Paris police charged a couple in early May with suspected involvement in an Iranian-commanded plot to assassinate Jewish individuals in Germany and France.
According to police sources and insiders familiar with the case, Abdel Karim S., aged 34, and his wife Sabrina B., aged 33, were charged on May 4 with forming a criminal terrorist gang and were placed under provisional detention in France.
Their case, dubbed “Marco Polo” and revealed by the French site Mediapart on Thursday, indicates a resurgence of “state-sponsored Iranian terrorism” in Europe.
This assertion comes from a memo from the French General Directorate for Internal Security, which AFP reviewed at the start of May.
The memo stated, “Since 2015, Iranian agencies have resumed targeted assassinations,” noting that “the threat has intensified in the context of the ongoing war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, now in its twelfth month.”
The Directorate expressed concerns that the objective is to “strike at specifically targeted civilians” to “increase the feeling of insecurity among opponents” of the Iranian regime and within the “Jewish/Israeli community.”
To achieve this, Iran is accused of recruiting gang members in Europe, especially drug traffickers.
Abdel Karim S. was already known to the judiciary, having been sentenced to 10 years in prison for involvement in a murder in Marseille and released under judicial supervision in July 2023.
He is suspected to be the “main operator” in France for an “Iran-sponsored cell” planning violent acts in Germany and France, likely coordinated through a former prison mate, now alleged to be a major drug dealer in the Lyon area, who might have been in Iran in May.
Identified targets at this stage include a former employee of an Israeli security firm living in Paris and three of his former colleagues in the capital region, along with three Israeli-Germans in Munich and Berlin.
It is suspected that Abdel Karim S. travelled to Germany despite his legal status for reconnaissance purposes, notably in Berlin with his wife.
He denies this, claiming he only intended to shop. However, investigators also accuse the cell of setting four fires at companies in Southern France owned by Israelis.
Abdel Karim S. denied any involvement in arson during police custody but admitted to acting as an intermediary between the planner and others on Telegram in a fraud scheme targeting an insurance company.
