Exclusive: Swedish-Israeli Citizen Target of Failed Assassination Plot: Iranian Embassy 'Guiding' the Operation

For over four and a half decades, the Islamic Republic has not only provided extensive financial and military support to anti-Israeli groups in the region such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad, but has also repeatedly targeted Jews worldwide with plots and terrorist attacks. Two Iranian agents who entered Sweden in 2015 under false identities as 'Afghan refugees' were arrested in April 2021 for conspiring to assassinate three Swedish Jewish citizens but were allowed to return to Iran after 10 months. On Wednesday, February 25, the Persian section of Voice of America conducted an exclusive interview with Saskia Pantel, a Swedish-Israeli activist and one of the three citizens targeted by the failed assassination plot by Iranian agents in Sweden. This has been happening to Iranians for a long time. In the beginning of the interview, Pantel expressed regret that she and two Swedish Jewish citizens had become targets of this assassination plot, stating, '[Such incidents] have been happening for a long time to Iranians living abroad as political refugees.' Pantel mentioned that while she was in Israel, Swedish security officials contacted her to inform her of the assassination plot. Shocked by this news, she declined the Swedish security officials' request to return to Sweden, preferring to stay in Israel where she feels safe. A 'terroristic' and 'highly anti-Semitic' crime. Saskia Pantel told the Persian section of Voice of America that at the time of the assassination plot, she held the position of 'Acting President of the Zionist Federation' in Sweden, and one of the other two was the President of the Jewish Community of Sweden. According to this Swedish-Israeli activist, the fact that the Islamic Republic views their organizations as 'the arm of the Israeli government' and plots to assassinate them is not only a 'terroristic' crime but also 'highly anti-Semitic.' Pantel reiterated that Iranian refugees in Sweden have been struggling with these [regime actions] for years. She stated that Swedish authorities should have addressed these actions and that it should not have reached this stage. The Iranian embassy: 'Information center' and 'guide' for assassinations. Saskia Pantel continued in the exclusive interview that she was informed that two other individuals were part of this plot and were connected to the two who were assigned to assassinate them. However, she learned from a research report by Radio Sweden about the connection of those two individuals to the embassy. Although the involvement of the Iranian embassy in this assassination shocked her, she added that for many Iranians residing in Sweden, this was not surprising. Pantel noted that one of the two individuals held a diplomatic position in Sweden and had been monitored by Swedish security services for several years, ultimately ending his mission in Sweden and returning to Iran before facing legal action. According to this Israeli-Swedish citizen, the other person also assisted the embassy and 'definitely' both were involved in aiding the two sent by the Islamic Republic to Sweden. She pointed out the timing of the activities of the two individuals linked to the Iranian embassy in Sweden coinciding with her peak activities in the country, believing that the Iranian embassy in Sweden provided the necessary information for the assassination to those two agents and that the Iranian government embassy is the 'information center' and 'guide' for determining who should be targeted. The necessity of severing diplomatic relations with the Iranian government. Saskia Pantel emphasized that the Swedish government should not have allowed the two assassination plotters to enter the country and should not have released them after their arrest. She stated that Sweden has repeatedly failed to identify individuals who come to the country with the mission of harming Swedish citizens and change their identities since the 1980s. Pantel added that it is time for the Western world, especially European governments like Sweden that have diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic, to start real support for the people of Iran and cut their diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic today. She asserted that the activities of the Iranian embassy targeting Iranians, Kurds, Jews, and others must be stopped. Message to the people of Iran: We are with you. This Israeli-Swedish citizen concluded by addressing the people of Iran, saying, 'We are with you.' She recalled the extensive financial, military, and educational support of the Islamic Republic to groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, stating that the struggle of the people of Israel and the people of Iran is 'the same' and that everyone must unite against the Islamic Republic.