Ramin Yektaparast, the main suspect in organizing an attack on a Jewish cultural center in Essen

Analysts say that while facing protests at home, Iran is increasingly going after what it sees as foreign threats to the regime and is using criminal gangs to add a cloak of deniability. “They are increasing the pressure and trying to make some groups feel insecure. It is not acceptable at all,” said Roderich Kiesewetter, a German parliamentarian who has pushed for tougher action in response to Tehran’s heavy-handed crackdown on domestic protests but has only succeeded in getting himself banned from entering Iran.