(Bloomberg) -- Iran dismissed as “preposterous and ridiculous” claims by investigators in Sweden and Belgium that the Islamic Republic has recruited children to attack Israeli targets in their countries.
Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the allegations, reported by Bloomberg on Saturday, are “absurd, shameful and immoral,” adding that Iran “never had a proxy” nor needed one, according to the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency.
According to Swedish police reports, a 15-year-old boy was detained earlier this year after he tried to take a taxi to the Israeli Embassy while carrying a loaded gun. Security services in Brussels also said in May that they found children as young 14 orchestrating an attack on Israel’s mission there.
Both countries have said Iran-affiliated actors are behind the incidents and that they’re part of a new trend. The incidents come as Israel’s war on Iran-backed groups in the Middle East continues with Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza severely weakened.
--With assistance from Arsalan Shahla.
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