China, Iran Recruiting ‘Pawns’ to Target Critics in US, Intelligence Agencies Warn

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi shakes hands with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during a meeting at the Diaoyutai state guest house in Beijing, China on December 31, 2019. Noel Celis-Pool/Getty Images

China, Iran, and other repressive foreign governments are targeting their critics in the United States and recruiting “pawns” to help facilitate their schemes, according to U.S. intelligence agencies.

In a new bulletin titled “Don’t Be a Pawn of Repressive Foreign Governments,” the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and the FBI warn individuals and organizations in the U.S. with access to personal data to be wary of “improper” efforts to obtain that information or other forms of support for “malicious foreign operations.”