aka: Yasser or Reza Rezavi Position: Qods Force key figure in Syria. By virtue of his function, he is connected to various people involved in the transfer of weapons from Iran. Background: Rezvani served in the past in unit 190 of Quds Force, a unit that deals mainly with logistics of weapon and operatives smuggling.
He is in Syria for the last year and helps to Hezbollah to gather an arsenal of weapons in Syria and in Lebanon.
Hamid Fazeli
aka: Mohsen Kafi Position: Head of unit 340. Background: Has a PhD in mechanics from the Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. Prior to his current role he was president of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA). In the recent years, he served also as the president of the Iranian Space Research Institute (ARI).
Behnam Shahariari
Position: Head of unit 190 of Qods Force Background: Shahariari was the one who pushed forward the capabilities of the unit. He built and directed the infrastructure enabling Quds Force to transfer sensitive weapons from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon via Syria. For this purpose, Shahariari has set up an extensive network of ties for smuggling goods in Syria and Lebanon. This smuggling network is supported by various cover companies that enables large amounts of money to be transferred between the organizations and its senior members.
Hamid Zara’ati
Position: key field officer in unit 840.
Ali Tanhaei
Position: key field officer in unit 840.
Rahmat Asadi
Position: An Iranian intelligence operative who served time in prison in Dubai in the past for his part in the abduction and assassination of Abbas Yazdan Panah in 2013, an Iranian-British businessman who was an Iranian oppositionist. Background: In 2021 he was part of the squad managed by the headquarters of unit 840 of Quds force in Syria and contained Quds force and other intelligence members, Basij members and criminal syndicates. The squad planned to execute terror attacks on western targets in Colombia, US, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Kenya and more (none of them succeeded).
Mohamad Reza Bigi
Position: Operative in Unit 840 of the Quds. Background: Force in the Caucasus and Asia Department. In recent years, he has been in contact with terrorist elements and Islamist organizations in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, and directed a plan that was useful to the Revolutionary Guards to create terrorist attacks in the region.
Shaharam Poursafi
aka: Mehdi Razai Position: Operative in unit 840 in the Europe and the US department. Background: He approached different Iranians that live in the US, to spot and detect “operational information” on senior US government officials. The operation was supposed to be a revenge for the US airstrike that killed Qassem Suleimani.
Avat Hosseini Far
Position: Facilitator of unit 840 in Turkey, connected with Turkish organized crime.
Real name: unknown Position: Head of Turkey and Caucasus department in unit 840.
Hamid Raza Danshmandi
aka: Raza Amiri Position: Head of the Europe and the US department in unit 840 of Quds Force.
Yazdan Mir
aka: Sardar Bagheri Position: Head of Unit 840 – Quds Force
Ali Moghtaderi
Position: Operative in unit 400.
Mohammad Reza Abolghasemi
aka: Yunes Eliasi Position: Position: Senior operative of Quds Force special operations units. Background: Operates mostly in the Middle East region. Commanded the terror attack in New Delhi, India, 2012 when one Israeli diplomat’s wife was injured from a sticky bomb attached to her car by motorcycle.
Nasser Jafari
Position: Senior commander in unit 400 of Quds Force.
Ali Parhoun
aka: Shahabi Position: The highest-ranking field officer in unit 400 of Quds Force in Africa.
Majid Alavi
Real Name: Mohammad Pour Naimi Born: 1957 Position: Deputy commander to Hamed Abdallahi in unit 400, the elite unit of Quds Force. Background: Prior to this role he was head of the foreign intelligence division in MOIS and later appointed to acting intelligence minister in parallel. In unit 400 he had command in many operations around the world, including a series of terror attacks against Israelis in 2012.
Majid is involved deeply in various IRGC projects in Syria, where he used to visit very often.
He is one of the masterminds behind the unit’s missions and he oversees the unit’s cooperations with terror organizations around the world.
