Iran recruiting children to attack Israeli targets across Europe amid setbacks: report

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Iran has recruited young children to commit attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets across Europe, a new trend amid several blows to Iranian proxies in recent months and dwindling influence in the Middle East.

The troubling pattern includes incidents in Sweden, Belgium and Norway as Tehran has expanded its proxy war against Israel into Europe.

In Stockholm, a 15-year-old boy with a loaded gun took a taxi in May and asked to be taken to the Israeli Embassy. However, he had to call an associate for directions when he was unable to locate the building. Swedish police stopped the cab before it reached the destination. 

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Police officers are seen outside the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm on Jan. 31, 2024, after a hand grenade was found nearby. (Getty Images)

Authorities had been monitoring him for several months. 

A 13-year-old in Gothenburg was caught firing shots at Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems. At the same facility, a 16-year-old helped plant homemade explosives outside the main entrance, Bloomberg reported.

In Brussels, security services found children as young as 14 orchestrating an attack on the Israeli Embassy. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Iranian Mission to the United States for comment. 

Recruiters acting on behalf of the Iranian regime have reached out to minors on platforms like Telegram, TikTok or WhatsApp, according to Peter Nesser, a terrorism researcher at a Norwegian defense research institute. 

The new tactic comes as Iran’s influence has severely weakened in the Middle East amid Israel’s deadly response to devastating attacks from Hamas and Hezbollah, both Iranian proxies.

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Swedish Minister of Justice Gunnar Strommer, second left, speaks during a joint statement with Norwegian Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl, left, Denmark Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard, second right, and Faroe Islands Minister of Justice Bjarni Karason Petersen about the recruitment of children and young people via social media for organized crime. (Getty Images)

In addition, the recent ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has compounded Iran’s woes in the region. 

While some young people recruited by Iran are acting out of frustration at Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, some are motivated by money. In Sweden and Norway, they can’t be prosecuted if they are under 15, the report said. 

“There are cases where the proxies aren’t aware or don’t realize that they are acting on behalf of a foreign power,” the Swedish Security Service said in a statement this year.

The 16-year-old who attacked Elbit Systems used two thermos flasks packed with explosives in an attack on the Israeli defense company and was charged alongside a 23-year-old accomplice, according to Bloomberg. 

Police secure the area near the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm after an apparent shooting on Oct. 1, 2024. (Getty Images)

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Sweden has seen an increasing presence of organized criminal gangs recruiting minors from immigrant communities. 

More than 1.5 million people have moved to the country since 1980 and now around 20% of the population has been born outside the country, but many struggle to assimilate, the report said.

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.