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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

Putin Does Not Want to Restore the USSR or Attack NATO, the Kremlin Says 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with members of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia December 8, 2025. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with members of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia December 8, 2025. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
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Putin Does Not Want to Restore the USSR or Attack NATO, the Kremlin Says 

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with members of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia December 8, 2025. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his meeting with members of the Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Parliamentary Assembly at the Senate Palace of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia December 8, 2025. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that European claims that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to restore the Soviet Union were wrong and that claims Putin plans to invade a NATO member were complete stupidity.

Putin, who was born in the Soviet Union, in 2005 cast the collapse of the Soviet Union as the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century because tens of millions of Russians were impoverished and Russia itself faced the threat of disintegration.

Opponents say Putin's Russia is decaying in a potent brew of absurdity and repression that is comparable to the Leonid Brezhnev-era of the Soviet Union. Western leaders say that Putin, if he wins in Ukraine, will one day attack NATO.

Putin has repeatedly denied that he has any plans to attack NATO and has said that such a step would be foolish for Russia given the conventional military superiority of NATO over Russia.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that Putin wanted to bring the "old Soviet Union" back and that Europe had to defend itself against what he said were clear Russian intentions, set out, he said, in Russian state doctrines, to attack NATO.

"This is not true," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about Merz's remarks. "Vladimir Putin does not want to restore the USSR because it is impossible, and he himself has repeatedly said this."

"To talk about it is not respectful to our partners," Peskov said. "Apparently, Mr. Merz does not know this."

"As for preparing for an attack on NATO, this is complete stupidity," Peskov said.

World

Zelenskyy Refuses to Cede Land to Russia as He Rallies European Support 

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Pope Leo XIV wave to journalists during their meeting in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Pope Leo XIV wave to journalists during their meeting in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP)
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Zelenskyy Refuses to Cede Land to Russia as He Rallies European Support 

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Pope Leo XIV wave to journalists during their meeting in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Pope Leo XIV wave to journalists during their meeting in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with the pope near Rome on Tuesday as he continued to rally European support for Ukraine while resisting US pressure for a painful compromise with Russia.

Answering reporters’ questions in a WhatsApp chat, Zelenskyy reaffirmed his firm refusal to cede any territory, saying that "we clearly don’t want to give up anything," even as "the Americans are looking for a compromise today, I will be honest."

"Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories," he said in the message late Monday. "According to the law we don’t have such right. According to Ukraine’s law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either."

The Ukrainian president met early Tuesday with Pope Leo XIV at Castel Gandolfo, a papal residence outside Rome, and is to have talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later. Zelenskyy and the Vatican didn’t comment on what was discussed.

The Holy See has tried to remain neutral in the war while offering solidarity and assistance to what it calls the "martyred" people of Ukraine. Leo has met now three times with Zelenskyy and has spoken by telephone at least once with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The American pope has called for a ceasefire and urged Russia in particular to make gestures to promote peace.

On Monday, Zelenskyy held talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to strengthen Ukraine’s hand amid mounting impatience from US President Donald Trump.

Facing pressure from Trump

US and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks on Saturday aimed at trying to narrow differences on the US administration’s peace proposal.

A major sticking point in the plan is the suggestion that Kyiv must cede control of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to Russia, which illegally occupies most but not all of the territory. Ukraine and its European allies have firmly resisted the idea of handing over land.

In an exchange with reporters on Sunday night, Trump appeared frustrated with Zelenskyy, claiming the Ukrainian leader "hasn’t yet read the proposal."

Trump has had a hot-and-cold relationship with Zelenskyy since winning a second term, insisting the war was a waste of US taxpayers’ money. Trump has also repeatedly urged the Ukrainians to cede land to Russia to end the nearly four-year conflict.

Zelenskyy said Monday that Trump "certainly wants to end the war. ... Surely, he has his own vision. We live here, from within we see details and nuances, we perceive everything much deeper, because this is our motherland."

He said the current US peace plan differs from earlier versions in that it now has 20 points, down from 28, after he said some "obvious anti-Ukrainian points were removed."

Europeans back Ukraine

Starmer, Macron and Merz strongly backed Kyiv, with the UK leader saying Monday that the push for peace was at a "critical stage," and stressed the need for "a just and lasting ceasefire."

