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The Iranian Red Crescent: A Cover for Military Intelligence Activities

December 3th 2024 , , , ,

By Tal Beeri

The November 30, Al Mayadeen, a channel associated with Hezbollah, broadcast a report from the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon (see: link).

In the video report, from minute 30 seconds onwards, members of the Iranian Red Crescent can be seen near the ruins of the city.

The Iranian presence and involvement is not surprising.

Previously, document leaks from Wikileaks They revealed that the Iranian Red Crescent also serves as a cover for the activities of the Quds Force and its various units, as well as for the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran (MOIS).

The Ministry of Intelligence is one of Iran's two main intelligence organizations, along with the intelligence organization of the Revolutionary Guard.

The Ministry of Intelligence is subordinate to the Minister of Intelligence and the President.

Iran's pattern of using civilian organizations, particularly humanitarian and medical ones, for military and intelligence activities is well-known in Syria, Yemen, and Iraq (see, for example, our June 2020 article: “Organizations and Societies Serving Quds Forces in Syria” by Dr. Yossi Mansharof).
This pattern is also known in Lebanon itself.

The teams sent by the Iranian Red Crescent to Lebanon during the war against Israel in 2006, ostensibly to help the civilian population, were in fact Quds Force personnel who arrived in Lebanon to assist Hezbollah.

These teams apparently brought shipments of medical equipment, which in reality served as a cover for deliveries of military equipment and weapons.

This Iranian pattern has also been known since the 1990s and is not unique to the Middle East.

In an April 2019 interview with Iranian media, former senior Revolutionary Guard member Saeed Qasemi revealed that during Iran's aid to Muslims in Bosnia during the war there (1992 to 1995), Revolutionary Guard members present in Bosnia used the cover of the Iranian Red Crescent to provide military training to Sunni jihadist operatives in Bosnia.

We do not know if the people filmed in the report Al Mayadeen mentioned above are from the Ministry of Intelligence or belong to the Quds Force.

However, in our assessment, the Iranians will increase their presence and involvement in all military and civilian aspects of Hezbollah's activities.

Hezbollah has suffered significant damage and the Iranians are determined to rebuild it.

In terms of military rehabilitation, the Iranians will operate in Lebanon with a low profile, using civilian organizations they send to Lebanon for civilian rehabilitation (such as the Iranian Red Crescent) as cover for their military and intelligence activities.

Source: Alma – Research and Education Center

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