Marco Polo: How the Case of Iran's 'State Terrorism' Was Exposed in France

Media investigations into a case now known as 'Marco Polo' began with a simple yet unexpected meeting on the streets of Paris. Last spring, Matthieu Souk, a journalist for the MediaPar website, was heading to a professional meeting at a café in Paris when he ran into an old acquaintance on the street. After exchanging pleasantries and having a casual chat, before parting ways, Matthieu's friend, referred to as an 'informed source,' told the journalist, 'By the way, there's something that should interest you: a terrorist cell from Iran was planning attacks against Jews in France.' The arrest and imprisonment of a 'couple linked to Iran' in France who were pursuing the murder of Jews followed. Matthieu's acquaintance refrained from providing further details that day, but given the trust and familiarity the journalist had with his source, he had no doubt about the reliability of the information. However, he couldn't write a report at that moment without more details. This journalist, who covers both terrorism and intelligence issues at MediaPar, stated, 'My first impression of this matter was that writing a report about it would be complicated.' Despite his extensive experience in such topics, he had never directly encountered state terrorism. The journalist knew well that this investigation would be very different from investigations into classic terrorist cells, such as jihadist groups. According to this journalist, 'When it comes to state matters, verifying information is much more difficult. I have had this experience several times with Russia: very good sources provided me with reliable and accurate information. But it was impossible to confirm them.' In contrast, when discussing a jihadist cell, sources know that at some point, the case will be handed over to the judiciary and information will become public, so they are more willing to leak information. This has been even more true in recent years, as terrorist actions are carried out by individuals acting on their own initiative rather than for structured organizations. In such circumstances, there is no hidden geopolitical issue. The journalist added that when intelligence services contact those of another foreign country and tell them they have uncovered their plans, everything is different. Usually, such cases are closed away from the eyes of journalists, and it is very rare for these cases to end up in court. However, in the case of 'Marco Polo,' which MediaPar has exposed, the French judiciary has intervened as its agents were known to this agency, but French officials have not yet provided an explanation in this regard. MediaPar reported that this media outlet was able to establish a connection between several murders that occurred in various European countries in recent years and Iran's involvement in them. These cases had been made public but had not received much attention in the countries where they occurred. On Saturday, the French news agency reported that French security agencies recently arrested a couple for 'participating in Iran-backed terrorist plots and killing Jews in Germany and France.' This couple, identified as Abdul Karim S., 34, and Sabrina B., 33, were placed in temporary detention on May 15 on charges of 'conspiracy to commit a criminal terrorist act' and were immediately accused of participating in Iran-backed terrorist plans targeting Jews in Germany and France. The case of this couple, now known as 'Marco Polo,' was revealed the Thursday before by the French website MediaPar. According to a document from France's General Directorate for Internal Security, related to the time of the couple's arrest, this case shows how 'Iran's state terrorism' has re-emerged in Europe. Based on findings from this French security agency, since 2015, the security and intelligence services of the Islamic Republic have returned to a strategy of 'targeted assassinations.' Such an approach had not been seen from the Islamic Republic for two decades, between 1995 and 2015. A document from the General Directorate for Internal Security in France reveals details of the 'Marco Polo' case. This French organization stated that the threat has increased following the outbreak of war between Israel and the extremist group Hamas. The extremist group Hamas is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. The General Directorate for Internal Security in France believes that the goal of the Islamic Republic's security services is to 'attack civilian targets' to 'increase the sense of insecurity among opponents of the Islamic Republic' and also within the 'Jewish/Israeli community' residing in Europe. To achieve this, the Islamic Republic employs individuals with criminal records who have been convicted in Europe, particularly drug traffickers. In the Marco Polo case, Abdul Karim was previously known to the French judiciary, as he was sentenced to ten years in prison for involvement in a murder in the city of Marseille in southern France but was released under judicial supervision last summer. This Franco-Algerian citizen is accused of being the 'main operator' of an 'Iran-backed cell' in France and was planning violent actions in Germany and France. According to findings from the French security intelligence agency, he was contacted by one of his fellow inmates with the 'coordinator' of the cell while he was imprisoned. The document from the General Directorate for Internal Security states that this 'coordinator,' a major drug trafficker in the Lyon area, was in Iran at the time. French officials have so far discovered that this cell had selected several targets for its terrorist actions. These targets included a former employee of an Israeli security company residing in Paris and three of his former colleagues in the Paris area, as well as three Israeli-Germans in Munich and Berlin. Abdul Karim S. is suspected of having traveled to Germany despite the restrictions of his conditional release, particularly to Berlin in the presence of his wife to engage in espionage. He denied it, claiming he only wanted to go shopping. The police source told the French news agency that investigators also hold this cell responsible for four arson attacks on businesses located in southern France between late December 2023 and early January 2024 that 'belonged to Israeli nationals.' According to this source, Abdul Karim S. denied committing these arson attacks at the time of his temporary detention but explained that he was an intermediary between the sponsor and others on Telegram for an insurance fraud project. At this point, the French national anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has not provided any explanation regarding the Marco Polo case, only stating that the disclosure of information 'harms the efficiency of investigations' under confidentiality. Olivier Christen, the French anti-terrorism prosecutor, warned in June during a speech marking the start of his tenure that 'some foreign countries pose a terrorist threat' to France. He emphasized, 'If this threat seemed very unlikely for several decades, the cases recently opened by the anti-terrorism prosecutor's office indicate that this threat could become real again.' Reports from French media about the Islamic Republic's planning for terrorist actions on French soil were published shortly after the German publication Spiegel wrote in an investigative report that Tehran is systematically hiring criminals and offenders in Europe to carry out attacks against Jews and Israelis. In June, Sweden's intelligence and security agency also announced that the Islamic Republic is using Swedish criminal gangs to carry out 'violent acts' against Israel and other countries.