Iran-Backed Militia Commander In Iraq Killed By US Strike

IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency reported Wednesday that “Several foreign spies and terrorists, under central guidance, entered Iran from the Republic of Azerbaijan with the intention of carrying out sabotage operations within the country, but they were identified and arrested before taking action.”

Iran's intelligence agencies frequently announces busting spy networks and detaining saboteurs within Iran borders, although subsequent information about trials and convictions is scarce. Such incidents have been on the rise in recent years, with clandestine attacks targeting nuclear facilities, and military installations. Iran’s intelligence apparatus lost significant face after sabotage attacks on its Natanz nuclear facility in 2020 and 2021.

While the Iranian government often attributes such incidents to Israel, Israeli officials have never officially claimed responsibility.

In late January, the Iranian regime executed four Kurdish political prisoners on charges of plotting to bomb a defense facility. Human rights groups have criticized the executions, citing allegations of confessions obtained under torture and unfair trials.

Identified by IRNA as Ali Hosseini (son of Amir), Ali Hosseini (son of Mohammad Hossein), Ali Hosseini (son of Ebrahim), Hamzeh Alavi, and Mohammad Ali Akbari, the militias were killed in the recent US attacks.

Reports from the Telegram channel Defenders of the Shrine indicated on Monday that four members of the Fatemiyoun, including Ali Hosseini, Hamzeh Alavi, Mohammad Ali Akbari, and Mohammad Reza Sadat Alavi, died in a recent US attack on Syria. The moniker Defender of the Shrine is associated with forces dispatched to Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Ali Hosseini was a commander within the Fatemiyoun Brigade in eastern Syria. Images circulating onlineshow him alongside Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force who was killed by the US in 2020.

The Sunday US military's strike on Iran-affiliated militias in eastern Syria occurred as the US has increased strikes against Iran-backed forces in retaliation to the killing of American soldiers in Jordan. Last week, three US service members lost their lives in drone attacks perpetrated by Iran-backed groups in northeastern Jordan, the first American fatalities since Iran’s proxies has come out in allegiance with Hamas in Gaza.

The Fatemiyoun Brigade, operating under the auspices of the Quds Force of the Revolutionary Guards, comprises Afghan immigrants in Iran and has been actively deployed in Syria in recent years. Criticism of Iran's recruitment tactics has been pervasive, with observers and human rights activists condemning the exploitation of Afghan refugees' dire circumstances to engage in regional conflicts, including the ongoing conflict in Syria.

In an interview with the Afkar Network, Hassan Kazemi-Qomi said, "Although Afghanistan is farther from Gaza, if necessary, more than one brigade from this country will go to support Gaza."

Iran-backed Hamas invaded Israel on October 7 in what was the most deadly single day for Jews since the Holocaust. Since then, Israel's relentless retaliation and the US support for its right to defend itself has sparked a regional proxy war. Iran's militias in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen have joined the fight in support of Hamas in Gaza.

Kazemi-Qomi's statement comes after the Iranian regime launched a multi-platform campaign to recruit fighters for the Hamas conflict against Israel. Despite Iranians branding it as a propaganda stunt, the regime initiated the campaign through various outlets including websites affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards and the state broadcaster.

A chyron message urging viewers to sign up and declare their readiness to be dispatched to Palestine aired during broadcasts. Additionally, Iranians received SMS messages prompting them to express their willingness to participate. The regime also established a website named "al-Aqsa Storm," mirroring Hamas's codename for its offensive into Israel, which claimed numerous civilian and military casualties, alongside the taking of hostages.

Iran's proxies are mostly made up of fighters from Shia Muslim–majority countries such as Iraq and Lebanon but Shia groups in Sunni-majority Afghanistan, its border neighbor, the

A Swedish Radio investigation has revealed that two Iranians were deported following a murder plot to kill Swedish Jews.

The couple, Mahdi Ramezani and Fereshteh Sanaeifarid, who had entered Sweden in 2015 on forged Afghan passports seeking asylum, were deported in 2022 after their arrest in 2021.

