Three Terrorists Involved in Istanbul Assassination Identified

The Counter-terrorism Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran identified three of the terrorists involved in the assassination of Mrs. Zahra Rajabi and Mr. Ali Moradi in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mohammad Esfahlani, an Intelligence Ministry agent, played an active role in this assassination. He worked under the cover of a consulate staff member in Istanbul. His father is also an active member of the Ministry of Intelligence. Until 1986, Mohammad Esfahlani was a member of the Guards Corps Bassij who was subsequently recruited by the Intelligence Ministry. Three years ago, he was assigned the task of identification of the dissidents among Iranian refugees in Turkey.

In recent weeks, Esfahlani had followed Mr. Ali Moradi, well-known in Turkey for his activities. He also reconnoitered the apartment where he and Mrs. Rajabi stayed.

On January 31, 1996, the Ministry of Intelligence requested a diplomatic and a service passport from the Foreign Ministry for two of its agents by the names of Ibrahim Taroodi and Seyed Hassan Islami. On February 3, 1996, the passport department issued a diplomatic passport, no. 009271, for Ibrahim Taroodi, and a service passport for Seyed-Hassan Islami. The passports were delivered to Moussavi, the Intelligence Ministry's contact with the Foreign Ministry's passport department.

In a letter to the Turkish President, Mr. Massoud Rajavi, President of the National Council of Resistance, called for the arrest and punishment of the above terrorists and the closure of the regime's diplomatic offices in Turkey.

In another development in the past days, the Intelligence Ministry, acting through the regime's consulate in Istanbul, had attempted in vain to snatch the corpses of Mrs. Rajabi and Mr. Moradi and transfer them to Iran.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran - Paris February 29, 1996


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