{"id":2340224,"date":"2024-09-12T13:29:01","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T17:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iran-turning-to-criminal-groups-to-attack-exiled-dissidents-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-09-12T13:35:40","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T17:35:40","slug":"iran-turning-to-criminal-groups-to-attack-exiled-dissidents-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/iran-turning-to-criminal-groups-to-attack-exiled-dissidents-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran turning to criminal groups to attack exiled dissidents &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Firan-turning-to-criminal-groups-to-attack-exiled-dissidents-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2340224&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The \u2064Iranian government \u200chas increasingly \u200doutsourced \u2062<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pelosi-says-impeachment-and-25th-amendment-resolutions-will-be-brought-to-the-house-floor-starting-monday\/\" title=\"Pelosi Says Impeachment and 25th Amendment Resolutions Will Be Brought to the House Floor Starting Monday\">violent attacks<\/a> and \u200bassassinations targeting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/eu-actions-show-iran-will-pay-no-price-for-terror\/\" title=\"EU Actions Show Iran Will Pay No Price For Terror\">exiled dissidents<\/a> to criminal groups, such as the Hells Angels, as \u200dWestern security agencies enhance their vigilance against such operations. This shift follows a rise in Iran&#8217;s foreign\u200d espionage activities, particularly after widespread protests in 2022. Reports indicate that Iran has used \u200dvarious <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/shock-half-of-covid-19-unemployment-funds-may-have-gone-to-scammers\/\" title=\"SHOCK: \u2018Half\u2019 Of COVID-19 Unemployment Funds May Have Gone To Scammers\">criminal syndicates<\/a> to carry\u200c out these attacks, \u2063including hiring members of the Hells Angels for plots \u200blike a bombing in Germany and attempts to assassinate Iranian defectors. Investigations\u200b reveal that Naji\u200c Sharifi Zindashti, a\u200b drug trafficker turned orchestrator for Iran, \u200dhas been central to these operations. Despite an array of evidence and court documents pointing to this trend, Iran has denied any\u2062 involvement in such activities.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Iran turning to criminal groups to attack exiled dissidents<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1718676\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/iran\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Iranian\">Iranian<\/a> government has begun outsourcing assassinations and violent attacks against exiled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/dissidents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"dissidents\">dissidents<\/a> to criminal groups as Western security services become more vigilant.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Iran has drastically increased its foreign espionage operations in recent years, especially after a series of violent protests over the death of a woman under the custody of the morality police in 2022. As Western security forces have increased scrutiny against such operations, Tehran has started turning to the Hells Angels and other criminal groups to do its work for them, according to senior officials in more than a dozen countries, hundreds of pages of criminal court records, and additional investigative documents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2024\/09\/12\/iran-criminal-gangs-target-dissidents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"obtained by\">obtained by<\/a> the <em>Washington Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The Hells Angels is the most well-known of the at least five criminal syndicates Tehran has enlisted, officials claimed. In one plot, Iran hired a member of the German branch of the group, Ramin Yektaparast, to bomb a synagogue in Essen.<\/p>\n<p>A heroin trafficking kingpin based out of Tehran, Naji Sharifi Zindashti, negotiated a $350,000 contract with two Hells Angels members residing in Canada to assassinate an Iranian defector living in Maryland.<\/p>\n<p>Encrypted messages contained in the indictment showed them planning to make the killing as brutal as possible, with one member saying he would &ldquo;make sure I hit this guy in the head with AT LEAST half the clip.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We gotta erase his head from his torso,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>The plot was formulated in March 2021 and uncovered the following year after Western security forces breached the encrypted messaging app used by them.<\/p>\n<p>According to the investigation, Zindashti is the center of many of the operations. He turned from a drug lord based out of Istanbul into a mastermind behind Tehran&rsquo;s assassination, abduction, and outsourcing operations while offering the government plausible deniability. Tehran has fervently denied such claims.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Islamic Republic of Iran harbors neither the intent nor the plan to engage in assassination or abduction operations, whether in the West or any other country,&rdquo; Iran&rsquo;s mission to the United Nations said in a statement obtained by the outlet. &ldquo;These fabrications are concoctions of the Zionist regime, the Albania-based Mujahedin-e Khalq terrorist cult, and certain Western intelligence services &mdash; including those of the United States &mdash; to divert attention from the atrocities committed by the Israeli regime.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;\">The MEK,<\/span> referred to by the mission, is a left-wing opposition group that is&nbsp;widely unpopular&nbsp;in Iran due to its siding with Iraq during the destructive Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. It was on the U.S. terrorism watchlist from 1997 to 2012.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A study from the Washington Institute, which was shared with the outlet, listed 88 assassinations, abductions, and other violent plots linked to Iran over the past five years &mdash; more than every other year combined since the creation of the modern Iranian state in 1979. At least 14 of the plots involved criminal organizations. The plots peaked in 2022 when the country was rocked by deadly protests.<\/p>\n<p>The United Kingdom had the highest share of the plots, at 18, followed by the United States, which had nine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1718676\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1718676\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran has started to outsource the assassination and violent attacks on exiled dissidents to criminal organizations as Western security agencies heighten their vigilance. In recent years, particularly following widespread protests triggered by a woman&#8217;s death in the custody of morality police in 2022, Iran has significantly ramped up its foreign espionage activities. With increased scrutiny from Western security forces on these operations, Tehran has begun collaborating with groups like the Hells Angels and other criminal syndicates, according to senior officials from over a dozen countries and extensive criminal court records reviewed by the Washington Post. The Hells Angels is reportedly one of at least five criminal organizations that Iran has engaged for these purposes. <\/p>\n<p>In one instance, Iran allegedly hired Ramin Yektaparast from the German branch of the Hells Angels to carry out a bombing at a synagogue in Essen. Additionally, Naji Sharifi Zindashti, a heroin trafficking kingpin based in Tehran, arranged a $350,000 deal with two Canadian members of the Hells Angels to assassinate an Iranian defector residing in Maryland. Encrypted communications revealed plans for an exceptionally brutal killing; one member expressed intent to &#8220;hit this guy in the head with AT LEAST half the clip,&#8221; while another stated they needed &#8220;to erase his head from his torso.&#8221; This plot was devised in March 2021 but was uncovered after Western security forces infiltrated their encrypted messaging platform.<\/p>\n<p>Zindashti is identified as central to many such operations; he transitioned from being a drug lord based out of Istanbul into orchestrating Tehran&#8217;s assassination and abduction efforts while providing plausible deniability for the government. However, Iranian officials have vehemently denied these allegations. In response to inquiries about such claims, Iran\u2019s mission to the United Nations asserted that \u201cthe Islamic Republic of Iran harbors neither intent nor plan\u201d for assassination or abduction operations abroad and labeled these accusations as fabrications by various entities including \u201cthe Zionist regime\u201d and certain Western intelligence services.<\/p>\n<p>A report from the Washington Institute highlighted 88 incidents involving assassinations or violent plots linked to Iran over five years\u2014more than all previous years combined since 1979\u2014with at least 14 involving organized crime groups. The year 2022 saw an uptick in such plots amid deadly protests within Iran itself; notably, most incidents occurred in countries like the United Kingdom (18 plots) and followed closely by nine incidents reported within the United States<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2340225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Iran-Mideast-Tensions.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[40756,40757,3823,39031,32076],"class_list":["post-2340224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-criminal-groups","tag-exiled-dissidents","tag-iran","tag-security-threats","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Iran-Mideast-Tensions.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2340224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2340224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2340225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2340224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2340224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2340224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}