Iranian Brigadier General Mohsen Rafighdoost, former minister of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), admitted to ordering the assassinations of Iranians living abroad in Europe, according to an interview released this week.
Rafighdoost said in an interview released by Abdi Media that he ordered the assassinations of Iran's former Prime Minister Shapour Bakhtiar, naval officer Shahriar Shafiq, and artist Fereydoun Farrokhzad. All three were killed in either France or Germany, and their murders were committed by "Spanish Marxist separatists" from the Basque separatist movement who were paid by an Egyptian cleric in Germany.
IranWire notes that this is the first time a former senior Iranian official has admitted to planning assassinations in foreign countries. The news comes as the European Union is considering whether to designate the IRGC as a terrorist group and could also lead to France and Germany reopening their investigations into these deaths.
Rafighdoost's office issued a statement after his comments in the interview became public, stating that Rafighdoost recently underwent brain surgery which affected his recollection, and his remarks, therefore, could not be considered legally valid.
However, in a past interview also released by Abdi Media, Rafighdoost said some of the funding for these assassinations came from commissions on European military equipment purchases made by Iran's military.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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