They had targeted three Swedish Jews including Aron Verständig, Chair of the Official Council of Swedish Jewish communities, who was informed of the plot in 2021. One of the other potential targets was a dual US citizen, according to the Swedish Radio report.

The suspects, believed to have been part of an IRGC plot, lived under fake identities in the country.

“I think that what Iran wants to do is to harm Israel and I think it’s very difficult for them to do these kinds of things in Israel. So instead they are randomly choosing people who have some kind of official position in the Jewish diaspora and trying to create fear," Verständig told the radio station, though it is unclear why the case has only gone public now.

Deputy chief prosecutor Hans Ihrman said the FBI in the US was also investigating the couple. While there was not enough evidence to prosecute in Sweden, Ihrman said: “We have strong belief that they were here on a mission on behalf of Iran. They were seen here in Sweden as a very severe security threat. And that's the reason why they were expelled, even if we couldn't prosecute them."

Jews and Israelis abroad have increasingly been targets of the regime in recent years, plots foiled in countries including Greece, Cyprus, Azerbaijan and Argentina.

Last year, Sweden's parliament voted to designate the IRGC and relations between the two countries are ever more strained since 2019 and the arrest of a former Iranian jailor, Hamid Nouri. Sweden sentenced him to life imprisonment last year over executions of political prisoners in 1988.

A series of high profile arrests of Swedish citizens has followed as Iran's hostage-diplomacy continues.

What the targets represented is not exactly known, but Syrian activists claimed they were all sites linked with Iran and Hezbollah. The possibility exists that in one case a gathering of commanders was targeted. Syrian state television showed ambulances rushing to the scene of a strike, where wreckage and debris lay from a building that was hit.

Israel, which has targeted Iran-linked military sites and convoys in Syria for years, appears to have intensified targeted attacks based on precise and timely intelligence, eliminating Iranian IRGC officers.

Just last week, a suspected Israeli strike killed Saeid Alidadi, a Revolutionary Guard senior officer, south of the Syrian capital Damascus. In a devastating attack on January 29, in Damascus, several top IRGC officers and operatives were killed. Reports followed that the Iranians, fearing more attacks began reducing their presence in Syria. The United States also targeted Iran-linked sites in Syria on February 3 in retaliation for a drone attack days earlier that killed three US soldiers.

However, Houthi forces in Yemen continued their attacks on shipping in the strategically important Red Sea area on Tuesday, firing at two vessels. Houthis, a large military force, have received extensive Iranian military support for more than a decade. The began targeting commercial and naval vessels in mid-November after Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei called on Muslims to blockade Israel.

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The US military's Central Command said the Houthis fired three missiles at the Star Nasia, which reported minor damage but no injuries. A US Navy ship operating near the Star Nasia shot down one of the missiles, Centcom said on X, formerly known as Twitter. It said the Star Nasia remained seaworthy and was continuing toward its destination.

Separately, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency and British maritime security firm Ambrey reported an explosion near a merchant vessel off Yemen's port of Aden on Tuesday.

Ambrey said the southbound Greek-owned bulk carrier had been targeted while heading through the Maritime Security Transit Corridor about 53 nautical miles southwest of Aden, en route from the US to India.

The Houthi attacks have affected the free flow of good through the Suez Canal between Asia and Europe. The United States began launching attacks on Houthi military installations last month, with dozens of sites bombed by missiles and aircraft. However, the attacks have continued.

Ambrey said the second vessel, a Barbados-flagged general cargo ship owned by a British company, had suffered damage from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) while sailing south through the Red Sea.

No injuries were reported. The ship performed evasive maneuvers and continued its journey, Ambrey said.

The owner of the Morning Tide, British firm Furadino Shipping, told Reuters the ship was currently sailing without problems, but gave no further information.

US Centcom said three missiles fired by the Houthis had hit the water near the Morning Tide but caused no damage or injuries.

Iranian government media on Wednesday simply reported the news about the attack in Syria and the Houthi strikes but mostly avoided the typical rhetoric about the power of their proxy forces.