Hamed Abdallahi
Position: Commander of unit 400, the elite unit of Qods Force. He serves at this position approximately for a decade. Background: Before his appointment as Unit 400 commander, Abdallahi served in various positions in the IRGC and the Quds Force, including: commander of the Zahedan and Zabul area within the IRGC, deputy to Qassem Soleimani when the latter was commander of the 41st Division, and head of the Quds Force intelligence branch. Abdallahi was personally involved in carrying out terror attacks along his career.
As head of Unit 400, Abdallahi is involved in all its activities, approving attacks from inception to execution, including collection of intelligence, operational planning, final approval, and operational considerations, following attacks.
Gholamreza Abdul Hossein Abaziri
Position: The cultural advisor of the Iranian Embassy in Iraq. Member/works closely with Quds Force. Background: This financial network is damaging the Iraqi economy, if only to circumvent sanctions and benefit the IRGC.
Mohammad Kazem Al-Sadegh
Position: -The Iranian ambassador in Iraq. -Former commander at one of the units of Quds Force. Background: He used to be the first deputy of Iraj Masjedi, the former Iranian ambassador in Iraq, who was also a high ranked commander in Quds Force and IRGC. Both Masjedi and Al-Sadegh were part of the close circle of Qassim Soleimani. This just shows that the USD smugglings through Iraq is extremely important to Quds Force, that’s why it needs to control the position of the ambassador.
This financial network is damaging the Iraqi economy, if only to circumvent sanctions and benefit the IRGC.
Mustafa Pakbatan
Position: Operative in Quds Force, deployed at the Iranian embassy in Iraq. Background: He receives the USD from exchange offices in Iraq after issuing a money deposit certificate in Tehran. Two other employees of the embassy named Mohammad Ebrahim Ali Abiri, and Nader Ramadan Noor Mohammad Kalidbar, are also members of the Quds Force and work closely with Pakbatan. This financial network is damaging the Iraqi economy, if only to circumvent sanctions and benefit the IRGC.
Mahmoud Hosnizadeh
Position: Operative in unit 400. Background:
He commands on field the network which smuggles USD from Iraq. Reports to Tajan Jari.
This financial network is damaging the Iraqi economy, if only to circumvent sanctions and benefit the IRGC.
Mohammad Tajan Jari
Position: The financial manager of unit 400. Background: He commands from Iran the operation of smuggling tens of millions of USD from Iraq to IRGC accounts in Iran with the cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran Embassy. He deposits the required amount to the account of the unit at the "Shaheed Agha Babaei" branch of Ansar Bank on Basij highway in Tehran. This financial network is damaging the Iraqi economy, if only to circumvent sanctions and benefit the IRGC.
Hossein Rehban
Position: Operative in unit 400. Background: Commander of the assassination squad (wasn’t presence on scene during the operation, commanded from third country), that was foiled in Georgia, (November 2022) whose purpose was to kill an Israeli businessman.
Ali Faizipour
Position: Operative in unit 400. Background: Head of the assassination squad on the feild, that was foiled in Georgia, (November 2022) whose purpose was to kill an Israeli businessman.
Mohammad Reza Arablo
Position: Operative in unit 400. Background: Part of the assassination squad, that was foiled in Georgia, (November 2022) whose purpose was to kill an Israeli businessman.
Farhad Peshaye
Position: Operative in unit 400. Background: Part of the assassination squad, that was foiled in Georgia, (November 2022) whose purpose was to kill an Israeli businessman.
Mohsen Rafiei Miandashti
Position: Operative in unit 400. Background: Part of the assassination squad, that was foiled in Georgia, (November 2022) whose purpose was to kill an Israeli businessman.
Mohammad-Reza Ansari
Position: Commander in unit 840, stationed in Syria. Background: He was the one who commanded the foiled Assassination plot to kill former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former national security advisor John Bolton.
