The Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, has alleged that Iran is actively sponsoring terrorism in Nigeria and attempting to expand its influence through extremist movements in the country.
Freeman made the remarks during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, where he warned that Tehran’s activities were not limited to the Middle East but had spread into parts of Africa, including Nigeria and the wider West African region.
According to him, some groups operating in Nigeria are connected to Iran and receive ideological or operational backing from the Iranian government.
“We know that there are certain movements, for example, the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, which is sponsored and backed by the Iranian regime, And this is not me saying this we’ve seen that documented by the Iranian regime itself. Ayatollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader, posted on X, his support and his backing. So that’s very open. There are other areas as well that Iran is working to destabilise, not only Nigeria, but all of West Africa.”
The envoy said Iran’s influence forms part of a wider global agenda that has been linked to the sponsorship of militant groups and violent campaigns in different regions of the world.
Freeman also addressed the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, stating that Israel’s actions against Iran were driven by security concerns.
He argued that Tehran’s nuclear ambitions and missile development programmes posed a serious threat to Israel and its allies.
“For 47 years, Iran has had a policy of ‘death to Israel, death to America,’” he said. “Its entire state structure has been sponsoring terrorism, sponsoring organisations around the world to kill Israelis, to kill Jews, to spread terror.
“We’ve seen Iran spreading terror, developing a ballistic missile programme and a nuclear programme. When a country says it wants to destroy you and they are trying to build a nuclear weapon, it’s absolutely justified indeed, it is a moral obligation to take the action needed to stop a country, in this case Iran, who wants to destroy Israel.”
Freeman also responded to criticisms about Israel’s own alleged nuclear capabilities. He insisted that the issue being discussed was Iran’s actions and not Israel’s military strength.
“Israel has never said that we have nuclear weapons. That’s your statement. Israel’s policy has always been that we won’t be the first country to introduce nuclear weapons into the region. But the issue here is not about Israel.
“The issue here is Iran. Iran is the only country in the world, in the United Nations, which expressly desires to wipe another country off the face of the earth. Iran has stated its policy is to destroy Israel, to wipe Israel off the map, and to kill every single person.”
The ambassador further accused Iran of supporting violent networks beyond the Middle East. He cited attacks in different countries and said intelligence reports had repeatedly linked Tehran to extremist operations in several regions.
“We’ve seen them acting in Nigeria. We’ve seen these people acting all across the world in order to spread disturbance and carry out their aim of destroying Israel,” he said.
Freeman also criticised the Iranian government over its handling of internal protests. According to him, the regime had used force against its own citizens during demonstrations.
“Less than two months ago, there were millions of people protesting against the Iranian regime. The regime’s response was to gun them down and massacre them. Anywhere between 30,000 and 70,000 Iranians were shot dead for purely saying they weren’t happy with their government. This is an illegitimate government.”
On Israel’s recent military operations, the envoy said the country tries to minimise civilian casualties by targeting only strategic military facilities.
“Israel does everything we can to limit innocent civilian casualties. We carry out pinpoint, incredibly accurate strikes to target Iran’s ballistic missile programme, nuclear programme, and regime structures. Iran, on the other hand, is attacking civilians. Their missiles have killed children, the elderly, carers, and people from all over. They are carrying out war crimes to maximise civilian casualties.”
He added that Israel remains willing to work with Nigeria on security cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts.
“Nigeria and Israel are strong allies and strong friends. We work together on many areas. As Prime Minister Netanyahu said, we are willing and eager to partner with Nigeria according to Nigeria’s needs and desires in order to help tackle instability,” he said.
In recent years, both countries have continued to strengthen diplomatic and security cooperation, with discussions covering intelligence sharing, agriculture, health, and technology partnerships.
