Navid Negahban Talks to Voice of America About the Killing of Imad Mughniyeh in the Series 'Beirut Ghosts'

The airing of the series 'Beirut Ghosts' on the Showtime network in the United States has sparked significant reactions on social media; a spy-thriller depicting the story of the killing of Imad Mughniyeh, a senior commander of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Mughniyeh was involved in dozens of terrorist operations in the Middle East, including the bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, which resulted in the deaths of 220 Americans. He was killed 25 years later in an explosion in Damascus, Syria. No individual, group, or organization claimed responsibility for his assassination. The four-part series 'Beirut Ghosts' is based on real interviews and numerous documents. It was created by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, who are also producers of the Israeli series 'Fauda' on Netflix, which depicts the story of an Israeli anti-terrorism unit. Dermot Mulroney, Dina Shihabi, Garrett Dillahunt, Ido Goldberg, Hisham Suleiman, Amir Khoury, and Iranian artist Navid Negahban are among the cast of 'Beirut Ghosts'. Negahban plays the role of Alireza Asgari, a senior Iranian military officer, who plays a significant role in the storyline due to his information and connections. He tells the Persian section of Voice of America: 'This is a great project, and I really enjoyed working with such a team in front of and behind the camera.' Negahban describes the screenplay as 'incredibly' good and the characters as strong and well-developed to convey such a story. The Iranian artist mentions that filming took place in Morocco and that he had a delightful experience collaborating with all the actors, director, and producer of 'Beirut Ghosts'. Negahban urges art lovers to follow the series without any prejudgment and hopes they enjoy watching it. Lior Raz, one of the creators of 'Beirut Ghosts', told the New York Post: 'We can assume that Mughniyeh's assassination was a joint operation. I have read several books and articles about the cooperation between Mossad and the CIA; no one speaks officially about this. We cannot confirm anything, but we spoke with reliable and trustworthy individuals in both organizations.' According to Raz, they conducted extensive research in the U.S., Lebanon, and Israel for the screenplay and interviewed individuals who were part of the operations to gain complete awareness of Imad Mughniyeh's terrorist plans. He adds that by accessing archives and various documents, the motivations and connections of Imad Mughniyeh, as well as his impact on the activities of the CIA, Mossad, and the Israeli army in Lebanon during the 1980s, were thoroughly examined. The series references the secret connections of Iranian officials with Imad Mughniyeh in his youth, which provided him with financial resources for group terrorist attacks in Lebanon and some other countries. Lior Raz states that Imad Mughniyeh is one of the most feared terrorists in the world, responsible for the deaths of many Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese, and is considered one of the pioneers of suicide bombings in the Middle East with maximum casualties. Notable aspects of 'Beirut Ghosts' include references to various aspects of Imad Mughniyeh's life, such as love, marriage, interest in children, or his close circle of friends, which provide a relatively complete picture of him to the viewer. Overall, the series has received favorable reactions from audiences and art critics and is considered one of the most-watched series on Showtime. This comes as a group of art writers believes that some events presented in this series are not historically accurate; a point that the producers also acknowledge. Government media in Iran have criticized 'Beirut Ghosts', describing it as another example of Israeli and American propaganda aimed at discrediting one of the 'martyrs of resistance'. This report incorporates information from the New York Post and Jerusalem Post.