Death of Former Head of Foreign Intelligence of the IRGC

Some Iranian media reported the death of Reza Sarraj, spokesman and deputy for culture and communications at the Secretariat of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, following his "brain tumor surgery." Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also confirmed this news on Saturday, September 31, without mentioning the cause of death, referring to Sarraj with the rank of "Brigadier General." Sarraj previously served as the head of the special operations unit of the IRGC's intelligence organization and was responsible for a series of failed operations against Israeli citizens. In recent years, he was introduced in media close to the IRGC and other government institutions as a "political expert" and had also held the position of head of the Basij Student Organization and deputy political commander of the Quds Force. In June 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned several individuals and a company linked to the IRGC and Quds Force for their involvement in a series of "terrorist plots" against American officials and opponents of the Iranian government. Sarraj was one of these individuals, with the U.S. Treasury identifying him as the head of foreign intelligence for the IRGC, stating that he was involved in several failed IRGC operations in Asia and intelligence operations targeting American citizens. However, in December 2023, he was appointed to another position, and media reported that he had become the spokesman and deputy for culture and communications at the Secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council. Following this appointment, Ali Afshari, a political activist and former member of the Central Council of the Office for Consolidation of Unity, tweeted that Sarraj had been his "interrogator" in the case known as "legal overthrow" and had directed the "forced interview" film of him. Afshari had previously stated in a video in 2016 that Sarraj, under the alias "Alavi," was one of the interrogators who led the "repentance project" for detained students after the events of July 9, 1999.