Iran International
Iran International has learned that IRGC's Quds Force has established three assassination squads, known as the German Network, tasked with targeting Iranian dissidents abroad and Jewish citizens across Europe.
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.
The announcement signals a continued emphasis on the administration’s tough approach on Tehran but comes with Trump’s acknowledgment of past tensions with his appointee.
“I am pleased to announce Morgan Ortagus as Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Middle East Peace… Early on Morgan fought me for three years, but hopefully has learned her lesson,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “She will hopefully be an asset to Steve [Witkoff, Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East].”
Ortagus is recognized as a significant figure in US foreign policy, serving as the State Department spokesperson during Trump’s presidency. In this role, she communicated US positions on global issues, often focusing on Iran, China, and the Middle East.
She expressed hope in a tweet after being appointed that under Trump peace and stability will return to the Middle East.
A hardline approach to Iran
Ortagus consistently echoed and defended the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran. This policy aimed to isolate Tehran diplomatically and economically following the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear agreement (JCPOA) in 2018.
Ortagus argued that the sanctions undermined Iran’s ability to fund regional proxy groups and its missile development program.
She supported the US exit from the JCPOA, describing the agreement as inadequate in addressing Iran’s regional interventions and nuclear ambitions.
"Under the current trajectory, the Iranian regime will get a nuclear weapon in the next administration unless we have a president with the fortitude to stop it," said Ortagus in an exclusive interview with Iran International in June.
Ortagus highlighted the US’s backing of domestic protests in Iran, attributing the country’s economic and social struggles to the government’s policies.
"Khamenei's thugs killed 1,500 Iranians on the streets of Iran last November,” Ortagus wrote, quoting one of Khamenei's tweets in August 2020. “At least 23 were children. They deserved freedom and a future.”
She was referring to the fall of 2019, when widespread protests broke out across Iran following a sudden threefold increase in gas prices. Thousands of protesters were arrested. Many victims sustained gunshot wounds to the upper chest, indicating that security forces were operating under shoot-to-kill orders.
Ortagus has consistently portrayed Iran’s missile program as a global threat and accused Tehran of supporting militant groups.
Joining a team led by Steve Witkoff, Ortagus’s appointment comes at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East. Her focus on pressuring Tehran aligns with Trump’s broader foreign policy objectives.