Mohammad Reza Heydari was an Iranian counselor of 20 years. In January 2010, he resigned from his position as an Iranian embassy councilor in Oslo and within a month he was given political asylum by Norway.
Heydari defected because he was not the regular type-cast for Iranian diplomats: Wounded in the Iran/Iraq war, he was promoted to “war-hero” status which facilitated his career as a diplomat. He became aware of his outsider standing early on noticing during his compulsory diplomat course that “most of my classmates were IRGC (Sepah) officers“.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is an exclusive branch of Iran’s military which is “intended to protect the country’s Islamic system” and has subsequently developed into a “multibillion-dollar business empire“. The IRGC together with its elite Quds force and Hezbollah operatives are associated with numerous terrorist cells and activities all over the world as a “deterrence and retaliatory force, nested within a strategy designed to protect the regime from external threats“.
According to Heydari, the connection between the IRGC and the Iranian diplomats is simple: “whatever the Sepah did, we were there to support them” in an agenda that was meant to “transfer crisis from inside Iran to foreign countries“. This three-way connection between the Iranian Diplomats, IRGC Operatives and IRGC/Hezbollah/Quds Terrorists is worrying on many levels and although Iranian diplomats support the IRGC agenda without getting visibly involved, the nature of their support usually includes breaking numerous international/local/diplomatic laws and norms.
That doesn’t mean that all Iranian diplomats are wolves in sheep clothing and many might not (or even want to) fully understand the repercussions of their involvement in such terrorist activities. But it is safe to say that all Iranian diplomats know of the connection and some are very active. And some, like Heydari, understood the connection well enough to bravely go against the flow and blow the whistle on ex-compatriots which led to numerous threats on his own life and his family members’ lives. Two more Iranian diplomats defected later in 2010 – Hossein Alizadeh in Helsinki and Farzad Farhangian in Brussels.
Until then, it is our duty to highlight cases of diplomats enlisted in terrorist activities outside of Iran’s borders – an effort meant to enlighten hosting governments of Iranian foreign diplomats to a very shady side of Iranian “diplomacy”.
Shadow Diplomacy 
At least after serving the nation the ex diplomat has now an addded bonus -an asylum in a European country. The information he gave is that his classmates -how long was that- are now serving the Revolutionary Guards and ny that therefore, are “terrorists”. happy retirement and goodluck to the lucky Norwegians indeed for landed such an informed defector.
I take it you are being cynical which means you probably do not believe that heydari’s testimony reflects the truth.
that’s fine with me but a few corections to your simplified view on this:
his claim is not simply that his classmates are irgc but that, from his personal experience, the irgc is actively involved in activities that are related to hezbolla and terrorism.
furthermore, he claims that iran’s diplomatic corps is answerable to the irgc and that he himdelf was requested to carry out activities that exceeded his rights as a diplomat.
A person is not granted asylum because they have valuable information to give to the country which grants them protection. That is a side-story. Don’t be so cynical without knowing all of the details. You really think that he or the Norwegian Government would publish all details they have to hand so freely?
Mohammad Reza Heydari’s defection is not his individual decision but a part of the larger plan made by some forces to throw the entire region into instability, chaos and destruction. His remarks are neither Iranian nor Asian in content but something like sponsored voice to serve the purpose of the hidden parties determined to disturb the area. Iran is a big country with elective political institutions. Its resources are energy products and other export industries. Iranian stability is important in the region. The systematic aggressive posture adopted against Iran also exposes the involved forces who already possess over 300 Nuclear bombs produced secretly while Iran’s efforts to produce nuclear energy is so much warranted. Its opponents have been occupying the lands of the Palestinians, Lebanon and Syria but the international community is silent over it. They raise the Iranian bogey just to misguide people. Human riots of Palestinians, Iraqis and other people are always headlines in Arab news but the forces raise the issue of human riots violations in Iran. The forces which killed JF Kennedy and several German and Egyptian scientists in early 1960s, masterminded 9/11 terrorism are again active in the region targeting Iran. We need to be aware of the agents and factors of crises for a purposeful research.
what do the “aggressive posture”, the “300 nuclear bombs”, the “human riots”, “jfk”, “german and egyptian scientists” and…”9/11″ (!!!!!) have to do with heydari’s testimony?
the only question that needs to be answered is if tehran is abusing its diplomatic corp for supporting and covering up terrorist activities outside of iranian soil.
if the answer is no – great…prove it.
if the answer is yes – iranian diplomats should not be given diplomatic immunity. simple.
