Sweden tries five minors over Iranian dissident murder plot

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STOCKHOLM – Five teenagers go before a Swedish court on April 8 over the alleged attempted murder of a dissident Iranian researcher in the south of the country.

Researcher Arvin Khoshnood – who is a supporter of the son of the last Shah of Iran – has told the Swedish media that he believes the attack was ordered by a criminal network at the behest of the Iranian authorities.

According to the prosecution, on Sept 2, 2025, one of the defendants, armed with a knife, rang the doorbell at Mr Khoshnood’s home in the southern city of Malmo.

Mr Khoshnood’s wife opened the door, and the man, 16 at the time, asked her if her husband was home.

The researcher, who was inside, stayed out of sight and immediately called the police, according to the charge sheet.

The teenager had been recruited via encrypted messaging apps by his co-defendants, with the promise of a payment if he killed Mr Khoshnood, the prosecutors say.

They say three of the accused, and a fourth person believed to be the mastermind – whose identity had not been established – gave him instructions, provided the knife and negotiated the terms of his “contract” before he took action.

Three of the five are charged with attempted murder, and the others of complicity.

‘Crime as a service’

“These are acts that fall under so-called crime as a service, where young perpetrators in Sweden take on assignments from individuals connected to organised crime,” prosecutor Per-Erik Rinsell said in a statement.

Mr Khoshnood told public broadcaster SVT that he believed the attack had been organised by Foxtrot, one of Sweden’s main criminal gangs whose leader Rawa Majid is reported to have ties to the Iranian government.

Foxtrot is behind several shootings, bombings and murders carried out in Sweden in recent years, and, like other gangs, uses a loosely structured social media system to recruit children to carry out crimes.

Mr Khoshnood regularly appears in Swedish media as an expert on Iran.

On social media, he openly supports Mr Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah, who lives in exile in the US and leads one of many opposition movements based abroad.

The Swedish Security Service (Sapo) has called Iran one of the main threats to the country’s security.

In particular, Sapo has accused Iran of recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli interests and Iranian opposition figures in Sweden – a claim Iran has denied.

According to Sapo, the Middle East war has increased the threat against US, Israeli and Jewish interests in the country.

One of the teenagers charged over the Khoshnood case is also accused of planning to blow up the headquarters of Malmo-based firm Aimpoint, which invented the red-dot gun sight.

The Swedish company has drawn media attention over past business dealings with Israel, especially for weapons sights.

Aimpoint ended the sales in May 2025 due to the war being waged by Israel in Gaza.

Several of the accused also face charges over an attempted murder in the city of Uddevalla a week after the alleged attempt on Mr Khoshnood’s life. AFP