As the Iran-Israel conflict intensifies, Tehran is roiling the West with a wave of attempted hits and kidnappings against targets in Europe and the United States.

Washington and its allies have reported a sharp rise in such plots linked to the Islamic Republic, opens new tab in recent years. Since 2020, there have been at least 33 assassination or abduction attempts in the West in which local or Israeli authorities allege an Iran link, Reuters found in an examination of court documents and public statements by government officials.

Among recent alleged targets: a building that houses a Jewish center and kosher restaurant in downtown Athens.

From his perch in Iran, a Pakistani named Sayed Fakhar Abbas recruited an old acquaintance living in Greece and directed him to attack the site, investigators allege in documents submitted to judicial authorities in the case and viewed by Reuters. Abbas told his contact that he was working for a group that would pay some 15,000 euros per kill.

In a January 2023 WhatsApp exchange detailed in the documents, the two men discussed whether to use explosives or arson in the attack. Abbas stressed the need to provide proof of casualties after the strike. “There are secret agencies” involved, he said, without naming names. “Do the job in a way that does not leave any room for complaints by them.”