Iran war making Netherlands less safe: Experts expect attacks on Jewish & U.S. targets

The economic consequences of the Iran war are already clearly visible, especially in fuel prices. But this weekend, it became clear that the war in the Middle East is also making the Netherlands less safe, after two attacks on Jewish targets. Experts expect more attacks as the war continues, Trouw reports.

On Friday, arson was committed at a synagogue in Rotterdam. On Saturday, two perpetrators placed an explosive at a Jewish School in Amsterdam. The police arrested four young suspects for the Rotterdam attack. The Amsterdam perpetrators are still at large.

Justice Minister David van Weel does not rule out that these two attacks are connected, also to a similar attack on a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, last week. The “Movement of the Righteous” claimed all three attacks. Videos of the attacks were also distributed in a similar manner on a pro-Iranian propaganda channel.

The terrorist threat level in the Netherlands has been “substantially high” for some time, according to the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV). And Jewish targets have always been vulnerable. The war in Iran has created a new threat.

Early this month, the Clingendael Institute warned in a report that the American and Israeli attacks on Iran and Lebanon would have major economic consequences and impact safety in Europe and the United States. As the war continues, the consequences will increase.

Koen Aartsma, a security expert at Clingendael, thinks Iran will strike at targets in the Netherlands that are directly or indirectly affiliated with the U.S. and Israel. He mentioned “embassies, schools, synagogues, and other Jewish institutions.” There may also be assassinations of critical Iranians, and the unrest and fear within the Iranian community will increase, he said.

Edwin Bakker, a professor of terrorism and counterterrorism at Leiden University, pointed out to Trouw that there were no attacks on Jewish institutions in the Netherlands as a result of Israel’s war in Gaza, but two attacks shortly after Israel and the U.S. started attacking Iran. “That may have to do with the Iranian regime’s call to do so,” he said. According to Trouw, Iran follows Russia’s example and uses criminal networks to carry out attacks.

The attacks in the Middle East will also result in even more people fleeing war and violence, putting more pressure on the Netherlands’ already strained asylum reception system.