Spanish security forces launched an operation Tuesday targeting a Hezbollah cell in Barcelona, local media reported.
The investigation is focused on Lebanese nationals and involves the country's intelligence services, according to the Spanish outlets El Confidencial and Europa Press, citing sources familiar with the probe. Additional arrests are expected.
The investigation is being overseen by the state prosecutor's office, and the arrests and searches are being carried out under court order. Last year, authorities dismantled a cell in Catalonia that was handling logistical tasks for the terrorist organization Hezbollah, in a joint operation with German authorities. That investigation centered on suspicions the group was involved in the construction of over 1,000 explosive drones. Three suspects were arrested in Barcelona and Badalona, and another was detained in Germany. The operation followed the discovery by Spanish authorities of large quantities of materials suitable for building such drones.
On Tuesday, Israel's National Security Council warned of a significant rise in terrorist threats against Israelis and Jews worldwide ahead of the spring holidays and summer travel season of 2025. Terrorist groups directed by Iran and its proxies, including Hamas and other global jihadist groups, are increasing efforts to target Israeli interests abroad, particularly in light of the ongoing fighting in Gaza.
According to the council's report, Iran remains the chief instigator of global terrorism targeting Israeli and Jewish individuals, both directly and through its proxies. It continues to use terrorism as a central tool of policy and as retaliation for the assassinations of senior Iranian, Hezbollah, and Hamas operatives amid the Iron Swords war.
Since October 7, several Hezbollah and individual operatives of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have been arrested across Europe, as Western intelligence agencies identified Iran's attempts to collaborate with criminal networks to conduct terrorist activity.
