Israel systematically eliminated top Iran proxy leaders

On Sunday, Pezeshkian named Ali Tayyebnia, a long-time economic planner and manager, as his top economic advisor. Tayyebnia, who served as Minister of Economy during President Hassan Rouhani’s first term, earned a solid reputation before the United States reimposed economic sanctions in 2018.

Throughout Pezeshkian’s campaign and after his victory, many in Tehran believed Tayyebnia would be appointed First Vice President, a role that can carry significant influence depending on the officeholder. However, Tayyebnia announced in late July that he could not take on critical responsibilities due to personal reasons.

Pezeshkian’s second appointment on Sunday was Hamid Pourmohammadi, an economist and veteran manager in Iran’s predominantly state-controlled economy, as head of the Planning and Budget Organization. This organization is crucial for long-term economic planning and budget oversight.

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Like Tayyebnia, Pourmohammadi is seen as a reliable expert, who held managerial position with both Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government and with other administrations. Tayyebnia is closer to Iran's so-called reformists rather than the hardliner “revolutionary forces” that held power until President Ebrahim Raisi’s death in a helicopter crash in May and the subsequent elections.

Iran’s economy has been in crisis since 2018, but the Raisi administration, which relied heavily on political appointments from among hardliners, worsened the situation. The national currency, the rial, lost 50% of its value under Raisi, contributing to a persistent annual inflation rate of around 50%. Even conservative politicians and media criticized Raisi’s administration for mismanagement, calling for significant changes. However, the hardliners did the opposite, purging universities and institutions of reputable educators and managers.

While Tayyebnia’s reputation is solid by the standards of Iran’s clerical government, Pourmohammadi was implicated in a major corruption case in 2011 involving corruption in clandestine efforts to circumvent UN oil export sanctions imposed due to Iran’s nuclear program. He was arrested as a main suspect but later released on bail, though the fate of nearly $3 billion remains unknown. Some others involved served lengthy prison terms or fled the country. In the Islamic Republic, legal cases involving well-connected insiders often disappear into obscurity without clear resolution.

Pezeshkian faces pressure to improve the economy, with Tehran hoping for renewed negotiations with the United States that could lead to reduced sanctions. However, the ultimate decision-maker on the nuclear program and foreign policy is Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The president’s ability to improve the economy is limited by the resources available, and a significant portion of oil revenues is allocated to the military, the nuclear program, and support for regional proxy forces across the Middle East—policies over which the president has no control.

Years of state control over the economy have also led to a deeply inefficient system plagued by corruption. Even without sanctions, creating a competitive global economy would be a significant challenge.

The call for "revenge for Haniyeh's blood" was made by nearly all of Tehran's hardline media including the state television, the Kayhan newspaper close to Khamenei's office and Hamshahri, the mouthpiece of the Tehran Municipality.

Proreform media outlets, on the other hand, have mainly blamed infiltrators working for Israel for the attack and called on the intelligence agencies to identify and punish them.

The biggest headline on the state TV's daily newspaper Jam-e Jam on Thursday was "Order for taking revenge," which alluded to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's order demanding a direct attack on Israel.

Hamshahri's headline said that "All of Iran calls for revenge." The daily quoted Khamenei as saying that he sees taking revenge for Haniyeh as his responsibility.

The Kayhan, linked to to Khamenei's office said in a commentary that "Iran as the host should take revenge for its guest Haniyeh." Meanwhile, the daily's firebrand editor in chief Hossein Shariatmadari called on the Iran armed forces to launch attacks on the US base in Ain al-Asad in Iraq as well as on US vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman. Shariatmadari called on Iranian officials "not to cross out the United States' name from their revenge list," while also calling for immediate and hard revenge.

He further suggested that Iranian officials should not waste any time waiting for a decision by the UN Security Council, and instead, give a paralyzing blow to Israel. Furthermore, the Kayhan said that the main culprit behind the attack on Haniyeh was the United States and that Israel could have not made the decision to kill Haniyeh without US support. He concluded that the United States should be one of the main targets of the Islamic Republic's "hard revenge".

