Iran has recruited young children to commit attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets across Europe, a new trend amid several strikes by Iranian proxies in recent months and its dwindling influence in the Middle East.
The disturbing pattern includes incidents in Sweden, Belgium and Norway as Tehran expanded its proxy war against Israel into Europe.
In Stockholm, a 15-year-old boy carrying a loaded gun got into a taxi in May and asked to be taken to the Israeli embassy. However, he had to call his assistant for directions when he was unable to locate the building. Swedish police stopped the taxi before it reached the destination.
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Police officers outside the Israeli embassy in Stockholm on January 31, 2024, after a hand grenade was found nearby. (Getty Images)
The authorities had been monitoring him for several months.
A 13-year-old was caught in Gothenburg shooting at Israeli defense company Elbit Systems. At the same facility, a 16-year-old helped plant homemade explosives outside the main entrance, Bloomberg reported.
In Brussels, security services found children as young as 14 years old planning an attack on the Israeli embassy.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Iranian mission to the United States for comment.
Recruiters working on behalf of the Iranian regime have contacted minors on platforms such as Telegram, TikTok or WhatsApp, according to Peter Nesser, a terrorism researcher at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute.
The new tactic comes at a time when Iran's influence in the Middle East has been severely weakened amid the deadly Israeli response to these attacks Devastating attacks From Hamas and Hezbollah, both of which are agents of Iran.
Swedish Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömer, second from left, speaks during a joint statement with Norwegian Minister of Justice Emilie Inger Mille, from left, Danish Minister of Justice Peter Hommelgaard, second from right, and Faroe Islands Minister of Justice Bjarne Karasson-Petersen, about the recruitment of children and youth through means of Social networking of organized crime. (Getty Images)
In addition, the recent overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has exacerbated Iran's problems in the region.
While some of the young men recruited by Iran act out of frustration with the war waged by Israel against Hamas In GazaSome are motivated by money. The report said that in Sweden and Norway, they cannot be prosecuted if they are under 15 years old.
“There are cases where agents are not aware or do not realize that they are acting on behalf of a foreign power,” the Swedish Security Service said in a statement this year.
The 16-year-old who attacked Elbit Systems used two thermos flasks filled with explosives in an attack on the Israeli defense company, and was charged with a 23-year-old accomplice, according to Bloomberg.
Police secure the area near the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm after an apparent shooting on October 1, 2024. (Getty Images)
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Sweden has seen an increasing presence of organized criminal gangs recruiting minors from immigrant communities.
The report said that more than 1.5 million people have moved to the country since 1980, and now about 20% of the population was born outside the country, but many are struggling to integrate.
