Authorities charged Abdelkrim S., 34, and his partner Sabrina B., 33, on May 4 with conspiring with a criminal terrorist organisation and placed them in pre-trial detention.

The case, known as “Marco Polo” and revealed Thursday by French news website Mediapart, signals a revival in Iranian state-sponsored terrorism in Europe, according to a report by France’s General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) consulted by AFP.

“Since 2015, the Iranian (secret) services have resumed a targeted killing policy,” the French security agency wrote, adding that “the threat has worsened again in the context of the Israel-Hamas war”.

The alleged objective for Iranian intelligence was to target civilians and sow fear in Europe among the country’s political opposition as well as among Jews and Israelis.

Iran is accused of recruiting criminals, including drug lords, to conduct such operations.

Abdelkrim S. was previously sentenced to 10 years behind bars over a killing in Marseille and released on probation in July 2023.

He is accused of being the main France-based operative for an Iran-sponsored terrorist cell that planned acts of violence in France and Germany.

A former fellow inmate is believed to have connected the suspect with the cell’s coordinator, a major drug trafficker from the Lyon area who likely visited Iran in May, according to the DGSI.

The group intended to attack a Paris-based former employee at an Israeli security firm and three of his colleagues residing in the Paris suburbs.

Three Israeli-German citizens in Munich and Berlin were also among the targets.

Investigators believe that Abdelkrim S. despite his probation made multiple trips to Germany for scouting purposes, including travels to Berlin with his wife.

He denied the accusations and said he simply had purchases to make.

French authorities are also crediting the cell with plots to set fire to four Israeli-owned companies in the south of France between late December 2023 and early January 2024, said a police source.

Abdelkrim S. while in detention rejected the claims, the source added, saying he had acted as a go-between on Telegram for the mastermind and other individuals involved in a planned insurance scam.