A Norwegian teenager has been found guilty by a UK court of plotting to assassinate a target on British soil as part of a hit allegedly commissioned by an Iran-linked criminal network. The case is being seen as further evidence of Tehran's use of organised crime figures to carry out attacks against perceived enemies on foreign soil, adding to concerns among UK security officials about state-linked threats operating within Britain.

The defendant, whose age places him among a growing number of young recruits used by criminal networks for contract violence, was convicted following a trial examining the alleged plot's links to an Iran-backed gang. Authorities have increasingly flagged the recruitment of young, often foreign nationals to carry out plots on behalf of hostile states, with UK security services previously warning of a rise in Iran-linked plots against dissidents and other targets based in Britain.