Iran Reorganizes Overseas Assassination Unit After Security Breaches

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force has reorganized its overseas assassination unit, previously known as "Unit 840" and now designated "Unit 600." Mojtaba Haq-Lasan, 64, has been appointed to lead the unit, replacing Yazdan Mir, also known as Haj Asgar Bakri, who was killed in an Israeli targeted strike on April 6. The reorganization follows the exposure of the unit's structure and operatives due to operational failures, according to two sources cited by Iran International.

Haq-Lasan, who previously managed the unit's intelligence department, has been leading the unit since Mir's assassination. The updated command structure divides global responsibilities: Mohammad Reza Ansari serves as Haq-Lasan's deputy and is personally in charge of the "Israel file." Mohsen Boroujeni oversees special operations in the U.S. and Europe, Mortaza Babaei is responsible for the Middle East and Africa, and Javad Sharifi manages operations in Asia.

Sources familiar with the matter indicate that the reliance on existing operatives suggests a significant command chain crisis, stemming from a series of assassinations of senior officers that have raised internal doubts about the organization's effectiveness. Unit 600 has been linked to numerous attempted attacks against American officials, Israeli businesspeople, and regime opponents, often utilizing smugglers and local criminal organizations.

Ansari has previously been identified as the planner behind attempted assassinations of former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He is also connected to a foiled plot against Israelis in Colombia and a plan to murder Iranian journalists in the UK. This modus operandi, employing criminal groups, has also been observed in Europe, including the use of motorcycle gangs in Germany and the "Foxtrot" crime network in Sweden to target Israeli interests and synagogues.

In parallel, Israeli and Azerbaijani security forces recently thwarted another operation by the network in Baku, which involved planning attacks on the Israeli embassy, an oil pipeline, and Jewish targets using explosive drones smuggled from Iran. This reorganization occurs amid public calls for revenge in Iran for the assassination of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with a representative of the current leader calling the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump and involved pilots a "religious duty" in July. Tehran has also expanded its overseas intelligence gathering, launching a technological system called "Alagh" to track regime opponents globally.