Iran sentences 'Israeli spy' to death
Iran has sentenced to death Majid Jamali Fashi, whom it accuses of being a Mossad agent, and of being responsible for the
death of Iranian nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi (pictured) in
January 2010.
He was accused of "Moharebe (waging war against God) using assassination as the means ... by placing a bomb-laden bike in front of Ali Mohammadi's house," the state television website reported.
It quoted the prosecutor in the trial which opened on August 23 and lasted a single session.
Jamali Fashi also faced charges of cooperating with Israel's spy agency and of having received $120,000 for passing on intelligence to Mossad, the website report added.
Somehow, I doubt this guy was the assassin. Just a gut feeling.
Labels: Iranian nuclear program, Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, sabotage
Bomb blamed on PKK was assassination attempt against Israeli diplomat
A
bicycle bomb that wounded eight people in Istanbul in May of this year, which was blamed on the PKK, may actually have been an attempt by Hezbullah to
assassinate Israel's Consul General to Istanbul (Hat Tip:
Joshua I).
Citing a Washington-sourced report, the Italian daily [Corriere della Sera] reported that Hezbollah was targeting Israeli Consul General to Istanbul Moshe Kamhi in retaliation for Mossad’s alleged assassination of Iranian nuclear physicist Masoud Ali Muhammedi in Tehran in 2010.
Corriere della Sera reported that Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, or MİT, appeared to be tracing the bombing back to the PKK before reportedly realizing that Hezbollah, acting on behalf of Iran, allegedly perpetrated the attack.
The daily alleged that three members of Hezbollah arrived in Istanbul from Beirut to stage the attack and that assassins observed the route Kamhi took from his residence to the Israeli consulate every day before choosing to detonate the bomb in Etiler.
On the day of the attack, however, Kamhi's vehicle was driving slower than normal and was unaffected by the blast, the report said.
Intelligence sources in Ankara, however, have denied Corriere della Sera’s report. "Israel carries out similar disinformation campaigns through newspapers from time to time," one source said.
Hmmm.
Labels: Corriere della Sera, Hezbullah, Iran, Istanbul, Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, PKK
Iran steps up protection for nuke scientists
Ben Birnbaum reports that Iran has
stepped up the protection that it provides to its nuclear scientists as a result of a series of liquidations over the last few months.
Iran has deployed security teams to protect its nuclear scientists from assassinations, the Islamic republic's interior minister announced Tuesday.
"Given the emphases laid by the president on guarding and protecting our country's scientists, a special structure has been developed for protecting the scientists and it has started its operation," said Interior Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, according to the semi-official Fars News Agency.
The precautions are being taken weeks after a bomb plot that targeted two top Iranian nuclear scientists, widely assumed to have been the work of Israeli or other Western intelligence agencies.
Iran's intelligence minister said this month that 10 people had been arrested on suspicion of being behind an Israeli plot that killed another nuclear scientist last January.
I wonder how many Mossad agents are part of the security detail.
Heh.
The picture is Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, who got his 72 virgins last January.
UPDATE 5:30 PMIran says it is going to
sue Israel over Ali-Mohammadi's death (Hat Tip:
Is Iran's Fist Still Clenched).
"The Islamic Republic of Iran's complaint against the Zionist regime will be lodged to international bodies soon," Iran's acting foreign minister and atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.
Salehi said Tehran had "finished gathering evidences of the Zionist regime's involvement in the assassination of the Iranian scientist." He did not elaborate.
Last week Iranian media reported that an alleged killer of Ali Mohammadi had been trained in Israel and had been apprehended
Majid Jamali Fash, identified by Iran as "the main element" behind Ali Mohammadi's murder, was quoted as saying on state television's website that he was trained by Israeli military officers.
Jamali Fash said he was briefed about Ali Mohammadi and "practised bombing in a base near Tel Aviv several times."
Good luck with that.
Labels: Iranian nuclear program, Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, Mossad
Iran claims to have penetrated Mossad operations
As I reported earlier, Iran claims to have arrested ten people in connection with the liquidation of Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, an Iranian nuclear scientist who was liquidated last January in Tehran. On Monday night, they put one of the alleged 'terrorists' on Iranian television where he 'confessed' that he had been trained by the Mossad in Israel in placing bombs alongside cars.
But did Iran really penetrate the Mossad's Iranian operation? Obviously, no one here in a position to know is saying. Yaakov Katz
takes a look.
According to a statement put out by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry, Iran had arrested a network of spies linked to the assassination of one of the country’s top nuclear scientists a year ago, and the spies had revealed information on additional anti-Iran Israeli plots.
Iran blames the Mossad for the assassination last January of Teheran University physics professor Masoud Alimohammadi, who was killed by a bomb-rigged motorcycle that exploded outside his house as he was leaving for work. Possible explanations as to why he was targeted have never been made clear, particularly as he had no known link to Iran’s nuclear work, although some reports have indicated that Aliohammadi was involved in the country’s nuclear weapons program.
“After months of silent struggle, offensive, multi-layered and complicated operations and penetration into the depths of the Zionist regime’s intelligence led to the uncovering of very important and sensitive information about Mossad spies and operations,” the Intelligence Ministry statement said. “Heavy blows were inflicted on the structure of the Zionist intelligence and security services.”
Really? My gut feeling is that they have solved Ali-Mohammadi's death, because otherwise there is no reason for them to discuss that one and not any of the other nuclear scientists who were killed or defected in the last year. I cannot say for sure whether these particular people had any connection to the Mossad, but I can guarantee that the Iranians have not succeeded in shutting down all of the Israeli security service operations in Iran, and more importantly, Iran has not succeeded in replacing all of the expertise that it has lost over the past year.
Labels: Iran, Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, Mossad
Iran arrests 'Israeli spies' in Ali-Mohammadi liquidation
Iran claims to have arrested a 'spy ring' in connection with the liquidation of nuclear physicist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi in Tehran one year ago. Ali-Mohammadi was killed by an
exploding motorcycle as he left his home. Yes, of course Iran claims that
the spies were Israelis.
"Following extensive security measures and precise monitoring of information and thanks to God's graces, the intelligence ministry forces succeeded in identifying and arresting the main elements responsible for this terrorist crime and disbanded a spying and terrorist network affiliated to the Qods Occupying regime (Israel)," the statement said.
Iran's Foreign Ministry accused Israel and the United States of involvement from the first day of the attack a year ago, saying it "revealed signs of the involvement of the Zionist regime, the U.S. and their allies in Iran."
A senior U.S. administration official said then that charges that the United States was behind the killing were "absurd."
There was no immediate response from the Israeli government.
The Iranian statement published Monday said Iran has uncovered "vital information about Mossad's infiltration and operations in the country, and vowed to reveal some relevant details in due time in future."
"Mossad has used its bases in a number of European states and even a number of Iran's neighboring countries to back up and lead assassination of Ali-Mohammadi," Iran said.
A later report claims that the '
spies' were trained by the Mossad.
Hmmm.
Labels: Iranian nuclear program, Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, Mossad, sabotage
Iran has sentenced to death Majid Jamali Fashi, whom it accuses of being a Mossad agent, and of being responsible for the death of Iranian nuclear scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi (pictured) in January 2010. 
