Sweden tries five minors over Iranian dissident murder plot

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Stockholm: Five teenagers appeared before a Swedish court on Wednesday, over an alleged plot to murder Arvin Khoshnood, a dissident Iranian researcher and outspoken critic of the Tehran government. The trial, held in a secure courtroom in Gothenburg, addresses an incident from September 2025 where a 16-year-old armed with a knife allegedly attempted to attack the researcher at his home in Malmö.

The prosecution alleges that the teenagers were recruited via encrypted messaging apps by a criminal network believed to be the ‘Foxtrot’ gang acting as ‘crime as a service’ for a mastermind with suspected ties to Iranian authorities. 

Three of the defendants face charges of attempted murder, while the remaining two are charged with complicity. The court heard that the group was allegedly offered 300,000 Swedish kronor (approx. £22,000) to carry out the killing.

In addition to the plot against Khoshnood, one of the defendants is accused of planning an attack on the headquarters of Aimpoint, a Swedish defence company known for supplying optics to Israel.

The Swedish Security Service (Säpo) has previously identified Iran as a major threat, accusing the regime of using local criminal proxies to target opposition figures and Israeli interests within Sweden. The trial is scheduled to continue until late April.