Iran sold 2 billion barrels of oil during Biden’s presidency

One of the network's plots involved the assassination of prominent Iranian dissident singer and musician Shahin Najafi, which ultimately failed, a Western intelligence source and an IRGC insider told Iran International.

According to the sources, an assassin was scheduled to kill Shahin Najafi on September 17, 2023, coinciding with the anniversary of Iran’s Woman Life Freedom uprising against the Islamic Republic, at the Theater am Aegi in Hanover, Germany.

In response to Iran International's request for comment, Shahin Najafi said the concert that night had an unusual atmosphere, with significantly heightened police security measures.

The Criminal and Terrorism Affairs departments of the German Federal Police (BKA) told Iran International that "For data protection reasons, the BKA does not comment on personal data."

Najafi, a dissident activist and supporter of Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, has been actively campaigning against the Islamic Republic over the past few years.

Twelve years ago, media outlets affiliated with the IRGC declared Najafi an apostate due to his song Naghi, which referenced the tenth Imam of Shia Islam. The IRGC’s Fars News Agency reported that a bounty had been placed on his head.

Mission aborted

According to Iran International's sources, the assassin approached the venue on the night of the concert but, upon noticing the sudden increase in security measures, received a phone call from Tehran instructing him to abort the mission. The plotters concluded that their plan had likely been compromised and chose to cancel the operation to prevent the exposure of the entire network.

Iran International has learned that the assassin received orders from Ramin Yektaparast, a 36-year-old Iranian-German gangster who was killed by individuals allegedly linked to Mossad in Tehran last April.

At that time, a European source told Iran International that Yektaparast, along with another IRGC member, was targeted in Tehran, likely as part of a Mossad operation.

In March 2023, The Washington Post reported, citing five German security officials and two Western intelligence sources, that Yektaparast was the main suspect in organizing an attack on a Jewish center in Essen, Germany.

Unit 840's operatives in Europe

The Western intelligence source told Iran International that Najafi's failed assassination plan was one of the covert projects of Unit 840, a secretive division of Quds Force responsible for overseas assassinations targeting Westerners, Israelis, and Iranian dissidents.

Unit 840 is led by Yazdan Mir. One of their most notorious failed operations involved planning to assassinate an Israeli who worked at the Jewish state’s consulate in Istanbul, an American general in Germany, and a French journalist. This plot was foiled when Mossad interrogated Mansour Rasouli, a smuggler collaborating with the IRGC, inside Iran. Shortly thereafter, Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, a senior Unit 840 official, was assassinated in Tehran, reportedly by Israel. Less than a month later, Hossein Taeb was removed from his position as head of the IRGC's Intelligence Organization.

However, two sources told Iran International that a senior Unit 840 official is currently overseeing new operations in Europe. In November, the Daily Mail, citing a Western intelligence source, identified him as Mohsen Bozorg.

According to exclusive information obtained by Iran International, this senior IRGC operative's real name is Mohsen Alinajad Kari Bozorg. He is married with two children and resides in the Narmak neighborhood of Tehran. Bozorgi is in charge of the so-called German Network.

Bozorg selects targets and approves operational plans. He collaborates with a wide array of Iranian and foreign operatives, known within the IRGC as "Bozorg's soldiers."

The network's key members

Hamed Asghari, the head of security for Mohsen Fakhrizadeh—the prominent figure in Iran's nuclear program who was assassinated by Mossad four years ago—is another member of Bozorg's network within Unit 840, two sources told Iran International.

Asghari is a veteran and well-known bodyguard for Iranian officials, having been responsible for the security of former Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri, and later, Fakhrizadeh.

During Fakhrizadeh's assassination, Asghari reportedly threw himself over Fakhrizadeh and sustained four gunshot wounds. Despite this, he underwent extensive interrogation and lost his position.

However, in March 2022, under late President Ebrahim Raisi's administration, he was appointed as the acting director of sports and health management for the Qeshm Free Zone Organization. According to Iran International's sources, Asghari had close ties with Ramin Yektaparast and was active in the so-called German Network. He was also involved in planning another assassination attempt against Shahin Najafi.

Bozorg's network comprises four key members: Khalil, who splits his time between Germany and Iran and was responsible for organizing Yektaparast's plans; Mehdi Aziz Bonakdar, tasked with gathering intelligence for the group; Rouzbeh Alizadeh, linked to a money-laundering network that financed terrorist operations, though he was not directly involved in the activities; and Pashan Fasha, a German company owner who supported the network’s operations.

