Report: Mossad thwarts IRGC plot to attack Israeli targets in Senegal and Uganda

Israel’s Mossad, with assistance from African security services, thwarted an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) plot to carry out attacks against Israeli diplomatic targets in Senegal and Uganda, the Iranian opposition network Iran International reports.

According to the outlet, the scheme was orchestrated by the IRGC’s Quds Force, which operated a proxy network of Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals based in Iran, alongside local African recruits enlisted through social media.

The operatives were instructed to surveil Israeli embassies, photograph potential targets, purchase Western-made pistols and hand grenades, and eventually execute the attacks — all in exchange for only a few hundred dollars.

At the center of the network was Zahid Jawad, a Pakistani national living in Iran, who was handled by three Quds Force officers, the report says. Jawad and an accomplice handled dozens of recruits across multiple African countries, the report says. Several of the local operatives were later detained and admitted to acting on behalf of Iranian elements.

The network was uncovered through joint intelligence monitoring, it says, leading to arrests and the dismantling of the cell before it could carry out the planned attacks.

The incident mirrors previous failed attempts by the Quds Force in Africa, including plots disrupted in Congo in 2022 and South Africa in 2020. Israeli and African security officials say Iran continues to invest heavily in efforts to target Israelis abroad, with Africa emerging as a key arena — but claim such attempts have been consistently intercepted at early stages.