Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gestures during a meeting with organizers of events to mark the first anniversary of the killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani, in Tehran, Iran, Dec. 16, 2020. Photo: Official Khamenei Website / Handout via Reuters.

It was recently revealed that the Iranian regime was planning to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa. Tehran denied any such plans, but a brief look at the Islamic regime’s history shows that Iran not only has the will, but also the means to conduct assassinations on foreign soil.

Assassinations and terrorism have been the regime’s modus operandi both at home and abroad ever since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. Four institutions in Iran are instrumental to the decision-making, organizing, and execution of subversive operations, especially those conducted on foreign soil: the Office of the Supreme Leader, the Supreme Council of National Security, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Ministry of Intelligence.

It is above all with the assistance of its diplomatic corps that Iran puts its subversive plans into action. Terrorist attacks and assassinations have been conducted around the world by Iranian operatives or proxies in close conjunction with Iranian diplomats and Iranian embassies. Many of the targets have been Israeli and Saudi diplomats.

The recent allegation that the Iranian regime is targeting the US ambassador to South Africa is credible, as such an operation is entirely consistent with Iranian tactics. As Iranian operatives and intelligence officers are highly active in South Africa, it is no surprise that the US embassy in Pretoria has been targeted.

To review the full BESA Center report on this subject, click here.

Dr. Ardavan Khoshnood, a non-resident Associate at the BESA Center, is a criminologist and political scientist with a degree in intelligence analysis. He is also an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Lund University in Sweden.