You’ve probably seen the headlines: Iran is using foreign criminals to assassinate its critics overseas. It’s despicable, right? The regime that calls itself the defender of the oppressed is outsourcing murder to drug traffickers and gang members. But here’s the part that should keep you awake at night: Your government is almost certainly doing the same thing.
Let’s start with a story that makes the abstraction real. A Norwegian teenager, barely old enough to drive, flew to the UK last year to kill a stranger. His instructions came from someone called “Agent 47” — a handler for the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group that has been linked directly to Iranian intelligence. The kid was a pawn. A disposable asset. And he was recruited not because he believed in anything, but because he was desperate and dumb enough to take the job.
This is the new face of warfare. It’s not drones or cyberattacks. It’s a 16-year-old with a knife and a burner phone, following orders from a handler who might be working for Tehran — or Moscow, or Beijing, or even Washington. The distinction between state and non-state violence is a convenient fiction we tell ourselves to sleep at night.
Mainstream commentary focuses on Iran’s moral depravity. And yes, it’s depraved. But the real story is bigger: the global criminal underworld has become a universal proxy arm for intelligence agencies. Every major power does it. Israel’s Mossad has a long history of using criminals for deniable operations. The CIA’s relationships with the Mafia are legendary. Even Russia’s FSB outsources hits to gangsters in Eastern Europe. The only difference is that Iran got caught — and the moral outrage is applied selectively based on who’s doing the accusing.
You’ve probably noticed how quickly the comment sections on these stories turn into a contest of “but what about Israel?” or “but what about the US?” That’s not whataboutism — that’s the uncomfortable truth. If you’re outraged at Iran and silent about your own government’s shadow alliances, you’re not defending justice. You’re defending a team.
The practical consequence is terrifying. When states outsource violence to criminals, the distinction between legal and illegal force dissolves. The criminals become de facto state agents. The state becomes a criminal enterprise. And ordinary citizens — like that Norwegian teenager, or the Iranian dissidents living in London — become pawns in a game where the rules are written by no one.
So what do we do? First, stop pretending this is a uniquely Iranian problem. Second, demand transparency from every intelligence agency that claims to operate within ethical boundaries. Third, recognize that the war on terror has metastasized into a war by proxy, where the proxies are often the same people we’re supposed to be fighting.
This isn’t a story about Iran’s bad behavior. It’s a story about the collapse of the rule of law into the rule of power. And the sooner we admit that every government is playing the same game, the sooner we can start asking the real question: who is safe when the line between the state and the gang has disappeared?
FAQ
Q: Is it really true that every government uses criminals for operations?
A: Not every government, but all major intelligence agencies have a documented history of using criminals as proxies when deniability is needed. The US, Israel, Russia, and Iran all have well-known cases. The difference is transparency and accountability.
Q: What's the practical implication for ordinary citizens?
A: You are now a potential target of proxy violence that originates from a state you may have no conflict with. Criminal networks are used as deniable assets, which means the risk of being caught in cross-border attacks is higher than ever, especially if you are a vocal critic of any government.
Q: Isn't this just whataboutism to deflect from Iran's crimes?
A: No. Pointing out that other states do the same thing is not a defense of Iran. It's a call for consistency. If we condemn Iran's use of criminals, we must also condemn similar actions by allies. Selective outrage undermines the moral authority of the condemnation and allows the practice to continue globally.