Many US diplomats are CIA and NSA agents, the most famous of them being Raymond Davis for who President Obama sought immunity from prosecution even when he was caught red-handed after shooting two people in Pakistan in broad daylight (with a third one killed and trampled on by the US embassy car that was sent to prevent the arrest of Raymond Davis).
So let me put back the questions that you have raised to you:
Is the US abusing its diplomatic corp for supporting and covering up its terrorist activities (your CIA agents can be our terrorists) and destabilizing other countries?
If the answer is no – prove it.
If the answer is yes – and as we have seen a case above that the answer is indeed yes, the US diplomats should not be given diplomatic immunity. Period.
It is high time that the US and its citizens stop being hypocrites and start calling an apple an apple whether it comes from the US or from Iran.
thank you for your input.
To the point and regrettably true’ Options equally cherent. Results?
pfffttt!!!…all those baseless accusations and you cant even bring yourself to say Israel? lol Ahmadinejad is the one who said more than once Israel will be wiped of the map so ofcourse Israel should be concerned over Iranian nuclear enrichment…if there was nothing to hide…why the delay tactics with UN nuclear agencies for years and years?.. always the same story.
The Islamic world is in turmoil…..fighting and butchering each other…your troubles have nothing to do with Israel or Jews….All your troubles are brought on by your own actions
disgruntled Iranian…
ENOUGH OF HIS CRUDE PROPAGANDA! YOU CANNOT FOOL ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME….GOOD LUCK TO YOU IN EUROPE WITH YOUR MASTERS…STAY THERE DO NOT COME BACK!
crude propaganda? fool the people?
i believe you are talking about the regime in tehran!
and yes, i will choose the uk over iran any day of the week, thank you very much.
you can stay wherever you want.
Oh well, Cultural Attache, Commerce Attache , it is all the same…
ummm very ineresting,,,
I felt some initial sceptisim towards the author of the article
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of it were true but I also wonder if the author fell foul of someone or rattled someone else high up
Conversely, it’s also true that the US is involved – just about everythwere in the world – in covert activities to destabilise countries, especially where there is immense geo political gains to be made (aka Iran)
Iran is a country surrounded by 5 nuclear powers, one of them is Israel and that is the reference made by the entry that mentioned a country with at least 300 nuclearbombs
It’s difficult to see what the solution is – either Iran succumbs to the neo-con modle and US hegemony or it pursues its policy of confrontation and definace as many Latin American counties have
every time a finger is pointed at iran, the answer is always pointing fingers at the US and israel.
any way to talk about the issue at hand: is it ok for the irgc to be connected to global terror and to diplomats? yes or no?
is it ok for the iranian ambassador in nigeria to hide two irgc operatives involved in gun smuggling in the iranian embassy? yes or no?
if your think it is ok, fine.
i don’t.
You seem to be intent on a rant. You actually admit that most countries indulge in spying activities under the cover of diplomacy yet you insist that out of all these countries, only Iran is up to no good. thereby, you imply that the US can only be engaged in beign acitivies – as you know that is hysterically ridiculous
You are simply expressing opinions, rtahter than undersntading internatioanl relations and histroical perspectives
i don’t know if you did realize an important point here: this is MY blog and these are MY opinions.
you talk about me ranting while you do exactly the same.
please set up your own blog and rant there.
Neither will bring easy choices – but the US itself sowed the seeds of its own downflall in Iran when it deposed thier first democratically elected president, Mohammhed Mossadegh, a coup enginnered byt eh CIA and M15
dIPLOMATIC BEHAVOUR? MMMMMM
Given the past tension and most decidely undemocractic behaviour on the part of the US and UK to Iran it is not difficult to see how the Iranain authorities become paranoid…..
Can’t jsutiy any of it but its the rules of engagment that need to change – starting with the US
i don’t understand why a conversation about iranian diplomats involved in terrorist activities links back to the fact that the US “deposed” mossadegh.
the power of the irgc goes far beyond any power of a military organization in the western world in general and in the us in particular.
the irgc is special in that its influence covers military, nuclear, politics, government, business, diplomats etc…there has been nothing like this since the kgb in russia.
that is a problem and it is specific to iran and no other.
