The Mossad intelligence agency on Sunday identified Sardar Ammar, head of Unit 11,000 within Iran’s Quds Force, as the mastermind behind an international network allegedly responsible for organizing and directing attempted attacks against Jews and Israelis around the world, including in Europe and Australia.
According to a statement from Mossad, Ammar’s covert unit established a network designed to carry out acts of terrorism and vandalism targeting Jewish institutions and individuals in Israel and abroad. The agency said the network has been linked to foiled plots in Greece, Australia and Germany over the past year.
“These repeated failures,” the Mossad said, “led to arrests and the exposure of the network.” The agency claims Ammar oversaw efforts to target Jewish sites and figures from Australia to Europe.
The network reportedly operated on two levels: initial acts of vandalism, such as arson attacks against Jewish-owned businesses, Chabad centers and synagogues; followed by more direct physical assaults, particularly against prominent figures in Jewish communities, such as a planned attack in Germany, which was disrupted.
In May and June 2024, amid what Israeli officials describe as an Iranian campaign to exact a toll from Jewish Diaspora communities, the front door of a Chabad center in Athens and a nearby kosher restaurant were set on fire. Intelligence-led investigations led to the arrest of six operatives of Iranian, Afghan and Greek descent. Those involved were later sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight to eleven years.
Another attack occurred far from Europe—in Sydney, Australia—where in October 2024, the Lewis Continental Kitchen kosher café was set ablaze. No casualties were reported. The incident led to the arrest of several suspects, including Said Mousavi, who authorities say led the cell. According to Mossad, that cell, too, was directed by Ammar’s terror network from Iran.
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The head of the Iranian terror apparatus, Sardar Ammar (upper left), and other prominent commanders from among the Quds Force's terror apparatus
Despite arrests and ongoing investigations, Mossad says Iran’s efforts continued. In June 2025, Danish citizen Ali Hasan Sarwari, of Afghan origin, was arrested in Denmark. Authorities say Sarwari had gathered intelligence on Jewish community leaders in Germany, including Josef Schuster and Volker Beck and on a kosher deli in Berlin.
A joint investigation involving Danish and German authorities, with assistance from Mossad, revealed Sarwari had traveled to Iran for operational briefings. He reportedly received precise instructions before returning to Germany under the cover of a family trip, during which he carried out assigned surveillance. He was arrested upon returning to Denmark, where legal proceedings are ongoing.
Iranian operatives have been instructed to maintain a high level of deniability, Mossad said, operating under directives to preserve “a space of plausible deniability” to avoid direct attribution to the Iranian regime. To this end, the terror network uses compartmentalized cells, recruits foreign nationals, relies on criminal proxies and communicates through covert channels.
“For years, the Iranian regime has used terrorism as a tool to extract a price from Israel by targeting innocent civilians worldwide, all while avoiding military, political or economic consequences,” Mossad said in its statement. “Under this logic, Iran’s terror arms act to maintain plausible deniability, detaching their violent activity from direct links to Tehran. The ongoing international campaign against Iranian terrorism is stripping Iran of that deniability, removing its immunity and imposing significant diplomatic costs.”