Shariatmadari further said: "Tens of US strategic and military centers are within the range of Iranian weapons. Ain al-Assad was only an example. The US 5th fleet in Bahrain as well as its vessels in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman can be Ira's other targets.

Proreform Rouydad24 quoted Mansoor Hagqiqatpoor, a former lawmaker close to former Majles Speaker Ali Larijani and a former deputy to Qasem Soleimani the former commander of the IRGC Qods Force, called for the removal of some of Iran's political, military and security officials from their posts. He said, "from a security perspective, the attack on Haniyeh's residence in Tehran was unacceptable and an investigation needs to be launched into the matter."

Meanwhile, Haqiqatpoor criticized Iran's responses to previous Israeli attacks as insufficiently deterrent. He added that the assassination of Haniyeh, who was a guest of the government, reflects poorly on the performance of Iran's security organizations. He emphasized that no place in Israel should remain safe after this attack and called for coordinated missile strikes on Israel by all Muslim states.

Many Iranian proreform and moderate conservative media outlets pointed out the possibility of Israeli infiltration of the Iranian security and intelligence organizations. Foreign Policy analyst Hassan Beheshtipour wrote on Nameh News website that "the roots of infiltration should be identified and dealt with." Beheshtipour told Nameh News that Israeli infiltration in Iran is widespread.

He suggested that Iran should launch a surprise attack on Israel but cautioned against falling into Netanyahu's trap by escalating regional tensions. He emphasized that Iran can still pursue negotiations with the West to resolve its nuclear issues while simultaneously confronting Israel.

The assassination was carried out despite heightened security measures due to the inauguration of President Masoud Pezeshkian which took place one day earlier, underscoring a severe breach. Reports are now suggesting that it might have been an "inside job".

A report by the New York Times says over two dozen individuals, including senior intelligence officers, military officials, and staff at the guesthouse, have been detained in connection with the incident.

The Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) specialized intelligence unit is now spearheading the investigation, tasked with identifying those responsible, the New York Times said.

Iranian authorities have not yet confirmed making any arrests in connection with the assassination. Despite the vague public statements, the severity of the situation is clear, as it shows the Islamic Republic cannot even protect its guests and allies.

"The perception that Iran can neither protect its homeland nor its key allies could be fatal for the Iranian regime, because it basically signals to its foes that if they can’t topple the Islamic Republic, they can decapitate it," said Ali Vaez, Iran director for the International Crisis Group, speaking to the New York Times.

This incident emerges against the backdrop of a protracted covert war between Iran and Israel, characterized by targeted assassinations and sabotage. Iranian officials and Hamas have accused Israel of orchestrating the attack, while Israel has remained silent, neither confirming nor denying its involvement.

The IRGC on Saturday declared that Haniyeh was assassinated with a "short-range projectile with a warhead of approximately 7 kilograms" in Tehran. The IRGC also asserted that "this action was designed and implemented by the Zionist regime and supported by the criminal government of America."

Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardastani, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security Commission, confirmed on Saturday that there are "gaps and impurities" in the Islamic Republic's security and intelligence system. He outlined "two probable scenarios" regarding Haniyeh's death: "One is that the Israelis used a drone and targeted the location from the mountains north of Tehran. The second scenario is that no drone was involved; rather, a number of infiltrators within Iran positioned themselves near the same mountain and used a missile-like weapon to strike Haniyeh's residence."

However, Western media reports suggest that Haniyeh was killed by explosive devices planted well in advance in his room, possibly by agents recruited by Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. A report by The Telegraph says the devices were placed in three separate rooms of the guesthouse, pointing to a meticulously planned operation.

The original plan was to assassinate Haniyeh during the funeral of Ebrahim Raisi, Iran's former president, in May. However, the operation was aborted due to the large crowds inside the building, which significantly increased the risk of failure, the report said.

Farzin Nadimi, a senior analyst at the Washington Institute and an expert on Iran's defense and security issues in the Persian Gulf region, has questioned the likelihood of a bombing, telling Iran International, "While Israel has the capability to carry out such a bombing, according to reports, Haniyeh had been staying in a hotel until the night of the incident. Therefore, he did not have a fixed location that could have been targeted with a bomb planted there months earlier." Nadimi suggested that targeting Haniyeh with a projectile remains the strongest scenario.

