MESOPOTAMIA NEWS INTEL – Iran’s Killing Machine: Political Assassinations by the Islamic Regime

By Dr. Ardavan Khoshnood December 25, 2020 BESA CENTER – ISRAEL

Graves of Iranian opposition leaders Fattah Abdoli, Sadegh Sharafkandi, and Homayoun Ardalan, three victims of the Mykonos Restaurant assassinations, in the Père Lachaise Cemetery (Paris), image via WikipediA

Mideast Security and Policy Studies Paper #185

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: It was recently revealed that the Iranian regime was planning to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa. Tehran denied any such plans, but a brief look at the Islamic  regime’s history shows that Iran not only has the will but also the means to conduct assassinations on foreign soil.

Assassinations and terrorism have been the regime’s modus operandi both at home and abroad ever since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. Four institutions in Iran are instrumental to the decision-making, organizing, and execution of subversive operations, especially those conducted on foreign soil: the Office of the Supreme Leader, the Supreme Council of National Security, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Ministry of Intelligence.

It is above all with the assistance of its diplomatic corps that Iran puts its subversive plans into action. Terrorist attacks and assassinations have been conducted around the world by Iranian operatives or proxies in close conjunction with Iranian diplomats and Iranian embassies. Many of the targets have been Israeli and Saudi diplomats.

The recent allegation that the Iranian regime is targeting the US ambassador to South Africa is credible, as such an operation is entirely consistent with Iranian tactics. As Iranian operatives and intelligence officers are highly active in South Africa, it is no surprise that the US embassy in Pretoria has been targeted.

Dr. Ardavan Khoshnood (PhD, Lund University). Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Lund University in Sweden. Criminologist with focus on offender profiling and violent crimes inclusive terrorism. From Malmö University and Lund University he hold degrees in Political Science respective Intelligence Analysis. Specializes in Iranian foreign policy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as well as the Ministry of Intelligence. Email: ardavan.khoshnood@med.lu.se