Police Spokesman: The Arrested Individual in Albania is a Woman

The Iranian police have refuted reports published by some media outlets regarding the arrest of Masoud Kashmiri, stating that the individual arrested in connection with the explosion of the Islamic Republic Party in Albania is a woman. On Saturday, Saeed Montazeralmahdi, the spokesman for the Iranian police, claimed that one of the individuals involved in the explosion at the Islamic Republic Party's office on July 7, 1981, was arrested with the 'cooperation of Interpol.' However, some Iranian media, including the Shargh newspaper and the IRIB news agency, reported that Masoud Kashmiri, whom Islamic Republic officials refer to as the 'main perpetrator' of the explosion at the Prime Minister's office on September 1, 1981, had been arrested. Nevertheless, the police spokesman on Sunday referred to the 'incorrect' news published about this matter, adding that 'the arrested individual was a woman who was involved in the explosion at the Islamic Republic Party's office.' According to ISNA news agency, he claimed that this individual was a member of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization and had been residing in Albania, where she was identified and arrested by the police of that country following 'the issuance of a red notice by Interpol in recent days.' Mr. Montazeralmahdi did not provide further details about this claim. Iranian officials identify an individual named Mohammad Reza Kolahi as the 'main perpetrator' of the explosion at the Islamic Republic Party building, which in July 1981 resulted in the deaths of several high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic, including Mohammad Hosseini Beheshti, then head of the Supreme Court. Conflicting reports have emerged regarding the fate of Mohammad Reza Kolahi. For instance, the state-run IRNA news agency reported in 2013, citing 'an informed source,' that Mohammad Reza Kolahi had been 'sighted in Germany' along with Masoud Kashmiri. In Iran, Masoud Kashmiri is referred to as the 'main perpetrator' of the explosion at the Prime Minister's office on September 1, 1981, which resulted in the deaths of Mohammad Ali Rajai and Mohammad Javad Bahonar, the then president and prime minister, respectively, as well as several other officials of the Islamic Republic. Both explosions have been attributed to the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization, but conflicting reports have emerged regarding this group's role in these incidents. Most members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization, who previously lived for about ten years in Camp Ashraf in northern Iraq, have been transferred in recent years to a location near Baghdad called Camp Liberty. However, Martin Kobler, the UN special representative in Iraq, announced in July 2013 that 71 members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization had been transferred from Iraq to Albania, and that country had agreed to grant them political asylum. At that time, he emphasized the importance of the swift transfer of the residents of this camp to a third country in light of the attack on Camp Liberty in the outskirts of Baghdad.