Israel announces exposure of Iranian terror cell working to attack Israeli, Western sites abroad

Israel exposed in recent months an Iranian terror network that targeted Israeli officials and assets around the world, the Mossad, IDF, and Shin Bet say in a joint statement.

Senior operatives in the network were killed during the US-Israeli campaign against Iran that began on February 28.

Azerbaijan said in March that it had foiled a series of Iranian terror attacks on its territory, including against the Israeli embassy in Baku, a synagogue, and Jewish community leaders.

In a video statement, Azerbaijan’s state security service said at the time it had “prevented terrorist acts and intelligence operations in Azerbaijan organized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”

Also among the planned targets was the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which runs through neighboring Georgia and Turkey and carries around a third of Israel’s oil imports, it said.

At least seven Azerbaijani nationals were detained in connection with the probe, said Baku.

According to the new Israeli statement, the cell had smuggled explosive drones into Azerbaijan and was gathering intelligence on potential targets under the direct instructions of their Iranian handlers.

The arrests led to the uncovering of the terror network and its chain of command.

Rahman Moqadam, head of the Special Operations Division (4000) within IRGC intelligence, was in charge of the network and was killed at the beginning of Operation Roaring Lion.

Moqadam recruited and trained operatives inside and outside of Iran, and asked them to gather intelligence on Israeli political leaders, security officials, Israeli and Western military installations, ports, and Israeli ships around the world.

Moqadam served under senior IRGC intelligence official Majid Khademi, says Israel, who was also killed by Israel during the war.

A central player in Moqadam’s network was Mohsen Suri, also a member of Division 4000. He met with terror cells outside of Iran, and was killed in an Israeli strike on an IRGC safehouse.

Mahdi Yekeh-Dehghan, known as “the Doctor,” led the network in Azerbaijan and beyond. His role was discovered in January, when Turkish authorities arrested six people, including an Iranian national, on charges of political and military espionage for Iran after coordinated raids across five provinces. Yekeh-Deghan directed the cell, working to smuggle explosive drones from Iran, through Turkey to Cyprus, and to gather intelligence on US forces at the Incirlik base.

In the wake of the US-Israeli war against Iran, the IRGC has redoubled its efforts to establish terror cells abroad and carry out attacks, says the Israeli statement.