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The Return of ‘Marco Polo’… Paris Unveils Plot to Kill Iranians in Europe

Members of the French riot police take part in a training exercise to handle violent demonstrations, in Ris-Orangis, south of Paris, in France, August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
Members of the French riot police take part in a training exercise to handle violent demonstrations, in Ris-Orangis, south of Paris, in France, August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
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The Return of ‘Marco Polo’… Paris Unveils Plot to Kill Iranians in Europe

Members of the French riot police take part in a training exercise to handle violent demonstrations, in Ris-Orangis, south of Paris, in France, August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
Members of the French riot police take part in a training exercise to handle violent demonstrations, in Ris-Orangis, south of Paris, in France, August 30, 2021. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

Iranian intelligence services have returned to using assassinations in Europe, French authorities revealed on Sunday.

This came after a couple was detained on accusations that one of them was the main France-based operative for an Iran-sponsored terrorist cell that planned acts of violence in France and Germany.

A report by France's General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) said the case of the detained couple signals a revival in Iranian state-sponsored terrorism in Europe, AFP reported.

On May 4, French authorities charged Abdelkrim S., 34, and his partner Sabrina B., 33, with conspiring with a criminal terrorist organization and placed them in pretrial detention.

The case, known as “Marco Polo,” was revealed Thursday by French news website Mediapart, which said the Iranian (secret) services have resumed a targeted killing policy in the old continent.

It said the services are keen on recruiting criminals, including drug lords, to conduct such operations.

“Since 2015, the Iranian (secret) services have resumed a targeted killing policy,” the French security agency wrote, adding that “the threat has worsened again in the context of the Israel-Hamas war.”

It said the alleged objective for Iranian intelligence was to target civilians and sow fear in Europe among the country's political opposition as well as among Jews and Israelis.

Iran is accused of recruiting criminals, including drug lords, to conduct such operations.

Abdelkrim S. was previously sentenced to 10 years in prison in a killing in Marseille and released on probation in July 2023.

He is accused of being the main France-based operative for an Iran-sponsored terrorist cell that planned acts of violence in France and Germany.

A former fellow inmate is believed to have connected the suspect with the cell's coordinator, a major drug trafficker from the Lyon area who likely visited Iran in May, according to the DGSI.

The group intended to attack a Paris-based former employee at an Israeli security firm and three of his colleagues residing in the Paris suburbs.

Three Israeli-German citizens in Munich and Berlin were also among the targets.

Investigators believe that Abdelkrim S., despite his probation, made multiple trips to Germany for scouting purposes, including travels to Berlin with his wife.

He denied the accusations and said he simply had purchases to make.

French authorities are also crediting the cell with plots to set fire to four Israeli-owned companies in the south of France between late December 2023 and early January 2024, said a police source.

Abdelkrim S. rejected the claims, saying he had acted as a go-between on Telegram for the mastermind and other individuals involved in a planned insurance scam, the source added.

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World

Iran Rejects Curbs on Its Uranium Enrichment Program

FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)
FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)
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Iran Rejects Curbs on Its Uranium Enrichment Program

FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)
FILE - This satellite image provided by Vantor shows the Natanz nuclear complex in Iran on March 7, 2026, with no new damage seen at the facility or the tunnels. (Satellite image ©2026 Vantor via AP, file)

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammad Eslami, on Thursday ruled out accepting any restrictions on the country’s uranium enrichment program, as demanded by the United States and Israel.

In an interview with the ISNA news agency, Eslami said: “The demands and conditions set by our enemies to restrict Iran’s enrichment program are nothing but daydreams that will be buried,” AFP reported.

The remarks come as talks between Washington and Tehran are expected to be held at the end of the week under Islamabad’s auspices, as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by Pakistan. The discussions are expected to address Tehran’s nuclear program.

Western powers accuse Iran of seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon and have worked to prevent it from doing so, while Tehran has consistently denied the allegations.

During his first term, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 agreement that had placed limits on Iran’s nuclear enrichment activities in exchange for sanctions relief, a deal opposed by Israel.

