Europol warns Iran crisis raises threat of terror, extremism and cyberattacks

The Middle East conflict will have “immediate repercussions” for European Union security with an increased threat of terrorism, serious and organised crime as well as violent extremism and cyberattacks, European police body Europol tells Spanish news agency EFE.

Europol spokesman Jan Op Gen Oorth says he expects to see more cyberattacks against European infrastructure and an increase in online fraud using increasingly sophisticated Artificial Intelligence and exploiting the flurry of information swirling about the conflict online, EFE reported.

Groups linked to Iran could seek to carry out “destabilizing activities” within the EU, he adds, referring to groups linked to the so-called Axis of Resistance, the network of anti-American and Israeli Shi’ite militias in countries including Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen. These could include terrorist attacks, intimidation campaigns, terrorist financing and cybercrime.

“The level of terrorist threat and violent extremism in EU territory is considered high,” he tells the news agency.

The terror threat could be heightened by individuals acting alone or small cells acting on their own initiative, he said.

“The rapid spread of polarizing content on the internet can accelerate short-term radicalisation processes among diaspora communities within the EU and other individuals,” he says.