 9 of this year, when it surfaced roughly 10 days into the conflict between Iran, Israel and the United States, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London based think tank that monitors extremism. The ISD says a decentralized network of perpetrators operating under the group’s banner has claimed at least 17 attacks over seven weeks, targeting Jewish communities, Israeli diplomatic missions, financial institutions and Iranian dissident journalists across Europe.
According to CNN, the group has claimed responsibility for attacks in the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the UK. These include an explosion outside a synagogue in Rotterdam, an attack that damaged the outer wall of a Jewish school in Amsterdam, and an arson attack on four ambulances owned by a Jewish community charity in north London. French counterterrorism prosecutors have said a plot to detonate an explosive device outside the Paris headquarters of Bank of America appears linked to HAYI, though a firm connection has not been established.
The group’s claimed attacks caused no casualties until April 29, when two Jewish men were stabbed in London. The ISD described that incident as a significant escalation, marking a shift from targeting buildings to targeting people.
The joint statement points to what it calls a long standing relationship between Iranian security services and international and local criminal groups, describing the use of such groups as “deplorable.”
“Attempts to kill, kidnap, harass, intimidate, or otherwise attack people on our soil, undermines national sovereignty and international norms,” the joint statement says, adding that the actions “must stop immediately.” The governments commended efforts already underway to counter these activities and said they are jointly resolved to take further measures to stop them.
The full statement
The Joint Statement on Iranian State Threat Activity in Europe, North America and Australia, as released by the U.S. State Department, reads as follows:
“The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden condemn the lethal plotting and other malign actions in Europe, North America and Australia by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Intelligence Organisation, Quds Force, and Ministry of Intelligence and Security, including those against Iranian dissidents, journalists and Jewish and Israeli communities and interests. We stand united in our determination to protect our countries and our people against these threats. The Islamic Republic of Iran must halt these actions now.
The relationship between the Iranian security services and international and local criminal groups is long-standing. Their use of these groups is deplorable.
We also condemn the recent campaign of attacks across Europe targeting Jewish communities, Iranian journalists, and U.S. interests, claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya and supported by their intermediaries.
Attempts to kill, kidnap, harass, intimidate, or otherwise attack people on our soil, undermines national sovereignty and international norms. These actions must stop immediately. We commend the work of countries to counter these activities, and we are together resolved to undertake further measures to halt them.”