Muhammad Said Izadi
Terror organization: IRGC Status: He is a senior Quds Force commander, Head of the “Abu Jihad’s Foreign Operations Unit”, located in Lebanon. Roll: This unit is supervised by Quds Force and operates under Hezbollah. It is managing the coordination with the Palestinian terror groups like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. As a superior, he reports to the top command of the IRGC/Quds Force on what the unit needs, and one of his main responsibilities is to coordinate all elements involved in the operations of this unit. Location: Iran, Lebanon Born: 1964; Gender: Male; Passport: 9002446 (Iran); Address: 1. Iran;
2. Beirut, Lebanon; Known also as: Mohammad Sa'id Izadi; Ramazan Izadi; Saeed Izadi; Sa'id Abedini. Activities: Lebanon-based Izadi is the chief of the Palestinian Office of the IRGC-QF Lebanon Corp. As of late 2016, Izadi required a Hamas Political Officer member to get permission from three senior Hamas leaders in order to receive money directly from him. The Hamas Political Office member stated Izadi would be sending $1 million dollars in addition to Izadi’s regular allocation, and an additional $1 million dollars earmarked for the Hamas Political Office member.
Seyed Hojatollah Ghoreishi
Terror organization: IRGC and MODAFL; Status: Several positions: Chairman of the Board of Directors of Qods Aviation Industry, head of the Supply, Research, and Industry Affairs section of MODAFL, and Deputy Minister of Defense; Roll: He has led Iran’s military research and development efforts and was responsible for negotiating Iran’s agreement with Russia for the supply of Iranian UAVs for Russia’s war in Ukraine Location: Iran; Also Known As: (Arabic: سید حجت اله قریشی); GHOREISHI, Sayyid Hojatollah; GHOREISHI, Sayyid Hojjatollah; GHOREISHI, Seyed Hojjatollah; GHOREISHI, Seyyed Hojatollah; GHOREISHI, Seyyed Hojjatollah; GHOREISZI, Seyed Hojjatollah E.; QOREISHI, Seyyed Hojatollah; QORESHI, Seyyed Hojatollah; QUREISHI, Seyed Hojjatollah; Date of Birth: 27 Sep 1964; Place of Birth: Iran; Citizenship: Iran; Passport: D10003923 (Iran) expires 15 Aug 2023 to 15 Aug 2024; N42881363 (Iran) expires 10 Oct 2022; D9021706 (Iran) expires 14 Jul 2021; D10007155 (Iran) expires 17 Aug 2025; A59655618 (Iran) expires 15 Sep 2027; National ID No.: 5929869741 (Iran) Activities: Seyed Hojatollah Ghoreishi (Ghoreishi) serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of QAI. As the head of the Supply, Research, and Industry Affairs section of MODAFL, and Deputy Minister of Defense, he has led Iran’s military research and development efforts and was responsible for negotiating Iran’s agreement with Russia for the supply of Iranian UAVs for Russia’s war in Ukraine. Ghoreishi is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13382 for acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, both MODAFL and QAI. Ghoreishi are using various means to help Quds Force convert its money into foreign currency. The methods include using foreign currency earned by Iran’s petrochemical companies, and selling gold and converting the money in Turkey through Halk Bank and Ziraat Bank. This is supervised by Quds Force member Behnam Shahriyari Morallo. Esmaeili was designated by the U.S. Treasury.
Seyed Badroddin Naiemael Moosavi
Terror organization: an Iranian businessman connected to IRGC/QF; Status: key figure in IRGC/QF operational smuggling method of Venezuelan gold to finance Hezbollah; Roll: He is familiar with Nicolas Maduro and Tareck Al Aissami, he manages the operation of smuggling the Venezuelan gold using planes of Iranian company Mahan Air. The plane will stop on the way back to Iran in Turkey or in Africa and the gold will be sell illegally and the money will go directly to Hezbollah Location: Iran, Venezuela; Also Known As: Seyed Badroddin Naiemael Mosavi; Badr Ad-Din Naimi Musawi; Date of Birth: 1975; Place of Birth: Iran; Citizenship: Iran; Activities: Seyed Badroddin Naiemael Moosavi, owner of a company in Dubai (ACS Trading Co.), facilitated the movement of the gold from Caracas to Turkey to finance Hezbollah terrorist activities. “This Iranian businessman controlled the load of gold that he obtained at a discounted price and negotiated the oil shipments that had to compensate the ingots that arrived clandestinely in Tehran,” explains the Israel-Anti-Money Laundering (i-aml) site. “Once the gold was in the capital of Iran he made another trip to Turkey to sell it on the black market. The result of this illegal operation – millions of dollars – was used to finance Hezbollah’s terrorist acts in the Middle East.”
