Amid escalating tensions between Iran and the US, 22 countries have issued a joint statement condemning Iran's use of international and local criminal gangs for plots in Europe, North America, and Australia.
The statement, issued by countries including the US, France, and Germany, calls on Iran to 'stop' overseas attacks, which undermine national sovereignty and international norms.
The group of 22 countries accuses Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' intelligence services and its foreign operations branch, the Quds Force, of engaging in 'lethal plotting and malign actions' against Iranian dissidents, journalists, and Jewish and Israeli communities and interests.
The statement also accuses Iran of being behind a campaign of attacks across Europe targeting Jewish communities, Iranian journalists, and US journalists, and claims responsibility for attacks targeting Jewish communities in the UK, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
The shaky truce in place for the last two months has fallen flat, with Iran and the US resuming fighting in the Middle East, with Washington hitting surveillance, communications, and air defense facilities, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards announcing a 'punitive operation' targeting a US base in Jordan.
