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Ardavan Khoshnood

Incoming Iranian Intelligence Minister Esmaeil Khatib. Source: Twitter.

Meet Esmaeil Khatib, Iran’s new spymaster

A radical Islamist with close ties to both Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the IRGC, Iran’s new intelligence minister is likely to take a more aggressive approach than his predecessor.

Ardavan Khoshnood and Erfan Fard

September 20, 2021

Mohsen Razaee. Photo by Erfan Kouchari, Wikimedia Commons.

Iran may purge its intelligence community

Former IRGC intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaee Republic confirms for the first time that top-secret Iranian nuclear documents were stolen by Israel in 2018,

Ardavan Khoshnood

May 13, 2021

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and State Councilor of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi at the signing of the Iran–China 25-year Cooperation Program in Tehran on March 27, 2021. Credit: Erfan Kouchari via Wikimedia Commons.

The security implications of the Iran-China deal

There is no doubt that the agreement will boost Iran’s intelligence and counterintelligence capabilities, and thereby make it more aggressive.

Ardavan Khoshnood

May 10, 2021

Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Second Brig. Gen Saeed Mohammad is introduced as the commander of the Khatam-al Anbiya Construction Headquarters engineering company, Oct. 7, 2018. Credit: Muhammad Hassanzadeh via Wikimedia Commons.

The Khatam al-Anbiya company and the future of the IRGC empire

The West assumes that if the Islamist regime of Iran is granted some leeway, it will stop its aggression. The IRGC’s push for absolute power in Iran and belligerent empire-building across the Middle East suggest otherwise.

Ardavan Khoshnood

May 3, 2021

Riddarholmen in Stockholm as seen from the top of the City Hall tower, May 3, 2008. Credit: Benoit Derrier via Wikimedia Commons.

Iran is a threat to Swedish national security

In the recently published Swedish Security Service Yearbook 2020, which discusses the main security and intelligence challenges faced by Sweden over the past year, Iran is mentioned 14 times.

Ardavan Khoshnood

April 26, 2021

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Russia-Iran intelligence pact

Tehran’s devastating counterintelligence failures prove the regime needs help in this area, and Russia may be its best option.

Ardavan Khoshnood

March 4, 2021

Iranian Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan, May 5, 2015. Credit: Mohammad Hasanzadeh/Tasnim News Agency via Wikimedia Commons.

IRGC Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan as Iran’s next president?

Dehghan was responsible for the vicious crackdown on opponents of the Islamic regime in the 1980s and played a central role in the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.

Ardavan Khoshnood

December 14, 2020

Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Jan. 23, 2019. Credit: Kamenie.ir via Wikimedia Commons.

The assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh: What are Iran’s options?

Tehran will have to respond to the killing of the architect of its nuclear program, but will likely look to save face rather than risk open war.

Ardavan Khoshnood

November 30, 2020

The wanted poster for Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, nom de guerre Muhammad al-Masri. Credit: FBI.

The al-Masri assassination: Another Iranian intelligence failure

Tehran will probably look to reform its counterintelligence community and may ask for assistance in this endeavor from both Russia and China.

Ardavan Khoshnood

November 19, 2020