Mossad Interrogation of IRGC Member in Iran; Iranian Source: It’s Absurd; Pentagon: We Won’t Comment

Noor News website, which is close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, reported on Monday that the report about the interrogation of a Quds Force member inside Iran by Mossad is “media hype.”

According to reports from Iran International and Israeli media, a person named Mansour Rasouli, of whom a short audio file of his statements was broadcast, was tasked by the Quds Force to assassinate an Israeli consulate employee in Turkey, an American general in Germany, and a journalist in France.

In contrast, the Noor News security website says he is an “unidentified individual” and the released voice is “unverified.”

However, in another response, John Kirby, Pentagon spokesman, said in his Monday press briefing, in response to a question about a plot to assassinate an American general in Germany, that he would “make no comment” on the matter. He also emphasized that Iran continues its activities as a “bad actor in the Middle East” and continues to “support terrorist groups.”

Reports of Iran’s attempt to assassinate an American general in Germany have been released at a time when discussions about removing the Revolutionary Guards from the U.S. government’s terrorist organization list, described as the last obstacle to reviving the JCPOA, continue.

Yesterday, Reuters news agency reported, citing an Iranian security official, that this is Iran’s red line and America must remove the Guards from the list. Iran’s emphasis continues as previous reports have been published about Joe Biden’s reluctance to remove the Guards from the list.

The U.S. government says Iran is not willing to make a public commitment to reducing regional tensions, and the Revolutionary Guards are also planning retaliatory operations against some Trump administration officials who, according to Iran, played a role in the operation that killed Qasem Soleimani, and under such circumstances America cannot agree with Iran’s request.

In Israeli media reports on this case, more details about planning the assassination of an American general in Germany were not mentioned, but these media reported that Mossad forces went to Iran to interrogate “Mansour Rasouli” and interrogated him in front of cameras.

In some reports, it has even been claimed that this person was interrogated in his own home.

Radio Farda cannot confirm or deny the authenticity of the released audio and the material published in Israeli media.

Israeli media reports also do not explain what capabilities or abilities Mansour Rasouli had that the Quds Force assigned him three assassination missions in Turkey, France, and Germany. However, in some reports, he has been described as a drug smuggler and in the service of the Guards.

Noor News website called this narrative “absurd” and “storytelling” and wrote that the Israeli government has been “under severe pressure” and “desperate” in recent days and has tried to “by projecting and publishing absurd news, in some way temporarily relieve itself of this pressure.”

Iran and Israel have been involved in numerous cases in recent years in the nuclear, security, and cyber fields. The Iranian government had previously called some reports about Israeli operations in Iranian territory, including the theft of Iran’s nuclear archive or the presence of radioactive material in a warehouse in Turquzabad, absurd, but after some time formally accepted these reports.

Source: Radio Farda