I think, Melissa, you need to look at the whole picture and trace the hostility. You state that you don’t see how Mossadegh’s overthow has got anything to do with this issue,It has, everything has.It set the tone for the puppet Sha;s reignvand then the Revolution. You seem to want to treat Iran in isolation, regardless of the foreign intrervention over the past 100 years by colonial powers Your attitude shows some narrowmindedness. US actions in Iran have encouraged hositility and it understandbaly feels like a country under strnuous siege, The nuclear issue is a re d herring. and ere comes the
Iran, like Iraq- I hope that you don’t , like Madeleine All bright, believethat 500,00 dead Iraqi children are worth it, as a result of sanctions – I really hope not – but Iran is also the victim of vicious sanctions and coudl well end up liek Iraq
Now, you Shah
Anna,
we could continue this ping pong back and forth forever but i won’t.
you talk about narrowmindedness while you yourself polarize the conversation.
i will just say this:
the nature of iran’s regime began with the islamic revolution and everything before that is now irrelevant.
colonialism is long dead except in the minds of people who want to keep it alive as a platform to blame the west for all their problems.
the nuclear issue is far from being a red herring because if it was, iran would have accepted the IAEA and the security council’s resolutions and not unndergo the sanctions.
and this still does not have anything today with the IRGC’s involvement in terror and in iranian diplomacy.
No its not a red herring. You seem to want to call every1 else narrow minded yes, it’s a ping pong game and I ‘m not going ot bother any more why did you open a blog? The revolution occurred as a result of the Shah’s corruption and discontent with his US backing. The Revolution was never meant to be Islamic, it was hijacked by the Islamists, it originally included doctors, professionals, many women. Ihave spoken to some Iranains who were around at that time – many of them had hoped for change to belive that history has nothing to do with it is to take a shallow approach The US has violated international law so many times and its spying – is it surprising that other countries don’t respect international law It’s amazing that you can’t see the whole picture and just want to keep saying:Look at Iran! Look at Iran! aren’t they evil? The reality is much more complex
A terrorist government is never going to admit guilt. It’s patriots will use apologetic flim-flam in an attempt to obfuscate the issue and direct attention elsewhere.
Even when you have someone directly involved defect and spill the beans, the criminals will never yield an inch.
No doubt the U. S. is engaged in spying and espionage. No doubt Iran is engaged in spying, espionage, terrorism and supporting terrorism.
Pointing the finger at U. S. spying and espionage does not obscure justify Iran’s involvement in terrorism.
Thankfully, Mohammad Reza Heydari has removed any doubt about it.
and not only Heydari: the IRGC’s involvement in the diplomatic community is being investigated on many levels and i am sure we will find out a lot more about this link in the future.
Islam – the face of Evil, Death & Ignorance
it is definitely NOT Islam as a religion which is the problem but the leaders who abuse Islam.
I’m glad and respect that you can say that.
i’m glad we agree on something :).
Your last line should not read “.. an effort meant to enlighten hosting governments of Iranian foreign diplomats to a very shady side of Iranian “diplomacy” “. but should instead read “…to the very shady side of diplomacy” period. the writer shows her colors by the use of the adjective Iranian. To mmelissa, the author of the post: to begin with, i urge you to read any of the wikileaks posts revealing the duplicity of diplomats. To state that “the irgc goes far beyond any power of a military organization in the western world in general and in the us in particular.” is nonsense – PARTICULARLY in the us and israel do comparable organizations operate “far beyond their power” because of the hidden structures ideologically and financially supporting them from behind that are out of the public and sometimes the governing body’s view. These are “democracies” run by an oligarchy trying to subdue the world for their benefit. therefore, how do you do this without spoiling the mask of democracy and equanimity? the united states and israel just have different ways to hide how they truly operate in ‘diplomacy’ and a populace too drugged by hyper ‘civilization’ and all it’s ills to care less. You may think your article should be read in a vacuum but to say that the mentioning of 300 nuclear warheads have nothing to do with it, you are wrong, for actually, they have VERY MUCH to do with this issue. For one, Israel refuses to divulge their own nuclear arsenal while silencing anyone with knowledge of the truth to speak of it. they cause the west to badger, isolate and demonize an entire nation of people (Iran) because their nation dares to leverage themselves in a global political environment where your biggest card is the nuclear card (e.g. Pakistan). You are so sensitive to those ‘pointing fingers’ and yet, who is really pointing the finger in this case but you? in fact, Iran has American military bases surrounding practically every border of Iran and America is a couple of oceans in distance from it. In the common parlance of pop music i ask you, ‘who’s zoomin’ who?”.
too much information to answer…you should open up your own blog :).
“democracies run by an oligarchy trying to subdue the world for their benefit”??? who are you kidding? – sounds suspiciously more like the regime in Iran than any other.