A system in disarray

The incident has not only embarrassed Iran's leadership but also exposed the system's vulnerabilities at a time when it seeks to project strength and stability. The IRGC, responsible for the Islamic Republic's security, now faces an unprecedented challenge in regaining control and preventing further breaches. This assassination underscores the precariousness of Iran's internal security and the challenges it faces from both external and internal strife.

It has also sparked a blame game within the ranks of the IRGC, with internal factions speculating about possible complicity at higher levels. The Telegraph report also cited a close aide to President Pezeshkian, suggesting that the security lapse resulting in Haniyeh's killing "may have been an intentional bid by the IRGC to harm the new president’s reputation."

The aide expressed disbelief at the incident happening by accident, especially on Pezeshkian’s first day in office, suggesting it might lead to war with Israel, all due to the IRGC.

Former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani also believes the attack sought to destabilize Iran during a sensitive political transition.

While it is not yet fully clear how Haniyeh was killed, the incident has brought "a tremendous embarrassment for the IRGC" and triggered a heightened state of alert within the Iranian leadership.

The report, revealed data from an American cyber company, XPOZ, which unearthed the networks, posting to social media about the McGill encampment protests.

It found that 60 percent of Pro-Palestine campus protestors were not authentic online users. The data indicates the presence of coordinated Farsi-speaking accounts, suggesting a targeted campaign. By comparison, 75% of commentators critical of the encampment were authentic.

Canadian Member of Parliament (MP) for the Toronto area, Kevin Vuong, posted to X that Iran International's reporting only confirmed what he had already suspected and had previously raised concern about.

The Independent MP also reposted a video taken from Canada's House of Commons from May, where he questioned the potential architects behind campus protests on Canadian soil.

A Canadian senator from the province of Quebec also weighted in on the discussion.

Analysts revealed to Iran International that the network driving the McGill protests had been promoting narratives supporting the IRGC and the government of Iran while proliferating rhetoric against Israel and US.

“When you look at something that is happening in Montreal, Canada, you expect most of the users to be writing in English or French. Or you would expect most of them to be primarily engaging in other posts in English or French. It’s natural to see other languages but up to a certain point. What we saw here were users that were primarily writing in Farsi or that their followers were writing in Farsi,” said an XPOZ analyst.

They added the users were not Iranians living in Canada and not regular citizens in Iran but rather tied to the Islamic Republic.

Gabriel Noronha, who served as the Iran advisor to the US State Department during Trump's presidency, posted to X that he visited Montreal in May and was shocked by the "vitriol and militancy at the anti-Israel encampment on McGill's campus."

He said "the Iranian regime was stoking the fiery discourse online."

Several experts like Eitan Fischberger, an international relations and Middle East, reposted the article.

Israeli-American journalist Emily Schrader posted her thoughts, asking if there could be more Canadian university campus protests which had its flames stoked by the Iranian regime.

Prominent Canadian human rights activist Yasmine Mohammed, who was forced to marry an Al-Qaeda operative, and later made a harrowing escape, said Iran International's report, exposes the truth.

XPOZ analysts said their data demonstrate that Canada is subject to the use of deceptive mass influence campaigns coordinated by foreign governments, like Iran, to target Canadian society through proxies to deepen divides and threaten national security.

The event convened mere hours after Ismail Haniyeh's assassination in Tehran on Wednesday, centered on a 2014 US book that was only recently translated into Farsi and now brought to the forefront.

The discussion featured figures closely associated with Mohammad Javad Zarif, the former foreign minister and the current Deputy for Strategic Affairs to the new President, Masoud Pezeshkian.

The session, hosted by the news outlet Khabar Online, focused on identifying the obstacles to an improved Iran-US relationship. The discussion effectively challenged the idea that the establishment is inherently opposed to America, seemingly downplaying the Supreme Leader’s staunch anti-American stance and the "Death to the US" chants that echoed through the parliament during Pezeshkian’s inauguration the previous day.

