Alavi: Some Elements of Jaish al-Adl Abroad Have Been Targeted

Mahmoud Alavi, Iran's Minister of Intelligence, stated that members of the Jaish al-Adl group and those who have carried out terrorist actions in Iran have been targeted and killed abroad. Alavi's remarks were reported by the Iranian judiciary news agency, Mizan, on Friday, December 14, referring to the 'security measures' of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence both inside and outside the country, including in Pakistan and Tanzania. He said: 'A few months ago, Abdul-Raouf Rigi, a military element of Jaish al-Adl, and his nephew were targeted in Pakistan. A person named Sheikh Nadim, who, along with his brother, killed 15 Pakistani Shia and two Iranian engineers, was also targeted.' Iranian officials had previously denied reports regarding the involvement of the Islamic Republic's security forces in the death of Abdul-Raouf Rigi, with the Iranian Interior Ministry's spokesperson stating that Rigi was killed due to internal conflicts within Jaish al-Adl, a claim that Jaish al-Adl has denied. Alavi further mentioned other instances of 'retribution' against 'terrorist elements' abroad, including the 'retribution for the killer' of a security officer in Sirjan. He said: 'A person who 20 years ago took the head of Sirjan's intelligence to the mountains to show him a smuggler's drop-off point and, in a moment of distraction, pushed him off a cliff and killed him, then fled to Karachi, has been identified and punished.' He added: 'A person named Mohammad Bozorgzadeh, who during the years 2008 and 2009 killed fifteen police officers and fled to Tanzania, where he financially supported Jaish al-Adl with his economic success, was also targeted.' These statements were also reflected in other domestic Iranian media, such as the Central News Unit and the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), which later removed the news from their outlets. However, ISNA published another report of Alavi's remarks that did not mention this information. The Iranian Minister of Intelligence also listed security measures taken by his ministry's agents inside the country, stating that 'five members of Jaish al-Adl who intended to blow up the Chabahar port during the President's trip to Sistan and Baluchestan were identified and arrested.' Hassan Rouhani's trip to Sistan and Baluchestan was his first provincial visit of the year, which took place in late April, and among his companions was Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence. Alavi also reported the discovery of terrorist actions during Quds Day ceremonies in Shiraz and Zahedan, emphasizing that the perpetrators of these actions have been arrested or killed. According to him, one of these individuals was from Tunisia and was injured, while another from Egypt was killed. However, the Minister of Intelligence did not specify which groups these individuals from Tunisia and Egypt belonged to. In recent months, Iran has faced threats from the Islamic State (ISIS), which has captured parts of Iraq and Syria and has also threatened the Islamic Republic.