Iranian Regime is currently setting up terror cells in Africa to attack the US forces

The Islamic Republic of Iran is spreading its state-sponsored terrorism to Western African countries to attack the US and Western assets, the British Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.

“Iran is setting up a network of terror cells in Africa to attack US and other Western targets in retaliation for Washington’s decision to impose sanctions against Tehran, according to Western security officials,” according to the newspaper.The article by veteran defense and security journalist Con Coughlin said that the “new terror network has been established on the orders of Qassem Suleimani, the head of the Quds Force, the elite section of Iran’s Republican Guard Corps that has responsibility for overseas operations.”

The United States government classifies Iran’s regime as the leading international state-sponsor of terrorism.

According to the Telegraph, “The aim of the new terror cell is to target US and other Western military bases on the continent, as well as embassies and officials. The Iranian cells are said to be active in a number of African countries including Sudan, Chad, Ghana, Niger, Gambia and the Central African Republic.”

“Iran is setting up a new terrorist infrastructure in Africa with the aim of attacking Western targets,” a senior Western security source told The Telegraph, adding, “It is all part of Tehran’s attempts to expand its terrorist operations across the globe.”

The report noted “Intelligence officials say Iran has been working on the new terror network for the past three years since signing the nuclear deal on freezing its uranium enrichment activities with the US and other major world powers in 2015.”

Coughlin wrote that “The operation is being organized by Unit 400, a highly specialized section of the Quds Force which is run by Hamed Abdollahi, a veteran Republican Guard officer who was designated by the US as supporting terrorist activity in 2012.”

The African cell is said to be run by Ali Parhoon, another senior Iranian officer in Unit 400. Details of the terror cell’s existence were uncovered following a series of arrests in Chad in April.

“Investigators found that Iran was behind the recruitment and training of men between the ages of 25-35 with the aim of committing terror attacks against Western targets on the continent,” The Telegraph reported.

“There are estimated to be around 300 militants who have been recruited by the Revolutionary Guard and have undergone rigorous training at Iranian-run training camps in Syria and Iraq.”

According to the article, “The last batch of recruits were trained at an Iranian base in the southern Iraqi city of Najaf. Iran’s attempts to establish a new terror operation in Africa follow revelations in The Telegraph earlier this month that British security officials caught terrorists linked to Iran stockpiling tons of explosives on the outskirts of London.

“The British authorities believe this cell was also set up in 2015 after Iran signed the nuclear deal.

“US diplomatic officials say a warning has been circulated to American diplomatic and military missions in the countries where Iranian militants are said to be operating, as well as missions of other Western countries, including Britain, France and Italy,” The Telegraph reported.

The Jerusalem Post reported last week that one of main actors in espionage activities in the Federal Republic of Germany is Iran’s clerical regime, according to the intelligence report from the state of Brandenburg, which was reviewed by the Post.

Iran’s regime also has 1,050 Hezbollah operatives in Germany who are loyal to Tehran. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has declined to ban Hezbollah’s political wing in Germany. The United Kingdom outlawed Hezbollah’s so-called political wing in February. The EU banned Hezbollah’s so-called military wing in 2013.

Iran’s regime has conducted illicit proliferation activities in Germany since the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was reached with Tehran. In exchange for Tehran agreeing to curbs on its nuclear program, the world powers – including Germany – provided considerable economic sanctions relief to Iran.

The Post reported in May that a German state intelligence report from Bavaria said Iran is “making efforts to expand its conventional arsenal of weapons with weapons of mass destruction.”

Iran was termed a “risk country” in the 335-page document outlining serious threats to the security and democracy of the state of Bavaria.

The intelligence report defines weapons of mass destruction as “the spread of atomic, biological [or] chemical weapons of mass destruction.”

The May 2019 intelligence report from the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern stated: “The fight against the illegal proliferation of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons of mass destruction and the materials needed for their manufacture, as well as the corresponding delivery systems [e.g. rockets], including the necessary knowledge, in cooperation with other authorities, is also the responsibility of counterintelligence.”

The intelligence report added, “From these points of view, it is essentially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea [North Korea] and the Syrian Arab Republic that need to be mentioned. The intelligence services of these countries are involved in unlawful procurement activities in the field of proliferation, using globally oriented, conspiratorial business and commercial structures.”

Source: JP