According to Israeli media, the kidnapping and murder of Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan was carried out by a terrorist team of Uzbek origin that was operating in Dubai on behalf of Iran and is believed to have fled to Turkey.

Although Israel has not yet officially accused Iran of being involved in the terrorist act, according to the Associated PressWestern officials believe Tehran is conducting intelligence operations in the United Arab Emirates. They monitor more than half a million Iranians living across the country and, of course, monitor the Israeli presence in the Emirates.

Iranian agents have been involved in various activities within the UAE, including espionage, kidnapping and illicit financial operations. In one of the most recent cases, in July 2020, IRGC agents kidnapped German-Iranian citizen Jamshid Sharmahd from a Dubai hotel while he was waiting for a layover flight. Later, this dissident was killed in an Iranian prison.

A number of businessmen accused of financing terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and Hamas were making substantial profits from real estate investments in Dubai, according to the Times. Despite sanctions, these individuals acquired properties worth millions, demonstrating the existence of financial networks linked to Iran in the United Arab Emirates. The US Treasury Department also sanctioned UAE-based companies acting as sales agents for Iranian metals, highlighting the use of the UAE’s financial system to circumvent sanctions.

But the case of the kidnapping and murder of Rabbi Kogan is different.

If the perpetrators are in fact employed Uzbek citizens, this poses a new threat. Never before has the IRGC – the main organizer of all Iranian terrorist activities – recruited Uzbeks for such purposes.

The IRGC has been involved in recruiting individuals from various countries to support its activities, including Afghan Shiites for the Fatemiyoun Brigade (associated with Hezbollah Afghanistan) and Pakistani Shiites for the Zainabiyoun Brigade, both active in the Syrian conflict.

Iran has been implicated in using foreign nationals to carry out attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets around the world. For example, Azerbaijan is one of the most recurring sites where the IRGC attempts to carry out such terrorist attacks. In 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022, the local security service DTX neutralized and apprehended mixed groups of terrorists, including both local and foreign citizens (such as Lebanese). Most of them were trained in Iran to gather intelligence and carry out attacks on Israeli and sometimes Western embassies.

In March 2023, an Iranian agent attempted to assassinate Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa, known for his strong support for strengthening relations with Israel. An Afghan citizen was sentenced last month to 10 years in prison for his attempted attack on an Israeli embassy in July 2023.

In October 2021, Cypriot authorities arrested a Russian-Azerbaijani national suspected of planning attacks against Israeli businessmen in Cyprus. It used Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus both for terrorist purposes and as an operational and transit zone. At least two Pakistani citizens also helped the attacker.

In June 2022, Turkish authorities arrested several individuals, including Iranian nationals, accused of plotting to kidnap and murder Israeli tourists.

In November 2022, Georgian security services foiled an Iranian plot to assassinate an Israeli businessman in Tbilisi. The plan involved a Pakistani squad hired by the IRGC.

In March 2023, Greek police arrested two Pakistani nationals for planning attacks on a Jewish restaurant and a synagogue in Athens. An Iranian handler directed the suspects and promised financial compensation for each victim.

In early 2024, the IRGC planned to attack key Jewish centers in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, using a Tajik national.

Thus, the IRGC recruited Afghan, Pakistani, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Georgian, Tajik and Indian nationals, but not from Uzbekistan.

In contrast, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) has actively recruited Uzbeks to fight in Afghanistan. Reports indicate that ISKP has expanded its efforts on Uzbek-language social media to attract recruits from Central Asia.

The ISKP and Iran are rather hostile towards each other. In January 2024, ISKP claimed responsibility for two bombings in the Iranian city of Kerman, Iran, during a memorial ceremony for Qasem Soleimani, killing at least 95 people. Iranian authorities responded by arresting individuals linked to the ISKP. In August 2024, the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence announced the detention of 14 ISKP members, alleging their involvement in planning attacks inside the country.

It is highly unlikely that the IRGC and ISKP have found common ground and common cause. It is much more likely that the Corps’ emissaries found a way to recruit representatives of a small Uzbek Shiite minority (between 200,000 and 300,000 people), living in Bukhara and Samarkand. Their existence is rarely known in the Arab and Western worlds, making Uzbek IRGC agents less visible and less identifiable.

Israel and the West should therefore be prepared to face a new challenge: the use of operatives from ethnic and religious minorities who were previously not linked to terrorist organizations and, in fact, are not as well documented as garden terrorists of the time. who passed.