General Najat: We Have No Complaints About Attributing Our Activities to the Ministry of Intelligence

The deputy of the IRGC Intelligence Organization reacted to the denial of statements attributed to him by the Ministry of Intelligence, stating that the two security agencies are "completely coordinated" and that "if all IRGC Intelligence activities are published under the name of the Ministry of Intelligence, we have no complaints." According to Fars News Agency, Hossein Najat emphasized on Tuesday, March 9, that the Intelligence Coordination Council, which includes the IRGC Intelligence Organization, is formed "continuously" under the responsibility of the Minister of Intelligence, and if "there are any disagreements, they are discussed and resolved." He announced that in his previous remarks about "neutralizing a terrorist operation" in February, he mentioned the Ministry of Intelligence and did not refer to any specific organization regarding the arrest of Abdolmalek Rigi. Mr. Najat also stated that in that speech, he indicated that the arrest of Jason Rezaian and the "related intelligence operation" were carried out by the IRGC Intelligence Organization, and "through that, we were able to free part of the assets of the Islamic Republic of Iran." He added: "It is obvious that the Ministry of Intelligence, as the responsible body of the Intelligence Coordination Council, has also fulfilled its duties in this regard." The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence had denied Mr. Najat's statements about the role of the IRGC Intelligence Organization in several operations, including the arrest of Abdolmalek Rigi and the "neutralization of a terrorist operation" in February of this year and the prisoner exchange with the United States. The Ministry emphasized that these actions were "exclusively" carried out by its agents and that the IRGC Intelligence Organization had no role in them. A report published by Iranian media on March 5 from a speech by the deputy of the IRGC Intelligence Organization claimed that eight non-Iranian individuals, whose recent arrests were announced by the Minister of Intelligence, were apprehended "with the high intelligence oversight of the IRGC." This report also quoted Mr. Najat as saying that during the arrest of Abdolmalek Rigi, an "IRGC intelligence operative was sitting next to him," and in addition, the receipt of "1.4 billion dollars from the United States" in exchange for the release of Jason Rezaian was achieved through the "martyr-like efforts of the IRGC intelligence forces." The claims made by the deputy of the IRGC Intelligence Organization regarding these cases and the denial of the role of this organization in them by the Ministry of Intelligence once again highlight the parallel security actions within the governmental structure in Iran. The IRGC Intelligence section, which was transformed into the IRGC Intelligence Organization by a decree from the Supreme Leader in 2009, has pursued actions alongside the Ministry of Intelligence in recent decades, and such actions have drawn criticism. In recent years, especially after the 2009 presidential election, many political activists, human rights activists, and journalists have been arrested by the IRGC Intelligence forces, and in this context, Ali Motahari stated in June 2014 that "the IRGC should not interfere in the work of the Ministry of Intelligence." However, in September 2015, Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of the IRGC, emphasized that "all military agencies" in the world have systems to deal with intelligence attacks and acknowledged that this force "has powerful intelligence networks inside and outside the country."