Iranian man in Holland got shot
- Thread starter Messy
- Start date
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
A police official of Iranian origin was seriously injured in a shooting in Schoonhoven early on Thursday and was taken to hospital with serious injuries, police chief Janny Knol has confirmed.
The 36-year-old man was shot shortly before 7 am. Several sources told the Telegraaf the victim works as an IT specialist at the police service centre. Knol confirmed he is a police employee but gave no further details about his job.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting are still unclear.
The man is reported to have fled Iran about six years ago with his family because of his opposition to the Islamic regime. The police have not confirmed that information.
Justice minister David van Weel said he had been informed about the shooting and that authorities are taking the victim’s background into account.
A year ago the Dutch security service AIVD warned that Iranian nationals in the Netherlands are particularly at risk of persecution by the authorities from their home country.
In 2024 there was a failed attack on Iranian activist Siamak Tadayon Tahmasbi in Haarlem and murders of Iranian activists in 2015 and 2017 are thought to have been ordered by the regime.
Earlier this week Van Weel suggested there could be an Iranian link to the minor explosions outside a synagogue in Rotterdam and a Jewish school in Amsterdam.
The 36-year-old man was shot shortly before 7 am. Several sources told the Telegraaf the victim works as an IT specialist at the police service centre. Knol confirmed he is a police employee but gave no further details about his job.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting are still unclear.
The man is reported to have fled Iran about six years ago with his family because of his opposition to the Islamic regime. The police have not confirmed that information.
Justice minister David van Weel said he had been informed about the shooting and that authorities are taking the victim’s background into account.
A year ago the Dutch security service AIVD warned that Iranian nationals in the Netherlands are particularly at risk of persecution by the authorities from their home country.
In 2024 there was a failed attack on Iranian activist Siamak Tadayon Tahmasbi in Haarlem and murders of Iranian activists in 2015 and 2017 are thought to have been ordered by the regime.
Earlier this week Van Weel suggested there could be an Iranian link to the minor explosions outside a synagogue in Rotterdam and a Jewish school in Amsterdam.
Supposedly they have intelligence that Iran activated sleeper cells in the US and probably elsewhere. Iran probably has active intelligence operatives all over as well. They have nothing to lose at this point and will settle old scores and eliminate anyone that could affect and participate in regime change.
Teacher Terry
Well-known Member
I had been considering a trip to New York City this fall, but I’ve taken that off my list as it’s a favorite target for terrorists, and I’m also concerned about the activated sleeper cells from Iran. Unless he was somebody important, I’m surprised that they would bother to hunt him down in another country.
That's the thing why him although it would send a message to ex pats or those that are thinking about leaving. But then again Iran is having internet blackouts so how do would the Iranian public get their news. The murder has no messaging value if they public doesn't know.
hollydolly
SF VIP
- Location
- London England
exactly what I was thinking... so I'm wondering if this man was in fact a double agent
Messy
Member
They don't have more information yet. He is still alive, but he was severely wounded.
They talked to his neighbour who helped him.
Buurvrouw hielp neergeschoten Iran-criticus Schoonhoven: 'Hij zei dat hij ruzie had'
The circumstances of the shooting are therefore still under investigation, but according to this resident, the man himself stated that he had an argument with someone, although it is not known with whom.
Messy
Member
Following the shooting of a man of Iranian descent in Schoonhoven, extra security measures are being taken to better protect Iranians in the Netherlands. It is suspected that the Iranian regime is behind the attempted murder, something that would not be the first time.
Minister of Justice David van Weel pointed to a possible involvement of the Iranian regime shortly after the shooting on Thursday morning. That same evening, he stated that "given the Iranian background of the victim, the security services are on alert and are taking the necessary measures." On Friday, Van Weel added that the victim had previously spoken out clearly against the Iranian regime.
To date, the security services have not established a direct link between the attempted murder and the Iranian regime. Nevertheless, Van Weel implies between the lines that this possibility is being seriously considered.
The past shows that Iranian involvement is a realistic scenario. "The fact that Iran is active abroad is not new," intelligence expert Jelle Postma tells NU.nl. "That has been happening for many years, also in the form of attacks on political opponents." Postma emphasizes that there is no evidence yet of a link between the attempted murder in Schoonhoven and Iran, but that it does fit a pattern of previous attacks.
In the Netherlands, three attacks are known in which, according to the AIVD, Iranian authorities were involved. In 2015 and 2017, individuals of Iranian descent who had spoken out against the Iranian regime were murdered in Almere and The Hague. In 2024, security services managed to thwart an attempted murder of an Iranian human rights activist in Haarlem.
Recruitment via social media
The pattern is also visible abroad, such as in Sweden and Denmark, adds Professor of Terrorism and Political Violence Bart Schuurman. Representatives of the Iranian regime have, for example, recruited criminal gangs—sometimes even youth gangs—there.
According to research by the Swedish security service SÄPO, these criminals committed or prepared attacks on the Israeli embassies in Stockholm and Copenhagen in 2024 and 2025. For instance, young people have been arrested for shooting at embassy buildings.
This recruitment takes place via social media, such as anonymous Telegram channels. "They do not have the attacks carried out so much by their own intelligence officers, but by criminals who have little connection to Iran and whom they recruit here," says Schuurman.
