Israel announced today that it uncovered an Iranian network that planned to carry out attacks on the oil pipeline carrying crude oil from Azerbaijan to the Mediterranean as well as on Israeli and Jewish targets in Azerbaijan.
In a joint statement, Mossad and Shin intelligence agencies said that the plan by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to attack the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which reaches Turkey via Georgia, was foiled several weeks ago.
The cell was also planning attacks on Jewish and Israeli targets in Azerbaijan including the Israeli embassy and synagogue in Baku, as well as leaders of the Jewish community in Azerbaijan, Israeli intelligence said in the statement.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Members of the cell, who were carrying drones with explosives and fragmentation missiles, were arrested by Azerbaijani authorities.
“The cell, to carry out its intentions, was gathering information about the targets using various methods, including physical surveillance and photography, all with direct orders from their operators in Iran.”
“This revelation, coupled with an intensive intelligence investigation and operational activities on the ground, led to the exposure of the clandestine terrorist network that has been established within the Revolutionary Guards Guards Corps (IRGC) and its hierarchy.”
The Israeli intelligence statement said the cell was headed by Rahman Mokandam, who also served as head of the IRGC’s Special Operations Directorate of Intelligence, or Unit 4000.
Mokandam was killed last month during Israeli airstrikes as part of an air war waged against Iran by Israel and the United States since February 28.