Hamid Arabnejad Khanouki
Terror organization: IRGC - Iran; Status: The CEO of Mahan Air; Roll: Before his current position which he handles since 1996, Khanouki served as commander of the IRGC forces in Croatia and Bosnia. Qasem Soleimani was part of his social circle. Khanouki is well-connected with senior Quds Force officials and serves as a senior Quds Force advisor in several fields as of weapons smuggling, aircraft procurement, and aviation issues. Apparently, Khanouki recently arrived in Syria regarding meetings concerning the airline’s flights to the Nayrab airport in Aleppo and the Rafic Hariri airport in Beirut. Involves in the highest level in the operational desertions od Quds Force unit 190 responsible for weapons smuggling in the region; Location: Iran; Also Known As: Hamid Khanouki; Place of Birth: Iran; Citizenship: Iran; Nationality: Iran; Activities: Hamid Arabnejad Khanouki – Trustee, Board Treasurer in Mola al-Movahedin Charity; (Khanouki is the CEO of Mahan Air, a position he has held for nearly two decades. He also holds positions at several Mahan Air/MMC–affiliated companies, including Pardis Parham Kish and Pardis Lalim Development. Public records show Qasem Soleimani’s brother Sohrab represented one of the subsidiaries of MMC on the board of Pardis Parham Kish while Khanouki was its board chairman. Sohrab Soleimani is still on the board of Pardis Lalim Development.)
Mohammad Reza Zahedi
Terror organization: Iran – IRGC – Quds Force Status: Zahedi (sanctioned by the US) has been the commander of the Lebanon Corps since 2008. It is his second term as corps commander, the first term was between 1998-2002.
Between 2001-2008, Zahedi filled senior positions in the IRGC, including Commander of the IRGC Air Force, commander of the IRGC Ground Forces, and commander of the Thorallah command, responsible for security in Tehran. He was also deputy commander of Quds Force.
In his current position as commander of Quds Force's Lebanon Corps, Zahedi plays a critical role in the military assistance Quds Force provides to Hezbollah in Lebanon, includes: maintaining close relations between Iran and Hezbollah at top level of command, visit Hezbollah units in the Beqaa as checking their preparedness, and participates in meetings of Hezbollah's Shura council, which outlines the organization's policy.
He is special advisor for the Syrian intelligence and strongly involved in the assistance Iran gives Assad's regime. Roll: Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) in Lebanon Location: Iran and Lebanon and Syria. Also Known As: Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi Born: 1944 Activities: Mohammad Reza Zahedi is an Iranian senior military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He previously commanded its Air Force and Ground Force and currently serves as is one of the top commanders of the Quds Force; Has acted as a liaison to Hezbollah and Syrian intelligence services. Reportedly guaranteed weapons shipments to Hezbollah;
Gholamreza Soleimani
Terror organization: Iranian Basij; Status: Head of the Iranian Basij; Roll: Head of the Basij since 2019, he is involved personally and as a commander in human rights violations of Iranian citizens. During his career and especially since he was put in his current position by Khamenei, the Basij oppress, wounded, and killed a high number of Iranian citizens; Location: Iran; Born: 1964; Place of Birth:Iran; Gender: Male; Nationality:Iran; Known also as: Soleimani, Gholam Reza; Soleymani, Gholam Reza Activities: Gholamreza Soleimani (Soleimani) commands the Basij, one of Iran’s most important domestic security resources. The Basij has been heavily involved in violent crackdowns in Iran, including following the June 2009 contested presidential election, and in November 2019, during Soleimani’s tenure, when the Basij reportedly were among the Iranian security organizations that collectively killed hundreds of Iranian men, women, and children. Treasury designated the Basij pursuant to E.O. 13553 on June 9, 2011, for, among other activity, its role in the 2009 post-election crackdown. Soleimani was sanctioned by the European Union in April 2021 for his role in the violent response to the November 2019 protests; Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani was appointed by the Supreme Leader on July 2, 2019 as the Commander of the Basij Resistance Force, a paramilitary force subordinate to IRGC. Among other malign activities, the IRGC’s Basij militia recruits, trains, and deploys child soldiers to fight in IRGC-fueled conflicts across the region;
Mohammad Ali Minaei aka Mohammadi
Position: Head of Unit 840 station in Iraq. Background: He is also works for unit 400 and he is Hamed Abdollahi ‘s special operations deputy in Iraq.
