Norway security service warns of Iranian threats

The Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) has identified Iran as a state-sponsored threat actor operating within Norway. According to the agency, the regime's primary targets are not Norwegian national interests, but rather dissidents, regime critics, and Jewish, American, and Israeli targets.

PST reports that Iran is likely utilizing proxy actors to carry out operations. This tactic involves recruiting young, inexperienced individuals—often teenagers—through networks such as the Swedish-based Foxtrot, which has links to the Iranian regime. These recruits may be unaware of their true employers, a method designed to lower the threshold for action and complicate efforts to trace the actual masterminds.

The agency expressed specific concerns regarding potential attacks involving improvised incendiary devices or hand grenades. The goal of such actions is described as sending a message of reach rather than maximizing casualties. A cited precedent is the case of Johannes Natland, a 19-year-old Norwegian recruited via Foxtrot to attempt a contract killing in the United Kingdom; he was subsequently sentenced to 20 years in prison.