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In his testimony, Natland claimed he only agreed to the contract to pay for drugs and believed the scheme was a joke, planning to inflict a self-inflicted injury to avoid the killing.
He stated, "I wasn't an international assassin. I thought people had this impression and expected me to be this guy.
I knew I wasn't."
Prosecution evidence showed Natland later tried to discourage his girlfriend from testifying during phone calls from prison.
Prosecutor Alistair Richardson said, "The reality is the defendant is a troubled but dangerous young man.
A young man who agreed to kill in a foreign country for money."
The British government previously sanctioned the Foxtrot Network and its fugitive leader, Rawa Majid, for attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets across Europe on behalf of Iran.
Frank Ferguson, head of the CPS special crime and counterterrorism division, noted, "This case shows how organised crime networks operate across borders and exploit young people to carry out serious violence."
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Mrs. Justice Cheema-Grubb remanded Natland into custody, with sentencing scheduled for October 2026.