Hassan Kasemi
Position: A Quds Force operative stationed in Syria/Lebanon. Background: He is involved in a joint project of Quds Force and Hezbollah’s ESO (unit 910) that includes recruiting Pakistani and Afghan proxies to carry out terror attacks.
Muhammad Javad Rahimi aka Zakri
Position: Head of Africa department in unit 400 of Quds Force.
Abdolreza Shahlaei
Position: Quds Force’s commander in Yemen (unit 400). Background: He oversees the strong connection with the Houthis, including weapon supply, training, intelligence gathering and operations. On the night of the US airstrike to eliminate Soleimani, Shahlaei was the second target with an airstrike in Yemen around the same time, but he escaped in time. He has a long history of targeting Americans and U.S. allies globally. For example: Multiple assassinations of coalition forces in Iraq, provided weapons and explosives to Shia extremist groups, planned the 20/01/2007 attack in Karbala, Iraq, that killed five U.S. soldiers and wounded three others. As a financier and senior IRGC official, Shahlaei funded and directed the plot to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States in Washington, D.C. in 2011. He also planned follow-on attacks inside the United States and elsewhere. Had this scheme succeeded, as many as 200 innocent civilians in the United States could have been killed.
Hassan Polark
Position: Special adviser to the commander of Quds Force and member of Quds Force’s Command Council. Supervisor of the Quds Force headquarters’ projects – reports to Khamenei.
Mohammad Reza Fallahzadeh aka Abu-Bakr (1962)
Position: Deputy commander of Quds Force. Background: Prior to this role he was Quds Force’s deputy for coordination affairs.
From 2007 – 2013 he served in Syria and was promoted to the status of the local deputy of operations of Quds Force there.
Seyed Salman Sadeghi Azizalo
Position: An operative in IRGC Intelligence Organization, Division 1500. Background: He is responsible for Terror activity in Eurasia.
Hamidreza Nemati
Position: Cyber Division (unit 2000) in IRGC’s Intelligence Organization.
Javad Ghafari aka Butcher of Aleppo
Position: Head of the Special Operations Division (Division 4000) in IRGC’s Intelligence Organization (replaced Reza Seraj). Background: He is one of the senior figures behind the failures of trying to assassinate and kidnap Israelis abroad in the past few months.
Prior to his current role he was the Commander of the Iranian forces in Syria.
He was “expelled” from Syria due to “major breach of Syrian sovereignty”, in fact, the reason was Assad’s request to Ghafari superiors after the last ordered to attack US forces and deployed Iranian weapon in unapproved places in the country. He put Syria in huge risk of opening a war with Israel.
He is considered a problematic figure. This is the main reason he was deployed in the shadows, out of Quds Force regular institutions, as he failed many times in his new role (first as a deputy to Reza Seraj) due to lack of knowledge in special operations.
The failures of the two made Ghafari to take Seraj position. Furthermore, he dismissed a lot of the division’s personnel simultaneously, which left him with unexperienced employees not capable to do their jobs as he wanted them to. Now he works vigorously to steal manpower and capabilities from other Qods Force and IRGC units.
Reza Seraj
Position: Unknown, former Head of the Special Operations Division (Division 4000) in IRGC’s Intelligence Organization (replaced by his former deputy Javad Ghafari). Background: He is behind multiply failed attempts to assassinate and kidnap Israelis in the last months in places like Turkey, Cyprus, and UAE.
