Israel reveals the mechanisms of Iran’s Unit 4000 targeting its interests abroad
Israeli security services announced that they had thwarted an Iranian plan to attack targets in Azerbaijan and exposed the mechanism of the Iranian apparatus that carried out attacks in Israel and around the world.
The Mossad, the Shin Bet, and the Israeli army said in a joint statement on Monday: “Several weeks ago, a terrorist infrastructure in Azerbaijan was dismantled while it was planning attacks against a strategic target — the oil pipeline that runs through Georgia and Turkey — in addition to several Jewish targets and institutions in the country, including the Israeli embassy, the synagogue in Baku, and leaders of the Jewish community.”
They added: “Azerbaijani authorities arrested members of the operational cell in possession of booby-trapped drones and cluster bombs that they had smuggled into the country.”
The statement continued: “To carry out their intentions, the cell gathered intelligence on the intended targets using various methods, including field surveillance and photography. All of this was conducted under direct instructions from their handlers in Iran.”
For its part, the Israeli Broadcasting Authority indicated that Israeli security services had also uncovered the Iranian apparatus responsible for attacks in Israel and abroad.
It stated: “This disclosure came after a series of eliminations carried out by the air force during the so-called ‘Roar of the Lion’ war against senior members of this apparatus, in addition to the intensive activity of the Mossad and its partners within security and law enforcement agencies worldwide, which culminated in arrests and extensive interrogations of members of terrorist cells operating on behalf of this apparatus across the globe.”
It added: “The apparatus was led by Rahman Moqaddam, who also served as head of the Special Operations Department (4000) within the intelligence service of the Revolutionary Guards, and who was killed by the air force at the beginning of the operation.”
It noted that “Unit 4000, under his leadership, is responsible for promoting terrorist activities beyond Iran’s borders against Israeli and Western targets, as well as attempting to smuggle advanced weapons into Israeli territory.”
The report said: “In recent years, he promoted the terrorist efforts carried out by these services worldwide. This activity included recruiting and training terrorist operatives inside and outside Iran. The objective was to gather intelligence on senior Israeli political officials and members of the Israeli security community, as well as Israeli military sites, ports, and vessels in Israel and abroad.”
It added: “Under his command operated Mohsen Souri, a key figure within the apparatus, in addition to his role as a senior officer in Unit 4000. Souri was also killed during the war in an emergency residence where he was staying with other members of the Revolutionary Guards. As part of his operational activities, and like other agents in the covert terrorist apparatus, he was heavily involved in activities outside Iran and participated in numerous operational rounds during which he met local terrorist cells he directed to carry out missions on the ground.”
The statement continued: “In addition to Souri, other Iranian Revolutionary Guard officers were active in theaters across Europe, the Middle East, and Azerbaijan, including Mehdi Yakha-Dehkan, known as ‘the Doctor,’ who led terrorist efforts in Azerbaijan. Dehkan had already been identified earlier this year after the arrest of an operational infrastructure in Turkey under his leadership, which was involved in smuggling explosive drones from Iran to Turkey and from there to Cyprus, while gathering intelligence on the U.S. Air Force base at Incirlik in Adana.”