Sub-networks: Pakistanis and Poles

The German Network extends beyond Iranian operatives. A European and an IRGC source disclosed the existence of a "Pakistani Network" under Bozorg’s control. Two years ago, this network planned assassinations of Jewish and American targets in Congo.

Bozorg was also supported by Ali Tanhaei and Hamid Zeraati, who are connected to the Al-Mustafa International University, an IRGC front for exporting Shia Islam and conducting covert operations globally. They recruited operatives, including three Pakistanis who received training in Iran and Syria before being deployed to Congo.

Additionally, the German Network collaborates with a Polish mafia group specializing in bomb-laden drones. Two Polish members, known as Robert and Michael, visited Iran for operational planning. Their mission to assassinate an Israeli target in Warsaw failed.

Yektaparast: from gangster to IRGC operative

Yektaparast was the most influential figure in the German Network. His recruits carried out attacks against Jewish targets in Germany, including a failed shooting at a synagogue in Essen and an attempted attack in Bochum.

Following the Bochum attack, German police arrested Babak J., a 35-year-old Iranian, and traced his orders back to Yektaparast. German security officials concluded that the IRGC had formed a network targeting Jewish centers, with Yektaparast as the mastermind.

He fled to Iran after the synagogue attacks and mocked German police on Instagram, highlighting the lack of an extradition treaty between Iran and Germany.

He was also implicated in a brutal murder in Germany and had ties to criminal gangs, including the Hells Angels. Accused of killing a fellow gang member, Yektaparast fled to Iran in 2010 to escape prosecution.

On May 9, 2023, Yektaparast was shot dead in Tehran. While IRGC-linked media denied his affiliation with the force, his obituary referred to his death as martyrdom, and he was buried in the Section 19 of Behesht Zahra Cemetery, reserved for IRGC and Basij members.

Referring to earlier discussions, Mohajerani noted that Iran's president met with Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, in October, and expressed optimism about finalizing the deal.

"Specifically with Russia, we anticipate the president's visit to Moscow, during which we hope to see progress on two key issues: the North-South Corridor, which is already underway, and the plan to transfer Russian gas to Iran—both of which have been key points of agreement between the two sides," Mohajerani said.

Tehran and Moscow initially signed a long-term agreement in March 2001, officially called the Treaty of the Foundation of Mutual Relations and the Principles of Cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Russian Federation Act. The agreement was originally set for ten years but was extended twice for five-year terms. However, similar promises have been made in the past without finalizing a renewed treaty.

According to Iran’s ambassador to Russia, the countries agreed in 2021 to extend the agreement for another five years, setting its expiration for 2026.

In 2023, reports surfaced about possible challenges in developing the new agreement with Russia, though few details about its content have been disclosed publicly.

Shariatmadari argued that the advocates of talks are either "naive" or "inefficient" and are using negotiations with the US as a cover for their inability to solve problems. He also accused them of "having ties with the enemy out of deceit or greed."

His comments come as on Friday, Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs, said in an interview with China's CCTV network that Tehran is ready for "constructive and prompt" negotiations over its nuclear program.

In recent days, some officials in Masoud Pezeshkian's administration and insider political figures have called for talks with Donald Trump, who will officially assume the US presidency on January 20.

Among them, Ali Abdolalizadeh, Pezeshkian's special representative for maritime economy and head of his campaign during the 2024 presidential election, said on Tuesday that negotiations with Trump are necessary.

"We cannot keep the country's issues suspended," Abdolalizadeh said, adding, "The entirety of the ruling system has also reached [the necessity] of face-to-face negotiations."

"So far, the impeachment of Mohsen Paknejad, the Minister of Oil, with 23 signatures, and the impeachment of Abdolnaser Hemmati, the Minister of Economy, with over 70 signatures, have been officially registered in the parliament system," Naderi said.

Meanwhile, on the same day, President Masoud Pezeshkian criticized corruption in Iran's economy, which is mostly controlled and regulated by the government.

"In a situation where the allocation of preferential currency rates to certain individuals in both the public and private sectors has turned into quotas and insider privileges, leaving others at a disadvantage, how can such a market be considered competitive? This process certainly needs reform," he said.

Iran is grappling with a dire economic situation, with its currency, the rial, depreciating by over 30% since September. This decline has been driven by regional conflicts and setbacks in Syria and Lebanon.

In late December, business owners and workers in Tehran’s historic bazaar staged a rare strike to protest runaway inflation and soaring foreign currency rates. The strike sparked similar demonstrations in other commercial hubs across the capital.

Unrest in the historic heart of Iran’s commerce reflects the grim state of the country’s economy. In 1979, protests in the bazaar were a precursor to the Islamic Revolution that overthrew the monarchy, underscoring the political significance of such discontent.