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Iranian-Backed Terror Network In Europe Exposed | #AiTME Ep29 | An article by Avi Melamed.
The United States has announced the arrest of an Iraqi national named Mohammed Baqer al-Saadi, described as a senior figure in the pro-Iranian Iraqi militia Kataeb Hezbollah. He was reportedly detained on suspicion of involvement in planning attacks in the United States and Canada. No details have been released regarding when or where the arrest took place.
Avi Melamed offers additional information that may shed further light on the case.
Between March and April 2026, attacks targeting Jewish sites were carried out in four European countries — the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Greece. A group calling itself Jama’at Ashab al-Yamin, which first publicly emerged in March 2026, claimed responsibility for the attacks. Intelligence assessments indicated that the organization was an Iranian-directed terror network built around recruiting operatives from within Muslim diaspora communities in Europe.
It is believed that al-Saadi headed the network and served as its liaison with Iranian intelligence services. It can reasonably be assessed that he was arrested somewhere in Europe.
Several aspects of this network are noteworthy.
First, the group’s name carries clear Islamic-religious connotations. The term al-Yamin is associated with Quranic terminology referring to the righteous or those on the side of justice — language commonly used by groups aligned with the Iranian regime.
Second, the group emerged in parallel with escalating tensions between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other. This timing provides reasonable grounds to assess that the attacks were intended as a covert Iranian warning signal to European states.
It is also notable that the attacks were generally carried out during the very early morning hours and focused primarily on civilian infrastructure — including synagogues and ambulances — possibly reflecting an intention to avoid mass casualties.
Another interesting aspect is that every attack was documented and circulated through media channels affiliated with Lebanese Hezbollah or Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The activity of Iranian-directed terror networks in Europe is not a new phenomenon. The preferred operational model of the Iranian intelligence services has long relied on cooperation with criminal elements and on leveraging Muslim communities in Europe as a recruitment pool for operatives and attackers. This model provides the Iranian regime with a degree of plausible deniability.
At times, however, clear fingerprints of Iranian intelligence involvement in terrorist activity in Europe have been exposed.
Avi Melamed shares with us one of those cases.
Assadollah Assadi, an Iranian intelligence officer from Unit 312 of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, operated under diplomatic cover in Austria. Assadi exploited his diplomatic immunity to supply hundreds of kilograms of explosives to an Iranian terror network operating in Europe.
In 2021, Assadi was tried in Belgium and sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in directing the terror network. He did not remain imprisoned for long.
In February 2022, Iran arrested a Belgian citizen working for a UN relief agency and accused him of espionage. The Iranian extortion tactic proved effective: in May 2023, Belgium released Assadi in exchange for the Belgian citizen’s release.
This article is also available as a Podcast: the AiTME Podcast. This Podcast was written and created by Avi Melamed, Middle East Intelligence Analyst and Founder of Inside The Middle East [ITME], an institute dedicated to apolitical, non-partisan education about the Middle East.
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Iranian-Backed Terror Network In Europe Exposed | #AiTME Ep29 | An article by Avi Melamed.
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