Israel on Monday exposed the global terror network operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) through its covert “Unit 4000,” detailing how the apparatus directed plots against Israeli officials, embassies, and strategic infrastructure worldwide while key commanders were killed during the U.S.-Israel campaign against Iran.
In a rare joint statement, the Mossad, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and Israel Defense Forces said the exposure of the network followed a series of operational breakthroughs during the campaign — known in Israel as Operation Rising Lion and in the United States as Operation Epic Fury — which began on February 28 targeting Iran’s military, intelligence, and senior leadership hierarchy, including top regime figures, as a fragile ceasefire is set to expire Tuesday evening.
Israeli officials said the investigation accelerated after Azerbaijani authorities, working with Israeli intelligence, foiled a terror cell in March that had been planning coordinated attacks on the Israeli Embassy in Baku, a synagogue, and leaders of the Jewish community, as well as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, a key energy corridor running through Georgia and Turkey.
According to the joint statement, members of the cell were arrested with explosive drones and fragmentation charges they had smuggled into the country, after gathering intelligence on targets through surveillance and photography under direct orders from handlers in Iran.
The arrests led Israeli intelligence agencies to uncover the broader structure and chain of command of Unit 4000, a covert division within the IRGC’s intelligence apparatus responsible for directing terrorist activity abroad against Israeli and Western targets, including attempts to smuggle advanced weaponry into Israel.
At the head of the network was Rahman Moghadam, who oversaw global terror operations and the recruitment and training of operatives tasked with collecting intelligence on Israeli political leaders, security officials, military installations, ports, and vessels worldwide. Moghadam was killed in an Israeli Air Force strike at the outset of the campaign.
He operated under Majid Khademi, head of the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization, who directed terrorist activity abroad and was also killed in the same opening phase of the operation, according to Israeli officials.
Another central figure, Mohsen Suri, served as a senior Unit 4000 operative responsible for coordinating with terror cells across multiple regions. He was killed in a separate Israeli strike after Israeli intelligence located the IRGC facility where he was operating.
Israeli officials said the network maintained an extensive international footprint, including operations in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, Greece, and other parts of Europe, where cells gathered intelligence and prepared attacks on Israeli officials and infrastructure.
Among the key operatives was Mehdi Yekeh-Dehghan, known as “the Doctor,” who led the network’s activities in Azerbaijan and Turkey. According to Israeli findings, his network smuggled explosive drones from Iran into Turkey and onward to Cyprus while conducting reconnaissance on U.S. and allied military assets, including Incirlik Air Base in Adana.
The joint statement said the exposure of the network reflects a broader Iranian effort in recent years to expand covert operations abroad using its intelligence and security arms, including coordination with allied militias, to target Israeli, Jewish, and Western interests.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said Monday that Iran has targeted more than 30 Israeli embassies since October 2023, accusing Tehran of “spreading chaos and terror throughout the world.”
Israeli officials added that the exposure of Unit 4000’s network represents what they described as a collapse of Iran’s longstanding strategy of maintaining plausible deniability for its global terror operations, as intelligence and military actions increasingly link operatives in the field directly to senior IRGC leadership.
The disclosure comes as Israeli and allied officials warn that Iran has intensified efforts to establish and expand terror cells abroad in the wake of the recent conflict, raising concerns that additional plots may still be underway.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.