By Dr Sanabargh Zahedi
NCRI – In addition to Iran’s foreign minister, Mottaki, as the delegation’s number two, the Mullahs had also sent Mohammad Jafari-Sahraroudi, to the Sharm El-Sheikh Conference in Egypt, reports indicate.
Despite being a sought-after terrorist by the Austrian Justice system, Sahraroudi was sent by the Mullahs to an international conference and was seated on the same table with about 50 Foreign Ministers of different countries.
By: Dr Sanabargh ZahediReuters TV picture ââ¬â Iranââ¬â¢s delegation at the Sharm El-Sheikh Conference. Sitting in front from left to right, Sahraroudi, Mottaki, and Araghchi.In the News:
In addition to Iran’s foreign minister, Mottaki, as the delegation’s number two, the Mullahs had also sent Mohammad Jafari-Sahraroudi, to the Sharm El-Sheikh Conference in Egypt, reports indicate.
Despite being a sought-after terrorist by the Austrian Justice system, Sahraroudi was sent by the Mullahs to an international conference and was seated on the same table with about 50 Foreign Ministers of different countries.
The Vienna Terror
Mohammad Jafari-Sahraroudi is a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who assassinated Abdolrahman Ghasemloo, the Executive Director of the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party on July 13th, 1989 in an apartment in Vienna along with Abdollah Ghaderi, the representative of the party in Europe, and an Iraqi Kurd by the name of Fazel Rasoul who acted as a liaison.
Iran’s assassin-negotiator team was dispatched directly from Tehran by Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was Mullahs’ president at the time, to Vienna to open dialogue with the Executive Director of Kurdistan Democratic Party. They assassinated their counterparts at the negotiations table and kicked off yet another shameless behavior by the clerical regime and specifically Rafsanjani himself.
As a member of the assassination team, Mohammad Jafari-Sahraroudi, who at the time used just the second part of his last name, Sahraroudi, was injured at the scene of the assassination and was arrested by the Austrian police.
Sahraroudi under the custody of the Austrian police in 1989, recovering from wounds he received at the scene of the assassination. He was later released to the Iranian regime.
As a result of Sahraroudi’s arrest, the Iranian regime and its Foreign Ministry applied considerable pressure against the Austrian government for his immediate release. The current Foreign Minister, Monouchehr Mottaki, who was in charge of regime’s Western European section within the Foreign Ministry at the time, personally summoned the Austrian envoy several times and threatened him with assassinations of diplomats and also employees of the Austrian embassy in Tehran.
To complement its “stick” diplomacy, the Mullahs’ regime concurrently initiated its offering-of-carrots policy. Velayati, Iran’s Foreign Minister at the time, sent numerous messages that Iran is ready to pass through this hurdle and renew trade.
Unfortunately, the Austrian officials conceded and despite disagreements by their police department, Mohammad Jafari-Sahraroudi was escorted to the airport and sent back to Tehran.
Later, as the investigations proved that the assassinations were carried out by the same team who was there to negotiate with the Kurdish group, an international warrant was issued against him and two of his colleagues on December 22, 1989. The warrant is still enact and valid.
Sahraroudi’s other Credentials
Mohammad Jafari-Sahraroudi entered the IRGC at its early stages of inception.
In 1995, the clerical regime established the Ramazan brigade of the IRGC and other units to carry out terrorist activities in Iraq. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the current deputy to the Interior Minister, was the first commander of this brigade. Shahraroudi came to be the next.
During the same years, current Iranian President, Ahmadinejad, used to be a commander of one of the assassination units of this brigade.
After his command post at the Ramazan brigade, Jafari-Sahraroudi became the deputy commander of the Jerusalem (Quds) force. He then was assigned to the post of deputy of information and activities of the IRGC and finally his last assignment was the Commander of IRGC ground forces.
With Ahmadinejad’s presidency, the IRGC General, Jafari-Sahraroudi became the deputy Internal Security division for the High Commission of National Information and Security.
Sahraroudi currently oversees the Iraqi affairs within the Security commission of the Mullahs’ regime and plays a key role in operations carried out in Iraq.
Assassination Attempt of the Leader of Resistance
Amid increased tensions in Iraq in 2003, Khamenei commissioned Sahraroudi with the assassination of Mr. Massoud Rajavi, the leader of the Iranian Resistance. In order to accomplish this, the clerical regime dispatched several units to Iraq. Sahraroudi who is one of the Quds Forces commanders was positioned in Qasr-Shirin and traveled back and forth to Iraq to oversee the operation.
Sahraroudi was the Target of the Arbil Arrests
Sahraroudi is an expert in spreading terrorism inside and throughout Iraq. He is one of regime’s main operatives responsible for criminal activities in Iraq. That is the reason why Americans intended to arrest Sahraroudi and another revolutionary guard corps member by the name of Forouzandeh when they attacked Iranian regime’s center in Arbil on January 11th. But the two had already left Iraqi Kurdistan for Tehran before the attack took place.
During the first few days after the arrests in Arbil took place, there was a rumor that he had been arrested by American forces. Washington Post on April 14, 2007 issue wrote,”An America official states that: United States targeted two high level Iranian officials in January. One was General Manouchehr Foruzandeh the director of Information for Revolutionary Guards Corp and the other Mohammad Jafari the deputy of High Commission of Security. Both escaped the arrest.”
Melef Press site on April 22nd, 2007 quoted Foad Hussein, the representative for Massoud Barezani who said, “In fact the American attack could have had more important impact if they had arrested the official who was the target.” Foad Hussein continued, “They were after Mohammad Jafari, Iran’s deputy of High Commission of Security. Melef press has information that Mohammad Jafari was a member of the Iranian team in Arbil and they wanted to kidnap him. He met Barezani on a mountain top before that and was transferred to Doukan in Eastern Kurdistan to stay with the Iraqi President.”
Attendance in an Official International Conference
Considering the aforementioned, the extent of the Clerical regime’s disregard for rule of law and international norms becomes even more apparent. A terrorist assassin who is wanted internationally and is sought after in Iraq by coalition forces attends as the number two person of the Iranian regime’s delegation in a conference where 60 countries are present at the Foreign Ministerial level.
It is as if the executioner has stepped forward to discuss the security of the victim. This Revolutionary guard has been in charge of exporting terrorism and executing assassinations in Iraq.
The truth is that, considering the above facts, those who are trying to figure out the deeds of the regime ruling in Iran must forget about engagement. No one disregards international laws and justice system more than this regime.
On the other hand, this much blatant action reveals a new side of this regime’s disposition. The fact is that Sahraroudi is not an isolated case with the Mullahs’ regime. Ahmadinejad himself is another one. Mottaki was Sahraroudi’s partner in the Vienna assassination operation and before that in terrorist operations in Turkey. Indeed, this is a tree with disintegrated root and should be stamped out.
Dr. Sanabargh Zahedi is the Chairman of the Judicial Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
