A damning new intelligence report released by the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz Bayern) has exposed the Iranian regime’s extensive use of state terrorism, espionage, and proxy operatives across Europe—especially Germany—while identifying the now-banned Islamic Centre Hamburg as the regime’s central propaganda hub on the continent.
The 2024 report leaves no doubt about Tehran’s malign intentions. “Iranian intelligence services use state-terrorist tools to achieve their objectives,” it states bluntly. These operations are not limited to surveillance. “Iranian intelligence often engages in activities that serve to prepare acts of state terrorism—including kidnapping and even assassination.”
The report notes that Tehran does not rely solely on its own operatives. “In such cases, the Iranian regime deploys proxies—often individuals linked to criminal gangs or networks—for espionage or direct action,” the document reveals.
#German Authorities Warn of Increasing Espionage and Terrorism Activities by #Iranian Regimehttps://t.co/5r882bWNVv
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 19, 2024
Islamic Centre Hamburg Banned as Tehran’s Main Propaganda Arm
At the heart of Iran’s influence operations in Europe stood the Islamic Centre Hamburg (Islamisches Zentrum Hamburg, IZH), which the report identifies as “the most important official representation of the Iranian regime in Germany and one of its most significant propaganda hubs in Europe.”
In July 2024, the German government officially banned the IZH and its affiliated organizations following sweeping investigations and raids that began in late 2023. The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior highlighted that the Islamic Association of Bavaria in Munich operated as a branch of the IZH, maintaining close ties to the Hamburg-based center. The center had long served as a conduit for disseminating Iran’s hardline ideology and exporting the principles of the clerical dictatorship under the supervision of the regime’s Supreme Leader.
The head of the IZH, the report notes, was traditionally “a certified Islamic jurist appointed by Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and served as the representative of the Supreme Leader in Central Europe.” This setup reveals how deeply Iran had embedded its state ideology—particularly Khomeinist doctrine—into its European operations.
#Iran News:
Spy Network in #Germany, Secret Agent Lists and Quds Force Ties Exposedhttps://t.co/2XasUffRKd— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 28, 2024
Exporting Theocracy and Building Militias
Bavarian intelligence officials underline that the regime in Tehran views itself not only as a nation-state but as the ideological center of a transnational revolutionary project. “The export of the Islamic Revolution and support for Shia communities abroad, particularly in the Middle East, is part of Iran’s strategic objective,” the report explains.
That export strategy has historically included the IRGC’s Quds Force, responsible for military operations beyond Iran’s borders, including the creation and arming of proxy militias such as Hezbollah in Lebanon during the 1980s. The Bavarian report also explicitly warns that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard continues to serve as a principal vehicle for advancing these aims.
Hessen’s Prime Minister Boris Rhein Urges Closure of #Iranian Consulates in #Germany Over Middle East Tensionshttps://t.co/IybSgZEOHW
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) October 10, 2024
Espionage and Assassination Plots
The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS), the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization (IRGC-IO), and the Quds Force are all named in the report as major actors involved in international espionage and covert operations.
In a stark illustration of Tehran’s reach and brazenness, the German Foreign Ministry responded to the regime’s execution of a German national by closing the Iranian consulates in Frankfurt, Munich, and Hamburg in 2024. The report confirms that these diplomatic missions functioned as “legal residencies” (diplomatic covers) for Iranian intelligence operations.
#Iran News: #German Government’s 16th Human Rights Report Highlights Severe Violations in Iranhttps://t.co/qkt6lwAyJ0
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) December 20, 2024
A Regime Built on Repression, Cloaked in Religion
The Bavarian report also exposes the ideological underpinnings of the Iranian regime’s activities. According to the analysis, the Khomeinist worldview integrates religion, politics, and law under the banner of divine rule, rejecting secular governance outright.
The report serves as a sharp warning not just about Tehran’s actions abroad, but about the true nature of its ruling system: a brutal theocracy that relies on coercion, deception, and violence—not only to suppress dissent at home but to silence opponents abroad.
As Germany and other EU states reassess their diplomatic and security relations with the Iranian regime, Bavaria’s findings make one thing clear: appeasement is not an option. Tehran’s presence in Europe is not benign—it is a threat.