Published on 6/16/2026
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Last update: 10:15 (Mecca time)
Instead of using professional agents who are difficult to pass, a Reuters report reveals that gangs and external parties – including Russia and Iran – have resorted to targeting “amateur” young men through social media platforms to carry out attacks in Britain and other European countries.
The report indicates that these young men – who are often recruited via the Internet – carry out dangerous acts, including arson attacks and targeting opponents and sensitive sites, in exchange for promises of money that they often do not receive, and without having the slightest awareness of the identity of the parties they serve or their political goals.
“Agents” strategy
A recent series of incidents in Britain and Europe sheds light on this strategy, which aims to provoke unrest and divisions, while providing a cover that allows the governments accused of involvement in it to deny any connection to the matter.
In a recent incident, Ukrainian Roman Lavrynovich (22 years old) was convicted yesterday, Monday, of arson with intent to endanger lives, after a mysterious person named “E. L. Mani” ordered him to carry out attacks on properties linked to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Lavrinovich admitted to the police that he did not know Starmer’s identity, but he was tempted by “easy money” under financial pressure, stressing that he had not received previous financial promises from his employer through the Telegram application.
The commander of the counter-terrorism police in London, Helen Flanagan, explained that the mission was clearly aimed at intimidating the Prime Minister and attacking the United Kingdom, stressing that there is no evidence indicating that these attackers were aware of the nature of the targets or the motives of the parties that incited them, describing the matter as “a quick rush after money.”
British authorities estimate that this tactic has become an intelligence “necessity” for Moscow after the expulsion of more than 600 Russians, including more than 400 spies, following the poisoning of Sergei Skripal in 2018.
In the same context, Iranian citizens and parties loyal to Tehran face similar charges, including attacks targeting the “Iran International” channel, Iranian dissidents, and sites linked to Jews in London, especially since the United States and Israel launched the war on Iran at the end of last February.
Although the British authorities did not directly accuse the Iranian government of responsibility for the recent attacks, London made it clear that it sees Tehran as a potential source for most of these operations, especially with the pro-Iranian “Movement of the People of the Right” claiming responsibility for some of the incidents.
“Western propaganda”
While Moscow and Tehran deny these accusations and describe them as “Western propaganda,” British security officials believe that those behind these operations may be independent agents or criminal gangs working for external parties, as various sums of money are offered to attract them. While small sums of money were offered to Lavrinovich, Austrian Magomed-Hussein Dovtayev – who was convicted of tracking Iranian channel employees – received an offer of 50,000 euros (about 58,000 dollars).
Earlier this month, the United States brought charges against Iraqi citizen Muhammad Baqir Saad Daoud of involvement in a series of attacks that targeted American and Israeli interests in Europe, including attacks targeting Jews in London.
While Daoud denies directing individuals to carry out attacks on behalf of the “Islamic Right-wing Movement,” US prosecutors claim that Daoud was working closely with the late Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020.
In contrast to these networks linked to Iran, observers believe that those involved who were recently convicted in Britain lack any significant organizational or ideological ties to Tehran.
The report confirms that this phenomenon has become a growing source of concern for security services, especially with the difficulty of tracking the operators of these young men who are lured through encrypted conversations, only to eventually find themselves before criminal courts instead of the “easy money” they were promised.
