Singapore Warns of Iranian Networks Expanding into Southeast Asia
An assessment by Singapore’s Internal Security Department points to a network involving groups including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades, and the Houthis, which is planning attacks against American and Israeli interests.
Singapore’s Internal Security Department has warned that Iran’s activities and those of its armed networks now pose a threat extending beyond the Middle East, amid growing concerns that the repercussions of the confrontation with Tehran could spread to Southeast Asia and target American, Israeli, and Jewish interests in the region.
The warning was contained in the 2026 Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report, published by the department on Thursday. The report said that ongoing conflicts in the Middle East had increased the likelihood of attacks being carried out outside conflict zones, while simultaneously fueling extremism and increasing the vulnerability of countries and interests associated with the United States and Israel.
The warning is particularly significant for Singapore and Southeast Asia, as authorities believe that the activities of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and groups linked to it are no longer confined to traditional conflict theaters. The report refers to a network involving groups such as Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades, and the Houthis, reflecting the expanding geographical reach of threats associated with Iran.
One of the main cases cited in the report concerns Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood al-Saadi, known as “Baqer,” an individual linked to Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades and the Ahl al-Yameen Islamic movement. Al-Saadi applied three times for visas to enter Singapore in 2023 and 2024, but ultimately never visited the country. Authorities said, however, that he had traveled to Southeast Asia in previous years and therefore could not rule out the possibility that his movements in the region were connected to terrorist plans.
The Internal Security Department said that al-Saadi, who was arrested in Turkey last May and subsequently handed over to the United States, faces allegations of planning attacks against Jewish sites, including a synagogue in New York and two Jewish centers in Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Arizona. Authorities also link him to a series of attacks and attempted attacks targeting American and Jewish interests in Europe and North America.
The case has implications beyond the alleged attempt to enter Singapore, because, according to the report, it demonstrates the ability of Iran-linked networks to operate across long distances and use individuals or intermediaries who are not directly associated with the known structures of armed groups. Singaporean authorities said that al-Saadi would have been prevented from entering the country, while security and intelligence agencies continue to investigate his activities and movements across the region.
Singapore does not view the Iranian threat as separate from the broader regional security environment. Authorities believe that escalating confrontations in the Middle East could encourage retaliatory operations or attacks targeting countries that maintain close relations with Washington and Tel Aviv. They stress that Singapore and its interests remain attractive targets because of its ties with Western countries, as well as its economic significance and strategic position within international trade networks.
The precedents cited in the report indicate that this type of threat is not entirely new to Singapore. In the 1990s, Lebanon’s Hezbollah attempted to recruit Singaporean citizens and gather information on the embassies of the United States and Israel. Members of the group also monitored the country’s coastline to assess the possibility of targeting U.S. military vessels and Israeli commercial ships passing through the Singapore Strait.
However, according to the report’s assessment, what is new is the expansion of the operational tools associated with Iran-backed networks and the diversification of methods used to carry out attacks. So-called “paid terrorism” has emerged, relying on the recruitment of individuals or criminal groups in exchange for money to conduct operations rather than relying exclusively on ideologically committed operatives. Social media and online gaming platforms further increase these networks’ ability to reach individuals who may have no known history of extremism.
The Singaporean warning comes amid an escalation in the confrontation between Iran and the United States, a confrontation that authorities say has raised the level of risk beyond the Middle East. Attacks linked to groups allied with Tehran, particularly the Houthis, have also demonstrated the ability of Iran-backed factions to affect strategic corridors and interests outside their traditional areas of operation, including shipping routes and energy networks.
This means that the threat identified by Singapore does not necessarily involve the presence of an Iranian military structure on its territory, but rather the possibility that indirect networks or cooperating individuals could be used to carry out limited operations with political and security objectives. This pattern makes it more difficult for security agencies to detect threats at an early stage, particularly when perpetrators move across multiple countries or use digital platforms for recruitment and communication.
At the same time, the Internal Security Department warns that other extremist groups, particularly the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, remain capable of exploiting international crises to expand recruitment and online incitement. It said that conflicts in the Middle East do not create only a direct Iranian threat, but also provide a broader environment that various groups can exploit to fuel extremism.
The report therefore reflects a shift in the nature of the risks facing Southeast Asian countries: rivalry and conflict in the Middle East can spill over into the region through financial, human, and digital networks, even without a direct military front. For Singapore, its commercial importance and international relationships make it determined to prevent its territory or surrounding maritime environment from becoming a platform used by Iran-linked groups or others to send political messages or carry out attacks beyond conflict zones.
