The Iranian regime is being accused of subcontracting European criminal networks, including the notorious Dutch “Mocro mafia,” to carry out targeted assassinations on European soil, according to an investigative report by The Times UK. One of the most high-profile targets, Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a former Spanish politician and vice-president of the European Parliament, survived an attempted assassination in Madrid last November that authorities now believe was orchestrated by Tehran.
Vidal-Quadras, who has long been a vocal critic of Iran’s Islamic regime, was shot in the face while returning home from a walk near Madrid’s Retiro Park. In a chilling detail, the would-be assassin greeted him politely before pulling the trigger. A reflexive jerk of his head spared his life, though the bullet still pierced his jaw. “I just moved my head and that is what saved me,” he told The Times UK.
European intelligence services, including those in Spain, France, and the Netherlands, now suspect that the attack was ordered by Tehran and executed by contracted gang members from the Mocro mafia. French authorities have arrested multiple individuals, including Mehrez Ayari, a French-Tunisian with a criminal record spanning drug trafficking and armed robbery, believed to have ties to the Dutch gang.
According to Le Monde, Ayari’s phone records revealed messages linked to the planning of the Vidal-Quadras attack, including communications from a Dutch number containing surveillance footage of the former politician. He was arrested in the Dutch city of Haarlem earlier this year, allegedly while preparing to kill another Iranian dissident.
The Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) stated in its 2024 annual report that both the attack on Vidal-Quadras and the attempted assassination of the Iranian activist in Haarlem fit a consistent pattern of Iranian state terror, using criminal proxies to eliminate opposition figures abroad.
Iran has denied the accusations, calling them “absurd fabrications.” Ayari’s lawyer also rejected the claims, stating there was “not a single piece of evidence” tying his client to Tehran.
Another suspect, Sami Bekal Bounouare, a 27-year-old Spanish-Moroccan fugitive believed to have masterminded the Madrid attack, is now the subject of a €50,000 reward offered by Dutch police. Bounouare is also wanted in connection with other contract killings, including the 2021 murder of an Iraqi DJ in the Netherlands.
The Times UK reports that international intelligence agencies, including Israel’s Mossad, Sweden’s Säpo, and the FBI, believe Iran has escalated its covert strategy of outsourcing attacks to European criminal groups. These operations reportedly aim to silence dissidents and intimidate Western governments.
Vidal-Quadras, 80, a founder of Spain’s right-wing Vox party and an ally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, remains under threat. He was blacklisted by Iran in 2022 and has accused the Spanish government of silence and inaction following the attempt on his life. “There has been no diplomatic or political reaction. The government has not opened its mouth,” he told The Times UK.
Despite undergoing extensive facial reconstruction and enduring severe post-traumatic stress, Vidal-Quadras says he has recovered with support from his family and medical professionals. He warned that Iran’s use of state terrorism—including assassinations, hostage-taking, and nuclear brinkmanship—poses a growing threat to European security.
“This is not a personal vendetta,” he said. “It’s a geopolitical strategy.”