World

Germany's Merz: We Do Not Want NATO to Split over US-Iran War

Commemorative photo of NATO leaders in The Hague in 2025 (Turkish Presidency).
Commemorative photo of NATO leaders in The Hague in 2025 (Turkish Presidency).
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Germany's Merz: We Do Not Want NATO to Split over US-Iran War

Commemorative photo of NATO leaders in The Hague in 2025 (Turkish Presidency).
Commemorative photo of NATO leaders in The Hague in 2025 (Turkish Presidency).

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday he did not want US-Iran war to place any further strain on relations between the United States and its European NATO partners.

"We do not want – I do not want – NATO to split. NATO is a guarantor of our security, including and above all in Europe," he said, speaking to journalists.

He added he had encouraged US President Donald Trump in a call to pursue negotiations with Iran with urgency.

Germany was resuming direct talks with Iranian leadership in Tehran, Merz said in Berlin.

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Pentagon Leaders Assert Destruction of Iran’s Military Capabilities, Threaten to Resume Operations

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Pentagon Leaders Assert Destruction of Iran’s Military Capabilities, Threaten to Resume Operations

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks to members of the media during a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The US war against Iran has "completely" destroyed the country's ability to build missiles or other sophisticated weaponry, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday

"We finished completely destroying Iran's defense-industrial base, a core pillar of our mission," Hegseth told reporters.

"They can no longer build missiles."

For his part, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said: “We attacked, along with our partners, approximately 90 percent of their weapons factories,” including facilities producing Shahed-type drones, as well as facilities manufacturing guidance systems used by these drones.

Regarding the naval fleet, Caine said that it will take years before Iran can rebuild its surface combatant capabilities.

The general added that approximately 80 percent of Iran’s nuclear industrial base was targeted, significantly undermining its nuclear weapons development efforts.

He warned that US forces remain ready to resume fighting with Iran if the ceasefire ends, stating: “Let’s be clear: the ceasefire is just a temporary pause. The armed forces remain ready, if ordered, to resume combat operations with the same speed and precision demonstrated over the past 38 days.”

Statements by Dan Caine, and his warning about a possible resumption of fighting, suggest that the announcement of a suspension of the war came under US pressure, according to Michael Rubin, a researcher at the American Enterprise Institute.

As for the restoration of freedom of navigation, military officials’ statements did not indicate that it has been fully secured, instead emphasizing the need to “ensure Iran’s compliance” and the safe passage of vessels.

At the same time, there were continued indications that ships received messages from Iranian forces stating that they require permission to transit the strait, suggesting that Tehran is seeking to establish a new equation: keeping Hormuz open on the condition of recognizing a supervisory or sovereign role for itself.

If that is the case, the region and the global economy would be entering a phase that goes beyond a mere ceasefire, as the risk shifts from missiles to the rules governing transit, insurance, pricing, and maritime fees.

Statements by Pentagon leaders, followed by remarks from Donald Trump, reveal that the real dispute is not over the ceasefire itself, but over what comes after it. Washington rejects the continuation of Iranian uranium enrichment and is demanding that the stockpile of highly enriched uranium be handed over, or “taken” by force if necessary.

By contrast, narratives circulating in Iranian media about the “ten points” of the ceasefire agreement point in a completely different direction: recognition of Iran’s right to enrich, the lifting of sanctions, and no clear position on the fate of the enriched stockpile.

This is precisely where the structural contradiction lies, one that could undermine the negotiating round from its very first day, according to Michael Rubin.

The second aspect of the dispute concerns the scope of de-escalation. The United States and Israel have made clear that a ceasefire with Iran does not mean a halt to Israeli operations in Lebanon against Hezbollah, while reports continued of missile and drone attacks on Gulf states in the hours following the truce. This suggests that the region is facing a form of “selective de-escalation,” according to observers: a direct easing between Washington and Tehran, while proxy arenas and exchanges of messages remain active.

Remarks by Hegseth that Washington had been prepared, just hours earlier, to strike power stations, bridges, and oil and energy infrastructure “that Iran cannot rebuild” indicate that the decision to halt hostilities did not stem from a fully realized settlement, but rather from the suspension of a massive escalatory strike against Tehran.

Accordingly, the ceasefire appears more like a testing window: if Tehran complies with conditions related to navigation and the transfer of uranium, the truce could hold and pave the way toward a definitive end to the war. If not, the United States may return to the option of large-scale destruction of infrastructure.