Iran “Sleeper Cell” Hits Europe

An Iranian “sleeper cell” has taken credit for multiple attacks on Jewish schools and synagogues in Europe. The Islamic Movement of the Righteous Companions – which seems to have been non-existent prior to the start of the war in Iran – claims to be responsible, but most likely, it’s a proxy Iranian group in a thin disguise.

As reported by The

Authorities are investigating Iran’s suspected involvement in a string of terrorist attacks in Europe that have targeted Jewish sites in response to the war in the Middle East, security officials say.

They suspect Iranian agents recruited individuals online to carry out attacks on Jewish schools, synagogues and companies linked to Israel, and set up a bogus group to claim responsibility for them.

A group called the Islamic Movement of the Righteous Companions has claimed to be behind most of the attacks. European intelligence officials say the group wasn’t on their radar before this month. Using a fictitious group gives Iran plausible deniability while amplifying confusion, said Julian Lanchès of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism. “It’s an effective model,” he said. “We can likely expect more attacks.”

Videos of these incidents were posted and amplified on pro-Iranian regime social-media channels and in at least one case an attack was announced in advance, according to investigators and counterterrorism experts. In a March 16 message, the group urged people in the European Union to distance themselves “immediately from all American and Zionist interests and everything connected to them.”

Iran has long recruited organized-crime figures and petty criminals to carry out attacks. Now officials suspect they are leveraging this network and branding the latest wave of attacks under a new banner, Harakat al-Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamia, to sow chaos in the Jewish community.

While officials haven’t formally attributed the attacks to Iran, multiple governments suspect its involvement. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the most powerful power broker in Iran, issued a statement after the U.S. and Israel killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying their adversaries “will no longer be safe anywhere in the world, not even in their own homes.”

We knew that some Iranian-backed groups were taking responsibility. These shadow groups are being created to keep intelligence and military agencies off the scent, if you will. But they are still likely being activated and funded by the Iranian regime, but are able to operate a little differently – almost like independent contractors – and keep some distance between their actions and the IRGC.

What we’re hearing out of intelligence sources that told The Wall Street Journal – and also reports from CBS News – is that the Islamic Movement of the Righteous Companions has been taking credit for not just the London attack, but many other attacks across Europe as well. We’re talking about Belgium and the Netherlands – places where these incidents aren’t really making the news because of the war.

This is an Iranian exportation of terror into Europe as a direct response to the conflict. Iran’s just not taking credit for it directly. And we know that terrorist sleeper cells likely exist within our country. It would be naïve of us to believe otherwise: to let our guard down and think that we are somehow fully safe.

Sure, Europe makes for an easier target. It’s closer. There’s less land to cover, and much less ocean to cross. But that doesn’t mean much if the bad actors already got across the border years ago – particularly under an Administration that left it wide open. Don’t forget about the attempted attack on U.S. soil by an ISIS supporter just earlier this month.

ACLJ Senior Counsel for Global Affairs Mike Pompeo joined us on the broadcast to share his analysis on the seriousness of these Iranian terror proxies within the United States: 

There’s definitely a lot of risk associated with these folks, as you all know, we’ve talked about this for years, this risk of Hezbollah cells, Iranian cells in the United States and in Europe, primarily.

Look, the FBI does its best to protect here at home, but as we’ve all talked about so many times, we’ve had a wide-open border for four years, giving them more space to move about the cabin here and create increased risk. Iran directs them. Iran underwrites them. Some of it’s more inspired than owned by, but make no mistake about it, it doesn’t surprise me that what has been reported in London, what we’ve seen in Europe over the last year and now during this war, that the Iranians will pull every tool out of the kitchen.

And one of those is to inflict harm in the homeland to the United States, so that the United States will call off the dogs, and President Trump would back away. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but we all need to be vigilant, and local law enforcement, our state officials, and our FBI, I know, are working this problem very, very hard. . . . President Trump understands that the risk of Islam is real here inside the United States, and that terror begins abroad but can end up at home. So, he has been determined and has put resources against this problem.

Today’s Sekulow broadcast included more discussion of this “new” terrorist organization taking credit for the attacks on the Jewish communities across Europe, our negotiations with Iran, and our legal work for religious liberty in Georgia.

Watch the full broadcast below: