‘Iranian agents’ recruit Britons for protests against Israel
A suspected Iranian intelligence operation is attempting to recruit people in Britain to organise street protests and put up posters intended to foment anti-Israel sentiment, an investigation by The Times has found.
A reporter posing as an Iran sympathiser based in London was in contact with a suspected Iranian agent for more than two weeks after making contact via a link posted on a public Telegram channel that claims to be linked to the Islamic Republic’s intelligence services.
The agent, who went by the name Mahdy and said he was from Iran, claimed to be running a number of operatives in the UK and implied that he was also in communication with people in Israel.
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As well as offering money in exchange for planning and organising an anti-Israel demonstration in London, he also asked the undercover reporter to try and recruit others from among his social and work circles.
“Anyone with any ability should declare it and explain what their abilities and access are so we can make a plan for them,” Mahdy wrote.
The exchange potentially offers an insight into the methods by which Iran and other hostile states including Russia are attempting to hire the services of petty criminals over the internet as part of a “gig economy” for clandestine operations on foreign soil.
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Over recent months there have been a series of arson attacks perpetrated across Europe targeting Jewish-linked premises, including schools, business and synagogues.
The three ways Iran is targeting Britain
Responsibility for many of these incidents was claimed by a mysterious online outfit called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia (Hayi), which several experts believe is a front for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Metropolitan Police is currently examining whether these attacks were the work of disposable criminal proxies recruited by a foreign state.
Vicki Evans, deputy assistant commissioner, said: “We are considering whether this tactic is being used here in London — recruiting violence as a service.”
Posing as a 25-year-old warehouse worker of Shia Lebanese descent, the reporter contacted an account on Telegram called “VIPEmployment”, the address for which was advertised on a public channel which claims it is run by the Iranian intelligence services. The address has also been advertised on Iranian state television.
The following day Mahdy contacted the reporter over Telegram and writing in broken English, occasionally interspersed with Farsi, asked where he was based and what his “abilities” were.
He then tasked him with putting up posters on “important and famous streets” in London, which he said was a “first step to build trust” and asked for the results to be filmed and sent to him.
Mahdy sent copies of several images he wanted installed, including one which stated that mass starvation was under way in Iran caused by “Epstein and the Kahanists”, apparently a reference to the late paedophile financier, who was Jewish, and the term used to describe Israeli ultranationalism.
Another referred to the Israeli-US bombing of Minab school, in which 165 people — most of them children — were killed. Another featured a picture of Trump wearing a crown, with the strapline: “No Kings.”
When the reporter said that he had some basic coding skills, Mahdy asked whether he could create an online petition against the “genocide” of Iranian children. He later offered money in exchange for “organising a rally against Israel and America” on the streets of London.
When asked what sort of rally he had in mind, the agent cited demonstrations held by Standing Together and Peace Partnership, both civil society movements based in Israel that promote peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs. There is no suggestion that either has any connection to Iran.
“Find people who are interested, discuss the issue and obtain the necessary permits from the government,” Mahdy instructed.
On one occasion he responded to a message in Hebrew. When questioned on this, he explained it was due to the fact that he was speaking to many agents simultaneously, which might suggest that he was in contact with individuals in Israel.
Last week the account was suddenly deleted, ending the conversation.
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Israeli prosecutors allege that the same VIPEmployment account was used to recruit an Israeli man from Holon, who over the course of seven months allegedly photographed military bases and recruited others in exchange for money.
He is one of dozens of Israeli citizens who have been arrested and charged with spying for the Islamic Republic over the past two years. In most cases, the accused are initially tasked with relatively innocuous missions, including poster installation, before gradually being told to commit more serious offences, such as intelligence gathering and sabotage.
The remote recruitment strategy draws on a method that was pioneered by Russian intelligence agencies in the years since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. It was a method born of necessity after hundreds of Russia’s intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover were expelled from embassies across Europe.
‘Antisemitic terror planner’ held over attacks in UK, EU and America
Since then there have been numerous sabotage and influence operations perpetrated across the continent whose ultimate orchestrator was found to be Russia.
Last summer a group of men were convicted of an arson attack on a warehouse in east London that was being used to store humanitarian aid due to be sent to Ukraine. They had also planned to kidnap the wealthy Russian dissident Evgeny Chichvarkin.
The men were recruited after one of their number, Dylan Earl, contacted a Telegram account linked to the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary organisation, saying he was keen to carry out “missions” on their behalf.
The Iranian embassy and Telegram did not respond to a request for comment.