The U.S. Sanctions a Criminal Network in Sweden Collaborating with the Iranian Government

On Wednesday, March 13, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the criminal network 'Faxtrot,' primarily based in Sweden, which was involved in drug trafficking, conducting attacks against Israelis and Jews in Europe, and collaborating with the Islamic Republic. In January 2024, the Faxtrot network organized an attack on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm on behalf of the Iranian government. The leader of the network, 'Rava Majid,' has collaborated with the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence, which is under multiple U.S. sanctions. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Busent stated, 'The Iranian regime's brazen use of foreign organizations and drug traffickers highlights its efforts to achieve its goals by any means, regardless of the cost to communities across Europe.' The statement emphasized that the U.S. government, along with its international partners, will continue to hold accountable those seeking to advance the destabilizing agenda of the Iranian regime. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio also stated that, along with the Treasury Department, they will continue to expose the activities of the Iranian regime and impose costs on it as part of the Trump administration's maximum pressure campaign. Rubio emphasized that this action underscores the U.S. commitment to holding accountable individuals and organizations collaborating with the Tehran regime to undermine the security of the U.S. and its partners. The U.S. Treasury statement also noted that the Islamic Republic increasingly uses criminal networks as its proxies to pursue its goals. The Iranian government has also targeted U.S. citizens and, in its commitment to destroy Israel, has organized terrorist attacks against this country and Jews across Europe. The U.S. Treasury claims that Iranian officials are also seeking to assassinate Iranian dissidents through criminal networks and referenced an Iranian drug trafficker named 'Naji Ibrahim Sharifi Zandishti,' who operated under the orders of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security. The Zandishti network has carried out multiple transnational repressive actions, including assassination and kidnapping in various jurisdictions in the United States, aimed at silencing known critics of the Iranian government, and was sanctioned by OFAC in Bahman 1402 (January 2024). The Faxtrot network is one of the most notorious criminal gangs based in Sweden, involved in armed attacks, arms trafficking, contract killings, and other violent activities. This group is also one of the recognized drug trafficking organizations in the region, operating in other European countries as well. Following explosions and shootings that occurred last October around the Israeli embassies in Sweden and Denmark, the Swedish Security Service, SAPO, announced that the Iranian government may have been involved in these actions. Earlier last summer, SAPO had reported that the Islamic Republic was recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to carry out 'violent actions' against Israeli interests and other interests in Sweden. The U.S. has offered a $15 million reward for information leading to the identification of the 'drone production arm' of the IRGC. Canada has sanctioned three individuals and four entities affiliated with the Islamic Republic. The U.S. State Department stated: 'We will hold the Iranian regime accountable with all available tools.'