Dana Gae’s post is excellent and you could learn from that The US hides behind the massive Industrial Military complex and yes, it postures as a democracy without implementing much that is worthy of a democracy. Iran is spying, no doubt, but the US sets the tone for the whole globe. You seem to want to ignore examples such as Raymond Davies who was clealry spying fo rthe US in Pakistan and who was given diplomatic immunity. Et tu Brutus?
All countries have used spies at some time or another and iran is not special in this sense.
it is special much in the same manner that the kgb and the cia at the peak of their power.
i am not talking about spying – i am talking about the use of terror and the abuse of diplomatic immunity.
Excellent post by Dana Gae. mmellissa78, I think you should reach it more carefully and with a much more open mind and try to see how the US, UK and Israel and quite a few other powers try to hide their misdeeds behind the curtain of democracy.
well said, Taha
It’s the pot calling the kettle black
We can see that but others can’t
Just a question – why is a whole blog devoted to this issue ALONE?
Someone has a specific agenda here. It’s demonize Iran time a la Fox news so that undiscerning members of the public will be indoctrinated into another neo-con war. It’s an unfortunate unintended consequnce of US imperialism
anna romano
after reading 15 of your comments in the space of less than half an hour, i believe that we will have to agree to disagree.
if you don’t have any new information concerning the topic of this blog, please go and rant on someone else.
yes, yes, yes…
US/UK/Israel = evil and IRAN = good…i got your point.
it still doesn’t have anything to do with my posts or my blog.
if you do not agree with me that’s fine – question is, do you have any new information concerninng the cases that i wrote? if you don’t and you don’t agree with me, i suggest you set up your own blog.
deal?
There is something fishy about the fact that this anonymous blog containing thee pages of more than dubious content, is advertised on Reuters’ (one of the worlds greatest news agencies) main site.
Almost as if this cheep piece of propaganda was too hot for Reuters to handle, without compromising whatever is left from their journalistic reputation, so they outsourced it to one of Snowdens ex-colleagues hiding behind a cute nick MMELLISSA78.
MMELLISSA78 demonstrates “touching and blissful” ignorance whenever it comes to dealing with uncomfortable facts such as identifying the country with 300 nukes in the Middle East region, but never misses a chance to vilify the EVIL, E-V-I-L Iranians who want to blow up the very basis of our way of life, vehemently repeating fox news rhetorics…
Honestly, I would have thought that the US gov. would pick someone more intelligent who could manipulate the public opinion in a less obvious manner.
it is hard to appreciate such a comment from someone who is also hiding under a pseudonym – keen observer.
it is even harder to appreciate a comment that is totally disconnected from the issue of my post and my blog which is the connection between terrorism and diplomacy.
as i suggested to other commenters such as yourself – go start your own blog.
The fact is that most countries use diplomatic cover for their intelligence agencies, always have.
I think the question is what are the ends to which this practice is used.
In my humble opinion the Iranians are up to no good.
i agree with you on both counts.
i think that in the case of iran, the power held by the IRGC at home and abroad and its open ties with hezbollah is problematic to say the least.
I agree with you on the part where you mention that most countries use diplomatic cover for their intelligence activities including the US.
The question is that when this is the case why are all guns pointed on Iran.
If you are practicing balanced journalism you should cover the entire set of facts and both sides of the story, which is not the case in more than 90% of instances in news reports that we see from the West. If you have one penny’s worth of grievance to report you report it worth a dollar and the relegate the other’s misery of a dollar to that of a penny. You can see that on countless posts and blogs and when people comment and try to bring out the hidden or missing facts, objections / clarifications / denials are raised. I consider this as dubious and yellow journalism and the unfortunate part about it is that I see it on most reports emanating from large news agencies. Unfortunately facts are no longer presented as bare facts but rather as a facts with an opinion, quite often a subliminal message to focus the populace to a certain type of thinking. The trend seems to be to lie and to lie repeatedly that lies seem to be the truth and truth is relegated as fiction.
Also as one of the comments pointed out I would suggest that mmellissa78 whoever you are please use your real identity to write your reports and not hide behind a pseudonym. I does not lend credibility to what you say (or write).
i am not a journalist and i do not have to be balanced.
my blog, my views, my rules.
the fact that i am posting comments that differ my views are my attempt to offer my readers different perspectives.
respect that.
as to using a pseudonym…judging from the amount of rants and hate in the comments that i am getting, i think it is a good idea :).
and by the way, “taha lateef” – i noticed that you do not use a live link to your own identity…perhaps also a pseudonym?
he had to say something to get his political asylum
he is not alone in connecting the IRGC to iranian diplomats…read up on my other posts.
Pingback: Family of Iranian Convert in Norway Harassed & Tortured | Shadow Diplomacy