Iran has been recruiting young children to carry out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets across Europe, but its proxies have suffered multiple blows in recent months, undermining its influence in the Middle East. Amid the decline, a new trend can be seen.
This troubling pattern includes incidents in Sweden, Belgium, and Norway as the Iranian government expands its proxy war against Israel into Europe.
In Stockholm in May, a 15-year-old boy with a loaded gun got into a taxi and demanded to be taken to the Israeli embassy. However, I didn't know where the building was and had to call an employee for directions. Swedish police stopped the taxi before it reached its destination.
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A hand grenade is found near the Israeli embassy in Stockholm on January 31, 2024, and police officers are seen outside it. (Getty Images)
Authorities had been monitoring him for several months.
A 13-year-old boy from Gothenburg was caught firing at Israeli defense company Elbit Systems. At the same facility, a 16-year-old boy helped plant a homemade explosive device outside the front door, Bloomberg reported.
In Brussels, security services discovered 14-year-old children who had orchestrated the attack on the Israeli embassy.
FOX News Digital has reached out to the Iranian mission to the United States for comment.
Peter Nessel, a terrorism researcher at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute, said recruiters working on behalf of the Iranian regime are reaching out to minors on platforms such as Telegram, TikTok and WhatsApp.
The new tactic comes amid a significant decline in Iran's influence in the Middle East amid Israel's deadly response to devastating attacks from Iranian proxy groups Hamas and Hezbollah. .
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Sweden's Justice Minister Gunnar Stromer (second from left), Norway's Justice Minister Emily Enger Mehr (left), Denmark's Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard (second from right), and Bjarni Karason of the Faroe Islands. In a joint statement with Minister of Justice Petersen, he talks about the recruitment of children. Youth via social media for organized crime. (Getty Images)
Moreover, the recent ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has further exacerbated Iran's predicament in the region.
Some young men scouted by Iran are acting out of frustration over Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, while others are motivated by money. In Sweden and Norway, cases cannot be prosecuted if the person is under 15, the report said.
“In some cases, agents are unaware or unaware that they are acting on behalf of a foreign power,” the Swedish Security Service said in a statement this year.
The 16-year-old boy who attacked Elbit Systems was charged along with a 23-year-old accomplice for using two thermoses filled with explosives in the attack on the Israeli defense company, according to Bloomberg.
Police guard the area near the Israeli embassy in Stockholm after an apparent shooting on October 1, 2024. (Getty Images)
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In Sweden, there is an increasing presence of organized crime groups that recruit minors from immigrant communities.
More than 1.5 million people have immigrated to the country since 1980, and while around 20% of the population was currently born abroad, many struggle to assimilate, the report said.
