'Iranian spies hire criminals to avoid diplomatic fallout'

‘The Iranian ayatollahs are murderers’

- Michael Knowles

IRANIAN spies can hire assassins "very easily" and must face more pressure, Sir Keir international Starmer has been warned.

A Spanish politician who survived being shot in the face last year by a hitman believed to have been hired by Tehran told the Daily Express the "Ayatollahs are murderers".

Alejo Vidal-Quadras, 79, said the Iranian regime, led by Ali Khamenei, and intelligence agencies use criminals to avoid diplomatic repercussions.

And Dr Matthew Levitt, who was a counterterrorism intelligence analyst at the FBI, said Tehran "repeatedly" uses the Foxtrot and Rumba gangs, which operate in Sweden, and the Hells Angels to act on their behalf.

Mr Levitt said Iran also uses "Eastern European" gangs, which then "sub-contract" the activities.