The United States has accused Iranian intelligence agents of attempting to kill, kidnap, and harass American and European nationals in widespread espionage operations. The statement, issued via the State Department’s Office of the Spokesperson, was cosigned by Canada and several European allies, including the United Kingdom, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden.
The statement is a harsh rebuke, warning Iran that these acts are viewed as violations of the respective nations’ sovereignty and cautions the public against new developments in Iran’s tactics, chiefly that they are working with international crime syndicates to achieve their mission objectives.
The United States of America, the United Kingdom, Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden condemn the growing number of state threats from Iranian intelligence services in our respective territories.
We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty. These services are increasingly collaborating with international criminal organizations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials in Europe and North America. This is unacceptable.
We consider these types of attacks, regardless of the target, as violations of our sovereignty. We are committed to working together to prevent these actions from happening and we call on the Iranian authorities to immediately put an end to such illegal activities in our respective territories.