Iranian Regime’s Assassination Plots Exposed: Implications for Trump’s Iran Policy
In a federal trial held in Manhattan, two alleged contract killers hired by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to murder Iranian-American journalist Masih Alinejad were on trial. The trial coincided with shocking revelations that Tehran had ordered the assassinations of dissidents in Europe, which could have profound implications for President Trump’s Iran policy.
Former high-level IRGC official Mohsen Rafiqdoost, who also served as a bodyguard for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, admitted in a video interview that he oversaw operations to eliminate exiled Iranian dissidents. The assassinations were carried out by a Basque separatist group in Spain, who were paid by the IRGC.
URGENCY TO ADDRESS IRAN’S THREATS
Experts argue that the trial of the two suspects and the disclosures made by Rafiqdoost add greater urgency to the need to address Iran’s threats to murder President Donald Trump, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Iranian-American critics of the regime.
Jason Brodsky, the policy director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), said that Rafiqdoost’s comments serve as an admission of guilt and should be highlighted whenever Iranian officials deny complicity in assassination plots. He stressed the need to acknowledge that the regime’s terror threat is real and potentially lethal.
GLOBAL ASSASSINATION CAMPAIGN
Last year, the Justice Department announced that it had foiled an Iranian plot to kill President Trump in the weeks leading up to the election. These revelations shed light on Iran’s global assassination campaign, which aims to silence dissent and exert control beyond its borders. The United States must respond decisively, not just with words but with action, to deter the Iranian regime from engaging in state-sponsored terrorism.
Wahied Wahdat-Hagh, a German-Iranian expert on Tehran’s assassination campaigns, mentioned the case of former Iranian ambassador to Germany, Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who is now a researcher at Princeton University. Mousavian allegedly oversaw the assassinations of Iranian dissidents in Europe in the 1990s, including popular artist Fereydoun Farrokhzad, who was murdered in Bonn, Germany. Mousavian denies these allegations.
THE NEED FOR STRONGER MEASURES
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has been classified as a foreign terrorist entity by the U.S. and Canada. However, the United Kingdom and the European Union have opposed designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization, despite numerous terrorism plots and assassinations carried out by the group in Europe.
Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert, emphasized the need for stronger intelligence collaboration with allies and increased pressure on the IRGC through sanctions and other punitive measures. The message must be clear – state-sponsored terrorism has no place on foreign soil.
Iran’s regime has employed sophisticated surveillance operations to lure prominent Iranian dissidents to countries with lax security and kidnap them, transporting them back to Iran to be executed. The case of journalist Ruhollah Zam serves as an example. Zam was tricked by the regime and executed in 2020 for his role in spreading information about protests against the clerical regime.
The revelations from the federal trial and the exposure of Iran’s assassination plots highlight the urgent need to address Iran’s threats globally. The United States and its allies must take decisive action to deter the Iranian regime from engaging in state-sponsored terrorism and ensure the safety of dissidents living abroad.
