UK Sanctions Iranian-Linked Network Over Attack Plots

The Foreign Office targeted alleged members and associates of the Zindashti criminal network, which authorities have linked to Iranian-backed hostile activity. The network is accused of threatening, planning or conducting attacks against people and assets in Britain and beyond, as well as financing efforts to destabilise the country and its allies.

Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti, described as the network’s leader, was among those sanctioned. British, American and European authorities have previously accused him of heading an international drug and trafficking cartel directed by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

Five members of the Zarringhalam family were also targeted for allegedly helping finance destabilisation efforts. Three members of the family were sanctioned by the United States last year for their alleged role in Iran’s shadow banking network, which Washington said laundered billions of dollars through front companies in the UAE and Hong Kong.

Two exchange houses linked to the network, Berelian Exchange and GCM Exchange, were designated in the latest action. Officials said the sanctions will prevent the network from accessing and moving funds in the face of international restrictions. Additional individuals sanctioned include Turkish national Ekrem Oztunc, Azerbaijani national Namiq Salifov and Iranian national Nihat Abdul Kadir Asan.

All are accused of threatening, planning or conducting attacks in the UK or elsewhere.

The European Union last year described the Zindashti network as a criminal group connected to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security. It claimed the network was responsible for numerous acts of transnational repression, including assassinations of Iranian dissidents.

London, Washington and Brussels have accused the network of conducting assassination and kidnapping operations targeting critics of the Iranian government. The UK sanctions announced Monday build on previous actions taken against the same network by the United States in 2024 and the EU last year.

The designations are the latest in a series of measures Britain has taken against Iran in recent months. They follow separate sanctions issued in February targeting members of Iran’s security apparatus for violently suppressing widespread pro-reform protests earlier this year.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said "whenever we are forced to fight, we will fight." Iran has continued to deny involvement in attacks both in the UK and internationally.

“whenever we are forced to fight, we will fight.”

In April, counter-terrorism police launched an investigation into Iranian-linked proxies in connection with a string of arson attacks on London synagogues and other Jewish sites. The probe followed a firebombing at the Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow.

Britain’s terrorism threat level was upgraded from "substantial" to "severe" after a stabbing in Golders Green in April. Security officials cited an increase in Islamist and extreme right-wing ideology amid conflict in the Middle East. Head of Counter Terrorism Policing Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said police are seeing an elevated threat to Jewish and Israeli individuals during the current unpredictable global situation.

The sanctions include asset freezes and travel bans designed to disrupt the network’s financial operations. Officials said those sanctioned had provided services that allowed Iranian-linked actors to bypass international limits on moving funds.