Merz, meanwhile, said he was "skeptical" about some details in documents released by the US. "We have to talk about it. That’s why we are here," he said. "The coming days ... could be a decisive time for all of us."

European leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by solid security guarantees both from Europe and the US to deter Russia from attacking again. Trump has not given explicit guarantees in public.

Zelenskyy and his European allies have repeatedly accused Putin of slow-walking the talks to press ahead with the invasion as his forces are making slow but steady gains while waves of missiles and drones are pummeling Ukrainian infrastructure.

Russia and Ukraine exchange aerial strikes

Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia fired 110 drones of various types across the country last night. They said air defenses neutralized 84 drones, 24 more have struck their targets.

Several regions of Ukraine faced emergency blackouts Tuesday due to Russia’s prior attacks on energy infrastructure, according to Ukraine’s national energy operator, Ukrenergo.

Ukraine, in its turn, continued its drone attacks on Russia.

Russian air defenses destroyed 121 Ukrainian drones overnight above various Russian regions and occupied Crimea, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday. In Chuvashia, a region about 900 kilometers (about 560 miles) northeast of the border with Ukraine, the attack damaged residential buildings and injured nine people, local governor Oleg Nikolayev said in an online statement.

Ukraine’s Security Service carried out a drone attack on an LPG terminal at the port of Temryuk in Russia’s Krasnodar region on Dec. 5, according to an official with knowledge of the operation who spoke to The Associated Press.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said the strike sparked a large fire at the facility. More than 20 LPG storage tanks were set ablaze and burned for more than three days, he said. The attack also damaged railway tank cars, an intermediate refueling tank, and a loading and unloading rack.

World

Iran’s Nuclear Chief Stresses His Country’s Need for Nuclear Industry

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, second left, and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami, second right, are seen during the "National Day of Nuclear Technology," in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2025. (Iranian Presidency/AFP)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, second left, and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami, second right, are seen during the "National Day of Nuclear Technology," in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2025. (Iranian Presidency/AFP)
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Iran’s Nuclear Chief Stresses His Country’s Need for Nuclear Industry

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, second left, and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami, second right, are seen during the "National Day of Nuclear Technology," in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2025. (Iranian Presidency/AFP)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, second left, and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran chief Mohammad Eslami, second right, are seen during the "National Day of Nuclear Technology," in Tehran, Iran, April 9, 2025. (Iranian Presidency/AFP)

Iran’s growing need for clean and sustainable energy has made nuclear development an “unquestionable necessity”, the head of the country’s Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) said on Monday, the Tasnim new agency reported.

Nuclear chief Mohammad Eslami said assassinations and military attacks carried by Iran’s enemies has failed to destroy the country's nuclear industry. “They have to get rid of this illusion,” he noted.

Speaking at Student Day commemorations in Tehran, Eslami noted the National Security Strategy approved by US President Donald Trump.

“Besides the emphasis on progress in various fields, the strategy mainly stresses technology development. Therefore, the US policy is based on power and the creation of a broad global rule led by the US, or the America First concept,” he said.

He accused Washington of using sanctions and political pressure as a tool to subjugate any country not serving such a policy, similar to what is now happening in Venezuela.

“(US Secretary of State Marco) Rubio said that Iran has no right to possess nuclear power, which means that the issue is not related to Tehran’s producing of a nuclear bomb,” he noted.

Eslami, who also acts as Vice-President, highlighted significant progress in the construction of the second and third units of the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

He said more than 6,000 people are now working on the plant’s new units. The first unit alone has delivered “72 billion kilowatt hours of electricity” to the national grid and has a minimum operational lifespan of 50 years, he added.

Eslami said the current world order is plagued by “the law of the jungle and double standards,” but noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) remains an institution under the United Nations, making it essential for Iran “to prevent accusations of deviation from regulations by adhering to the frameworks.”

“Iran has one problem with the IAEA: the political pressure exerted by the US, the E3 countries and the Zionist entity,” he added

“The accusation that they have been making against our industry for over 25 years is that we are pursuing military action and that we are not transparent,” Eslami said, adding that Iran has engaged in nuclear talks for 25 years before it signed the nuclear deal in 2015.

Eslami stressed that his country’s nuclear policies are run by an experienced system, not by one person. “Iran has an interest to follow such system until all sanctions are lifted. We are working to resolve this problem,” he said.