By Yanki Farber
New intel shows Iran is now using terrorism around the world to advance national interests, including against Israeli and Jewish targets in response to Israeli actions against Iran, such as the targeting of senior officials and the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, as well as senior figures in the “Axis of Resistance.”
The terrorist activities are conducted under the supervision and guidance of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Intelligence. In an attempt to obscure direct Iranian involvement, the attacks are mostly carried out by proxy organizations, foremost among them Hezbollah, local operatives, and criminal organizations.
Following the military campaign between Israel and Iran from June 13–24, during which Israel thwarted dozens of senior Iranian commanders and damaged nuclear facilities and other strategic capabilities of Iran, there is a possibility that as part of Iran’s response, it will also attempt to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets worldwide.
The arrest of a suspect who planned an attack against Israelis in Cyprus, and of a suspect who recorded Jewish targets in Germany—both acting under Quds Force direction—indicated early signs of the threat materializing on the ground.
According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, the unprecedented level of damage suffered by Iran and its need to restore its image and create a deterrent balance to restrain Israel from continuing to act against it are expected to increase Iran’s motivation to target Israeli and Jewish assets and interests around the world. Similar to past efforts, Iran’s attempts to exact a price from Israel in the form of a major overseas attack are expected to continue over time, using a variety of capabilities and infrastructures available to Iranian security and intelligence services in various countries, while Israel and friendly intelligence services continue their counter-efforts. Despite the direct involvement of Iranian regime arms, primarily the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Intelligence, in the execution of global terrorist attacks, most of the actual implementation is carried out by proxy organizations—chief among them Hezbollah—or by foreign nationals recruited for the task, in order to obscure signs of Iranian involvement.
Azerbaijan: The thwarting of an assassination attempt on the lives of two Jewish individuals in Baku (January 2012) and an attempted attack on the hotel housing the Israeli delegation to the Eurovision contest (May 2012). In both cases, the Quds Force stood behind the attack attempts along with local accomplices.
India: An attempted assassination of a Defense Ministry representative in New Delhi by attaching a magnetic explosive device to his car by a motorcyclist. As a result of the explosion, an Israeli civilian—the wife of the Defense Ministry envoy—was injured. The Quds Force was behind the attack (February 2012).
Thailand: Exposure of an attempt by the Quds Force, via Hezbollah, to target an Israeli site in Bangkok using explosive devices (January 2012); an attempted assassination of an Israeli diplomat by attaching a magnetic explosive to his car. The attack failed due to a “work accident.” Three Iranian passport holders connected to the Quds Force were arrested (February 2012).
Bulgaria: An explosive device detonated on a bus carrying Israeli tourists in the town of Burgas. Five Israelis and a Bulgarian bus driver were killed, and more than thirty were injured. The investigation revealed that Hezbollah was behind the attack (July 2012).
Turkey: Turkish authorities, with the assistance of the Mossad, exposed an Iranian cell that planned to assassinate a former Israeli diplomat and Israeli tourists (June 2022).
Greece: Two Pakistani nationals were arrested on suspicion of planning an attack against a Chabad house in Athens. The Mossad confirmed its involvement in foiling the plot.
Cyprus: A terrorist cell serving Iran was exposed, consisting of Azerbaijani and Pakistani citizens, which, under Quds Force orders, had tracked Israeli businessmen operating on the island and planned to assassinate them (September–October 2021); another terror cell operating under the guidance of the Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence agency was discovered, which planned to attack Jewish and Israeli targets. It was revealed that Mossad agents interrogated on Iranian soil one of the cell members, an Iranian citizen who was supposed to assassinate an Israeli businessman and fled from Cyprus.
Germany: In July 2024, German authorities outlawed the Blue Mosque in Hamburg and the “Islamic Center of Hamburg,” which operated inside the mosque, due to their being an arm of the Iranian regime and their links to Hezbollah. In addition, it was reported that German security authorities are investigating hundreds of individuals suspected of ties to the Al-Mustafa Institute in Berlin, an academic institution operated by Iranian authorities in cooperation with a university in Qom, which is suspected of being used by the Quds Force to recruit agents and terrorist operatives.
United States: In November 2024, the U.S. federal prosecution filed an indictment against an Iranian citizen and two American citizens from New York for planning to assassinate Masih Alinejad, an Iranian dissident residing in the U.S. known for her critical stance against the regime in Tehran. According to the indictment, the Revolutionary Guards also instructed the Iranian operative to prepare a plan to assassinate Donald Trump before he was re-elected President of the United States.
Australia: The head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Mike Burgess, warned in the 2025 national threat assessment that there is no immunity from hostile states like Iran, which engage in activities that raise security concerns within Australia. He noted that Iranian activity could be carried out due to an “internal interest,” i.e., targeting regime opponents, or be directed against targets of Israel or other allies.
United Kingdom: The British Home Office Minister for Homeland Security, Dan Jarvis, testified before Parliament that the security services had thwarted twenty Iranian terror plots on British soil since the beginning of 2022.
With the beginning of the military campaign against Iran on June 13, 2025, the alert level at Israeli diplomatic missions around the world was raised to the highest level, and strict security measures were implemented, including around Jewish institutions, for fear that the Iranian response would include terrorist attacks around the world in addition to direct military retaliation against Israel (Israeli media, June 13, 2025).
Additionally, an urgent memo from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that following the U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities on June 22, 2025, there is a growing threat of Iranian terrorist activity inside the U.S. The memo noted that the risk could increase if the Iranian leadership issues a religious ruling (fatwa) calling for violent retaliation against targets in the U.S., and that attempts to target Jewish and pro-Israel targets may also occur.
