Ali Mansouri was arrested while trying to leave Israel on September 11 in possession of photographs of the US Embassy.
The arrest of a suspected Iranian spy and Qods Force terrorist in Tel Aviv airport has once again exposed the covert activities of the regime’s agents operating outside Iran.
Belgium’s Le Soir newspaper reported on October 1 that the suspect ‘had identified himself as a PMOI (MEK) supporter … and an agent dispatched to Belgium to the infiltrate PMOI’.
The Israeli media said it was Mansouri’s third visit to their country for the purposes of spying and carrying out missions for the Qods Force. He was travelling on a Belgian passport under the name of Alex Mans and planned to pave the way for future trips by registering a company in Israel, they reported.
The NCRI Security and Anti-terrorism Commission learned in 2007 that although this individual has Belgian nationality, he covertly travels to Iran under the pretext of visiting his brother. Hence, it advised PMOI (MEK) supporters to disassociate with him.
In the report of a joint probe by the Pentagon and the US Congress into the MOIS published in December 2012, it is noted: “The Iranian government considers Mojahedin-e-Khalq (PMOI/MEK) to be the organization that most threatens the Islamic Republic of Iran. One of the main responsibilities of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security is to conduct covert operations against Mojahedin-e-Khalq and to identify and eliminate its members.”
The report elaborates on one example and writes: “In 1996, Masoud Khodabandeh decided to leave the organization. Later, he married Anne Singleton. Soon after their marriage, the MOIS forced them to cooperate by threatening to confiscate Khodabandeh’s mother’s extensive property in Tehran. Singleton and Khodabandeh then agreed to work for the MOIS and spy on the MEK. In 2002, Singleton met in Tehran with MOIS agents who were interested in her background. In 2004, Singleton finally met her brother-in-law, Ibrahim, who was sent from Syria to Iran after the Syrians arrested him. Eventually, the MOIS forced him to cooperate as well.”