Milan probes alleged Iran-linked threats against dissidents in Italy

Milan prosecutors opened an investigation into two Iranians living in Italy over alleged threats directed at compatriots opposed to the Tehran government, ordering searches of their homes and naming them as Jalilian Farshid and Adib Ansari Rohoulah. The warrant cited aggravated threats and alleged participation in an association aimed at terrorism and subversion of democracy, placing the case squarely in the realm of political intimidation rather than a routine harassment complaint.

One alleged threat came by phone, when an Iranian dissident said she was told she had been sentenced to death for supporting the opposition and that her assets in Iran would be confiscated. Another threat was traced to an Instagram account that targeted anyone who hoped Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s former shah, would come to power. Authorities said the two suspects were known to attend an Islamic center in Milan owned by the Iranian consulate, a detail that has sharpened concern about how dissident communities can be monitored or pressured inside European cities.

The warrant linked the alleged threats to a wave of protest activity in Iran in January 2026 and to a sit-in by dissidents outside the Iranian consulate in Milan in March. That timeline matters because it suggests the alleged intimidation did not emerge in isolation, but alongside public opposition activity that reached from Iran into Italy’s streets. The city’s consular district has become a focal point for that tension, with dissidents, diplomats and Italian investigators all moving through the same narrow political space.

The case also fits a broader European response to what officials and rights groups describe as transnational repression. The European Council sanctioned eight individuals and one entity on July 15, 2025 over serious human rights violations and transnational repression linked to Iran. The G7 Rapid Response Mechanism followed with a statement on September 12, 2025 condemning Iranian transnational repression and other malign activities. Amnesty International said on May 28 that Iranian authorities were intensifying repression through mass arbitrary arrests, executions and asset confiscations.

For Iranian exiles in Italy and across Europe, the Milan probe underscores a hardening reality: political refuge has not guaranteed safety from pressure tied to the state they fled. Italian judicial authorities are now testing whether threats against dissidents in Milan were part of that wider pattern, and whether European law can keep pace with intimidation that crosses borders as easily as people do.