Esmail Qaani (1957)
Position: Head of Quds Force (replaced Qassem Soleimani after his death, January 2020). Background: Serves in the IRGC since the 80’s. In his early years in Quds Force, he was appointed to the eastern border of Iran, fighting the Taliban and their control of drug smuggling. Qaani oversaw financial disbursements to terror organizations around the world, including Hezbollah.
He was Soleimani’s deputy since 1997. He does not have a charismatic character like Soleimani, and it is common rumor that he received his position due to respect to Soleimani who recommended him for this position.
Amir Ali Hajizadeh
Terror organization: Iranian IRGC; Status: Aerospace force commander of the IRGC; Roll: A dominant figure in IRGC terror system, behind the latest progress in the drone abilities of IRGC. Took responsible for the missile launching at the Ukrainian airplane; Location: Iran; Born: 1962; Place of Birth:Iran; Gender: Male; Type(s) of Organization: Militia, political party, social-service provider, terrorist, transnational, violent; Ideologies and Affiliations: Iranian-sponsored, Islamist, jihadist, Khomeinist, Shiite; Known also as: Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh; Activities: Amir Ali Hajizadeh is the internationally designated commander of the Aerospace Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). He holds the rank of brigadier general. In this role Hajizadeh oversees Iran’s ballistic missile program. He claims the main purpose of Iran’s missile program is to strike Israel. Hajizadeh is a staunch opponent of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, China, France, and Russia, which he saw as an attempt to weaken Iran. As head of the IRGC’s missile program, he routinely boasts of Iran’s military capabilities and regional dominance while directly threatening to strike U.S. and Israeli positions in the Middle East if those countries provoke the Islamic republic. Hajizadeh has warned that the United States’ intentions in Iraq and Syria is to destroy those countries, but Iran has thwarted those plans. Under Hajizadeh’s command, the IRGC Aerospace Force has provided advisory assistance to Iraq’s air force. Hajizadeh publicly boasts of Iran’s military prowess, which he has said has no equal. He has warned that all American bases and ships within 2,000 kilometers of Iran are within the range of Iranian missiles. According to Hajizadeh, Iran is always fully prepared for war. Hajizadeh has welcomed a potential Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities because it would give Iran reason to retaliate and destroy Israel. After Iran conducted missile tests in 2012 against a mock U.S. base, Hajizadeh declared the tests were a message against the “bullying” of Iran. The U.S. government has linked Hajizadeh to Iran bringing down a U.S. drone on June 20, 2019. As head of the IRGC’s aerospace division, Hajizadeh also commands the IRGC’s missile development and arsenal. In April 2017, the Trump administration reportedly called for inspections of Iranian military sites in order to monitor the country’s missile program. Hajizadeh has rejected all calls for such oversight. Hajizadeh accused the United States of trying to disarm Iran through various tactics. In March 2018, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian called on Iran to curb its missile program during a visit to Tehran. Hajizadeh accused France, the United Kingdom, the United States, and “the Zionist regime”—i.e., Israel—of manipulating international law for their own benefit. Hajizadeh has labeled U.S. criticism of Iran’s missile program as a “pretext” for U.S. animosity against Iran. On January 3, 2020, a U.S. airstrike in Iraq killed Qasem Soleimani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force. On January 8, Iran launched a missile strike on the Ain Al-Asad airbase in Iraq. The IRGC claims the attack killed at least 80 Americans. U.S. officials denied any fatalities but at least 34 American troops were diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries. Also on January 8, Iranian forces shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing all 179 on board. Hajizadeh claimed Iran mistook the plane for a cruise missile. According to Hajizadeh, the IRGC boosted its aerospace defenses in response to U.S. aggression. Hajizadeh warned that the January 8 attack on Ain Al-Asad was just the beginning of Iran’s response to Soleimani’s death. Hajizadeh called the revenge operation “Martyr Soleimani.”
