Iran official exposes Tehran's global assassination program as US trial of alleged regime hitmen continues

The Manhattan-based national proceedings of 2 alleged declaration killers hired by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to execution the Iranian-American writer Masih Alinejad coincided with shocking revelations that Tehran ordered the assassinations of dissidents successful Europe, quality that could person profound implications for President Trump’s Iran policy.

The proceedings of the 2 suspects and the disclosures of a erstwhile laminitis of the U.S.-sanctioned violent enactment IRGC that the ayatollahs ordered the murders of Iranians successful exile adhd greater urgency to the request to code Iran’s threats to execution President Donald Trump, erstwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Iranian-American critics of the regime, according to experts.

Mohsen Rafiqdoost, a erstwhile high-level IRGC authoritative who besides served arsenic a bodyguard for the Islamic republic's founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, declared successful a video interrogation that helium oversaw operations to destruct exiled Iranian dissidents.  

In an interrogation connected the Iranian regime-controlled outlet Didehban-e Iran, helium said the dissidents included erstwhile Iranian Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar, the fashionable creator Fereydoun Farrokhzad, who was murdered successful Bonn, Germany, and subject officials Gholam-Ali Oveissi and Shahriar Shafiq.

Rafiqdoost said, "The Basque separatist radical successful Spain carried retired these assassinations for us. We paid them, and they conducted the killings connected our behalf."

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Alinejad was allegedly targeted by the Iranian authorities successful a foiled assassination attempt.  (Fox News)

Jason Brodsky, the argumentation manager of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), said, "Mohsen Rafiqdoost’s comments are an admittance of guilt. They should beryllium replayed whenever an Iranian authoritative is interviewed by a Western writer denying complicity successful assassination plots. The proceedings opening connected Monday is simply a reminder that the regime’s panic menace is real, perchance lethal, and volition not spell distant by conscionable burying our heads successful the sand."

Last week, overseas ministers from the G-7 democracies announced successful a associated statement, "That Iran is the main root of determination instability and indispensable ne'er beryllium allowed to make and acquire a nuclear weapon. They emphasized that Iran indispensable present alteration course, de-escalate and take diplomacy. They underscored the menace of Iran’s increasing usage of arbitrary detention and overseas assassination attempts as a instrumentality of coercion."

The notation to "foreign assassination attempts" is an unusually pugnacious corporate rhetorical rebuke for Iran due to the fact that of its efforts to assassinate Trump, Alinejad and Iranian dissidents crossed the globe.

In November, Fox News Digital reported that the Justice Department announced it thwarted an Iranian plot to termination Trump successful the weeks starring up to the election. 

Iran adept Lisa Daftari told Fox News Digital, "This revelation astir Iran’s planetary assassination run is simply a stark reminder of the lengths to which authoritarian regimes volition spell to soundlessness dissent and exert power beyond their borders. It’s a blatant onslaught connected planetary norms and a nonstop menace to planetary security. The United States indispensable respond decisively – not conscionable with words but with action. President Trump’s argumentation to deport those who espouse coercion is simply a measurement successful the close direction, but it’s not capable to deter the mullahs."

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Members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps march during a parade. The IRGC is designated arsenic a overseas violent enactment by the State Department. (Reuters)

Daftari, who is the editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, added, "We request stronger quality collaboration with our allies and accrued unit connected the IRGC done sanctions and immoderate different indispensable punitive measures. The connection indispensable beryllium wide – determination is nary spot for state-sponsored coercion connected our soil."

The U.S. and Canada person classified the IRGC arsenic a overseas violent entity. Despite galore IRGC coercion plots and assassinations successful Europe, the United Kingdom and the European Union person opposed a designation of the IRGC arsenic a violent organization.

Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, a German-Iranian adept connected Tehran’s assassination campaigns, told Fox News Digital astir the erstwhile person of the IRGC: "He belongs to the radical of blimpish Islamists who person ne'er hidden the crimes they committed. He takes pridefulness successful the information that opponents of the authorities were executed successful exile."

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A immense mural of Ayatollah Khamenei, which includes a smaller 1 of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, successful Tehran, Iran, connected March 8, 2020. (Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images)

Fox News Digital sent a property query to the German national prosecutor’s bureau and the prosecutor’s bureau successful Bonn, wherever Farrokhzad was murdered, asking if they program to reopen the lawsuit of Farrokhzad. 

Mina Ahadi, a salient German-Iranian dissident, brought up the lawsuit of Iran’s erstwhile ambassador to Germany, Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who is presently a researcher astatine Princeton University, and called for his apprehension by authorities.

Fox News Digital reported successful April 2024 that Mousavian allegedly oversaw the assassinations of Iranian dissidents successful Europe successful the 1990s, including Farrokhzad. Mousavian, who was Iran’s ambassador to Germany from 1990 to 1997, has vehemently denied the allegations that helium was progressive successful the Iranian regime-ordered massacre of Kurdish dissidents astatine a Berlin edifice successful 1992.

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After Trump ordered a drone onslaught to termination the U.S. and EU-designated Iranian authorities violent Qassem Soleimani successful Iraq successful 2020, Mousavian paid tribute to Soleimani in a 2022 Iran TV program. Mousavian besides went to Iran to be the ceremonial of Soleimani, who was liable for the murders of implicit 600 American subject unit successful the Middle East, according to the U.S. government. 

Mousavian took to X connected the alleged Chain Murders successful Iran – an extended Iranian authorities state-sponsored run that eradicated important Iranian dissidents betwixt 1986 and 1998. Mousavian said, "Fereydoun Farrokhzad was murdered successful mid-August 1992 astatine his location successful Bonn, Germany. At that time, I was the Iranian Ambassador to Germany, and on with my colleagues astatine the embassy, I made extended efforts for the instrumentality of Iranians residing successful Germany who wanted to instrumentality to Iran."

Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addresses the media during the voting for parliamentary elections successful Tehran connected May 10, 2024. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Mousavian's tweet noted, "We pursued the matter, and the applicable authorities successful Tehran assured america that Farrokhzad had been assassinated by the Iranian absorption abroad. We past relayed Tehran’s presumption to the German authorities and successful interviews."

His connection concluded, "I privation that figures similar Farrokhzad, who were consenting to instrumentality to their homeland, could person returned safely to their motherland. It is successful Iran’s nationalist involvement to usage the imaginable of Iranians surviving overseas and guarantee their afloat information for their instrumentality to their homeland."

Mousavian did not respond to galore Fox News Digital email property queries, including a WhatsApp connection and telephone call.

Lawdan Bazargan, the Iranian-American quality rights activist, said Iran’s authorities had lured Iranian dissidents backmost to the state to aboriginal execute them. She formed uncertainty connected Mousavian’s mentation that helium sought to repatriate Farrokhzad. Bazargan cited the lawsuit of Javad Safar arsenic a dissident who returned to Iran and was killed by the regime. Iran’s authorities has employed blase surveillance operations to lure salient Iranian dissidents to countries with lax information to kidnap them and transport the dissidents to Iran. 

A telling illustration progressive the writer Ruhollah Zam, who was tricked by the authorities and executed successful 2020. Zam’s website and societal media expertise helped dispersed accusation astir protests against the clerical authorities and exposed wide authorities corruption.

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Numerous Fox News Digital property queries sent to Iran’s overseas ministry and U.N. ngo were not answered.

Fox News' Greg Norman contributed to this report.