Iran allegedly tried to pay a drug trafficker from Georgia a considerable sum of money to assassinate a Jewish religious leader in Azerbaijan, according to security officials cited by the Washington Post.
The operation, coordinated by the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), is part of what security officials described as the Iranian regime’s increasing use of criminal networks for targeted killings in other countries.
An Iranian officer attempted to pay a Georgian drug trafficker, identified only as Aslanov, $200,000 to kill rabbi Shneor Segal. The operation also included plans to target an educational center, but Azerbaijan’s State Security Service thwarted the plan, according to Western and Middle Eastern security officials.
“The [Iranian] officer handed Aslanov a photo of a prominent Jewish figure in Azerbaijan and detailed instructions on how to kill him,“ one security official said. “Aslanov agreed to kill Rabbi Shneor Segal for a price tag of $200,000.“
Aslanov and a local accomplice were arrested and charged with conspiracy to carry out a terrorist act, as stated by the State Security Service and local Azerbaijani media.
The officials said Mohammad Golkari, an Iranian national with longstanding ties to organized crime, arranged the operation, adding that he helped coordinate Aslanov’s meeting with Quds Force operatives in Iran. Aslanov then returned to the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, and recruited Azerbaijani national Jeyhun Ismayilov to assist with surveillance.
This is not the first time Iranian operatives have attempted such an attack in Azerbaijan. In 2023, Israel’s then-foreign minister, Eli Cohen, accused Iran of being responsible for a foiled plot to attack the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan.
“Tehran stands behind the attempt ... Iranian terror is a global threat, as we saw in the past few days in Azerbaijan in an attempted attack against the Israeli Embassy in Baku, as well as in recent months in Cyprus and Greece in attempted attacks against Israelis and Jews,“ Cohen said, adding that Iran provided funds and issued instructions to the terror cell that attempted the attack.
However, Iran-backed plots to kill Jews and Israelis have ramped up since the war began between Israel and Hamas following the October 7 attacks, with dozens of attempts being foiled globally, including in Israel itself.
The country’s National Security Council even issued a warning to the Israeli public to remain vigilant when travelling abroad for vacation amid concerns that the Islamic Republic, as well as Hamas, Hezbollah, and other international jihadist groups, will continue to plot attacks against Jews and Israelis worldwide.
"With the collapse of the cease-fire and resumed fighting in Gaza, we are expecting to see an increase in attempted attacks against Israeli/Jewish targets abroad carried out by local initiatives or lone-wolf attackers," the council warned, adding that Iran is "the main instigator of global terrorism against Israeli and Jewish targets around the world, both directly and through its proxies."
Iran has become increasingly reliant on criminal networks to carry out extraterritorial operations, often to kill Israeli/Jewish targets as well as dissidents and critics. Other plots linked to Iranian agents include an attempt to abduct and kill a defector in Canada with the help of members of the notorious Hells Angels motorcycle gang, as well as a plot to kill Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad.
