What does Iran achieve by outsourcing assassination attempts in the West?

Iran’s war with Israel and the U.S. has been waged through numerous proxies — Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen — but more recently, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, have been “outsourcing” their operations on foreign soil to lesser-known actors. At least 33 attempted hits and abductions have allegedly been orchestrated from Iran since 2020, carried out by individuals with little or no obvious connection to the Islamic Republic. Pakistani citizens have been foiled plotting attacks in Greece, and an Azerbaijani gang was recruited in the U.S. to assassinate an Iranian American journalist. Iran’s tactics are becoming increasingly reckless abroad, stoking fear among its known enemies — whether Israeli citizens or Iranian dissidents living in exile. This week on Whale Hunting, Bradley is joined in the studio by Reuters features editor Cassell Bryan-Low. They discuss Cassell’s investigation into Iran’s use of hitmen on foreign soil, how frequently these operations are thwarted, and what the ultimate objectives of such operations are: revenge, sabotage or something bigger?

Mentioned in this week’s episode:

• “Murder for hire: Inside Iran’s proxy war with Israel in the West” by Renee Maltezou, Cassell Bryan-Low, Yannis Souliotis and Phil Stewart.

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