Deploying their own intelligence officers or embassy staff is simply too risky. "If things go wrong and someone with an Iranian passport is caught, the suspicion is easier to prove. That is why everything is done through intermediaries."
Social media as a weapon of foreign states
This recruitment via social media is a strategy also used by other countries. For example, Russia is suspected of recruiting people in this way for sabotage operations. Consider, for instance, three Dutch teenagers whom Russia approached via Telegram. They were given money to go to the Europol office in The Hague with a special 'Wi-Fi sniffer' to intercept digital data. Earlier this week, Minister of Justice Van Weel also mentioned the possibility that the perpetrators of Friday's attack at a Rotterdam synagogue were involved through recruitment, possibly by Iran. In the days that followed, explosives also went off at a Jewish school in Amsterdam and at an American bank office in Amsterdam's Zuidas district.
The police are also concerned about attempts by other countries to recruit in the Netherlands via social media, Police Chief Youssef Ait Daoud told de Volkskrant on Friday. As head of the State Interference Team, he is responsible for intelligence and national threats.
The three motives behind Iranian attacks abroad
According to Postma, Iran has three motives for recruiting people for these types of attacks. First, it can create fear among Iranians at home and abroad, making them less likely to resist or speak out against the regime.
"A second goal may be to prevent certain information from being leaked," says Postma. That was not the case with the attack in Schoonhoven, because the victim who was shot always openly shared the information he had and expressed criticism of the regime on social media.
"The third goal is that the tension of a conflict that seems far away becomes palpable in one's own society as well," Postma continues. "In this way, you sow fear in countries that might be considering providing support, for example in securing the Strait of Hormuz."
Na moordpoging in Schoonhoven wijzen vingers naar Iran: 'Past in patroon'
Minister of Justice David van Weel pointed to a possible involvement of the Iranian regime shortly after the shooting on Thursday morning. That same evening, he stated that "given the Iranian background of the victim, the security services are on alert and are taking the necessary measures." On Friday, Van Weel added that the victim had previously spoken out clearly against the Iranian regime.
To date, the security services have not established a direct link between the attempted murder and the Iranian regime. Nevertheless, Van Weel implies between the lines that this possibility is being seriously considered.
The past shows that Iranian involvement is a realistic scenario. "The fact that Iran is active abroad is not new," intelligence expert Jelle Postma tells NU.nl. "That has been happening for many years, also in the form of attacks on political opponents." Postma emphasizes that there is no evidence yet of a link between the attempted murder in Schoonhoven and Iran, but that it does fit a pattern of previous attacks.
In the Netherlands, three attacks are known in which, according to the AIVD, Iranian authorities were involved. In 2015 and 2017, individuals of Iranian descent who had spoken out against the Iranian regime were murdered in Almere and The Hague. In 2024, security services managed to thwart an attempted murder of an Iranian human rights activist in Haarlem.
Recruitment via social media
The pattern is also visible abroad, such as in Sweden and Denmark, adds Professor of Terrorism and Political Violence Bart Schuurman. Representatives of the Iranian regime have, for example, recruited criminal gangs—sometimes even youth gangs—there.
According to research by the Swedish security service SÄPO, these criminals committed or prepared attacks on the Israeli embassies in Stockholm and Copenhagen in 2024 and 2025. For instance, young people have been arrested for shooting at embassy buildings.
This recruitment takes place via social media, such as anonymous Telegram channels. "They do not have the attacks carried out so much by their own intelligence officers, but by criminals who have little connection to Iran and whom they recruit here," says Schuurman.
Deploying their own intelligence officers or embassy staff is simply too risky. "If things go wrong and someone with an Iranian passport is caught, the suspicion is easier to prove. That is why everything is done through intermediaries."
Social media as a weapon of foreign states
This recruitment via social media is a strategy also used by other countries. For example, Russia is suspected of recruiting people in this way for sabotage operations. Consider, for instance, three Dutch teenagers whom Russia approached via Telegram. They were given money to go to the Europol office in The Hague with a special 'Wi-Fi sniffer' to intercept digital data. Earlier this week, Minister of Justice Van Weel also mentioned the possibility that the perpetrators of Friday's attack at a Rotterdam synagogue were involved through recruitment, possibly by Iran. In the days that followed, explosives also went off at a Jewish school in Amsterdam and at an American bank office in Amsterdam's Zuidas district.
The police are also concerned about attempts by other countries to recruit in the Netherlands via social media, Police Chief Youssef Ait Daoud told de Volkskrant on Friday. As head of the State Interference Team, he is responsible for intelligence and national threats.
The three motives behind Iranian attacks abroad
According to Postma, Iran has three motives for recruiting people for these types of attacks. First, it can create fear among Iranians at home and abroad, making them less likely to resist or speak out against the regime.
"A second goal may be to prevent certain information from being leaked," says Postma. That was not the case with the attack in Schoonhoven, because the victim who was shot always openly shared the information he had and expressed criticism of the regime on social media.
"The third goal is that the tension of a conflict that seems far away becomes palpable in one's own society as well," Postma continues. "In this way, you sow fear in countries that might be considering providing support, for example in securing the Strait of Hormuz."
Na moordpoging in Schoonhoven wijzen vingers naar Iran: 'Past in patroon'