Following the revelation of the New York Times that Israel had informed the United States that it had been involved in the assassination of a prominent Revolutionary Guards colonel, the newspaper reported the name of one of the secret units of the Quds Force, known as Unit 840.
The newspaper quoted an unnamed intelligence official as saying that Israel had informed the United States that the assassination of Iranian Colonel Hassan Sayad Khodaei was a warning to Tehran to stop the operation of the secret unit of the Quds Force called the “840th Unit”.
The Quds Force, consisting of the Revolutionary Guards, is responsible for operations outside the country. And the United States had previously carried out an airstrike that killed the commander of the powerful legion, Qassem Soleimani, near Baghdad International Airport in January 2020.
According to the New York Times, Iran does not recognize the existence of a unit of the Quds Force affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards known as this. Also, the Iranian media never mentioned the name of this unit.
But the US newspaper quoted Israeli government, military and intelligence officials as saying that the Quds Force secret unit was accused of kidnapping and assassinating foreigners around the world, including Israeli civilians and officials.
Information about the existence of a unit called the 840th Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is scarce, but the Israeli army first spoke publicly about it for the first time in November 2020, linking it to a “terrorist operation” on the border with Iran. Syria.
Israeli military intelligence at the time confirmed that Unit 840, responsible for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the Israeli-Syrian border in November and August of that year, tweeted “Iran … we are watching you.”
According to a report in the Jerusalem Post, the Israeli military said the unit, known as the 840, was “a relatively secretive operational unit that plans terrorist infrastructure outside Iran against Western targets and opposition groups.”
At the time, Israeli Army spokesman Brigadier General Heidi Zilbermann said the newly discovered anti-personnel mines had been planted a few weeks ago by local Syrians under the command of the Quds Force.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense stated that the Israeli army had tracked down the Quds Force cells in the past few months, which were trying to plant explosives near the border.
He added: “Patrols of soldiers, drones and reconnaissance are underway to prevent any possible attack.”
Israel has repeatedly warned of Iran’s ambitions for regional hegemony and acknowledged some airstrikes as part of its “war-to-war” campaign to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the deployment of its forces in Syria. Is.
Israeli officials told the New York Times that Colonel Sayad Khodaei was the deputy commander of Unit 840 and was involved in plotting overseas against foreigners, including Israelis.
The Israel Hayom newspaper quoted Channel 12 as saying that Israeli officials were surprised by the US intelligence leak to the New York Times, which is considered very rare in the context of the two countries’ close strategic relationship.
According to the report, Israeli officials “were unsure of the Americans’ motivation for disclosing the information” and were trying to understand the consequences.
Israel rarely takes responsibility for any operations on foreign soil. Because going that way facilitates denial and makes the other side refuse. According to the report, Israeli officials have expressed concern that the revelation would increase Iran’s desire for further revenge.
According to the New York Times, Iran blamed Israel for the operation, which is a continuation of the shadow war that has been going on for years between the two countries on land, sea, air and cyberspace.
According to Iranian media reports, Majid Mohammadi, a member of Iran’s National Security Council, said the killing was “certainly Israel’s job” and warned that hard revenge was on the way.
According to the British Times, the secret unit 840 was planning a series of assassinations in Europe, including the assassination of an Israeli diplomat in Istanbul and an American general in Germany, as well as a French journalist.
According to the London newspaper, the Israeli Mossad revealed plans related to a god and interrogated a suspect at his home in Iran.
In January 2021, a report by the Israeli website The Intel Times revealed that a Western country intelligence service had launched an operation four months ago targeting an office in the Syrian capital, Damascus, where the 840 unit is based.
According to the Israeli website, the operation included an attack on the headquarters of the President of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, 3 km away. The site confirmed that Israeli intelligence services discovered a secret unit of the Revolutionary Guards in May 2019.
The website quoted a source as saying that the offensive unit was considered relatively new, noting that it was responsible for planning and building infrastructure for terrorism around the world, as well as recruiting and training foreign militias.
The Israeli site reported that Unit 840 was led by a man named Yazdan Mir, known as Sadir Bagheri, along with two veteran Iranian activists in the unit, Mojtaba Hashemi and Mohsen Mohammad, who frequently travel between Iran and Syria.
Source: Lebanon Debate