“Tracing the Iran-US relationship from its inception, one observes that disruptions have consistently arisen due to third-party interference, historically by the Russians and the British and currently by Israel,” said Sassan Karimi, the session's host and an academic who conducted his postdoctoral research under Zarif's supervision at Tehran University.

The host further remarked that the most recent of these obstructive acts was Israel's assassination of Haniyeh in Iran, a maneuver aimed at derailing potential Iran-US relations.

“Whenever [Israel] senses that a de-escalation of tensions might occur [between the US and Iran], it resorts to such reckless behaviors,” he added.

One of the speakers, Diako Hosseini, Deputy of Economic Studies at the Chamber of Commerce, went as far as to challenge the reliance on China and Russia, identifying it as the principal impediment to fostering relations with the US.

“At the time of the Islamic Revolution, approximately 60% of America's oil was sourced from the Persian Gulf. Today, that figure has diminished to about 8%, with China now occupying that strategic position,” Hosseini said. The expert should have also noted that US oil production had substantially declined in the 1970s and China was not yet an industrial country. Now, US is an oil exporter.

He pointed out that today, Iran's nuclear issue is not the top priority for the US. "The main issue for the US, whether Democrats or Republicans, is China," he stated. "The challenge lies in Iran's alignment with the Russia-China camp, which poses a fundamental challenge for the US," he added.

Hosseini went on to voice a controversial opinion. "We must consider that even if we were to completely shut down Iran's nuclear program and hand them over to the US, American sanctions against Iran would still not be lifted."

Last week, Hosseini had remarked that 60% of Iran's imports originate from just two countries, China and the UAE, describing this as a significant national security threat.

The book that served as the focal point of the session, "US-Iran Misperceptions: A Dialogue," is a collaborative work by a former deputy foreign minister of Iran, an academic at Sharif University, and the former executive director of the MIT Center for International Studies, US.

The invited speakers at the panel included Majid Takht-Ravanchi, former Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations during President Hasan Rouhani, Mohammad Kazem Sajjadpour former Advisor to the Minister Foreign Affairs on Strategic Issues appointed by Zarif and former Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative for the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations.

Another familiar face was Hossein Mousavian, who joined the panel as a speaker online. He is a Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at Princeton University, and Tehran's ambassador to Germany from 1990 to 1997. Activists accuse him of involvement in the assassinations of at least 24 Iranian dissidents in Europe during the 1990s, leading to calls for his ouster from Princeton last year.

Political commentator Majid Mohammadi asserts that Zarif's trust in Mousavian, shown by his European representation during Zarif's tenure at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highlights Mousavian's commitment to the establishment. Mohammadi, who conducted post-doctoral work at Princeton in 2007-2008, stated that during his time at Tehran's Resalat Daily in the late 1980s, Mousavian played a crucial role in legitimizing and promoting terrorism.

Hosseinian, who contributed a chapter to the book, emphasized during the meeting that including a section on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's views was crucial.

"Since the Supreme Leader is the main decision-maker regarding Iran-US relations, Americans must properly understand his ideas," he said.

It seems that Zarif, the architect of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, has already mobilized efforts to coordinate and amplify narratives aimed at engaging the US in familiar negotiation tactics, particularly with Democratic Party politicians. He has established a robust network abroad specifically for this purpose.

An investigative report by Iran International and Semafor in 2023 uncovered that during Zarif’s tenure as Foreign Minister, the Islamic Republic established the Iran Experts Initiative in the United States in the mid-2010s, with the aim of influencing American policy centers and the US government. This operation was orchestrated and overseen by officials under Zarif's direction.

A cadre of experts was enlisted to author articles and opinion pieces defending Tehran's stance on key issues, including Iran's nuclear program and sanctions.

But the crucial matter is, as Hosseinian admitted, Khamenei is the ultimate decision-maker. Critics of the Islamic government content that Khamenei strategically using Zarif as a chess piece to navigate Iran out of its dire economic straits.