Sources have disclosed that Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the commander of the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, made a visit to Damascus shortly before his killing to obtain a confidential dossier containing information pertaining to internal leaks that facilitated the assassination of Qassem Soleimani.
According to a source within the Quds Force militia, the security services of the regime ultimately furnished Tehran with intelligence indicating that the leaks leading to Zahedi’s assassination originated from Iranian members within Tehran’s embassy in Damascus.
It was noted that one of Zahedi’s guards survived the Israeli attack.
A dossier on the assassination of Soleimani
The source further noted that the contents of the dossier held the potential to jeopardize the safety of senior political and military figures in Iran. Consequently, Zahedi advocated for the evacuation of the Iranian embassy building in Damascus to safeguard the confidentiality of the information contained within.
Additionally, the source disclosed audio recordings suggesting a meeting involving Soleimani, former moderate Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, and former Iranian ambassador to France Sadegh Kharazi. In this meeting, they purportedly urged Soleimani to consider a presidential candidacy.
Furthermore, it was revealed that although Soleimani initially declined the proposition, he displayed a degree of flexibility subsequent to being persuaded by Zarif and Kharazi about the looming threat of extremists assuming power.
Tragically, Soleimani’s aspirations were cut short as he fell victim to a U.S. assassination at Baghdad airport while returning from Iraq, where discussions were underway regarding the mitigation of tensions between Iranian and American supporters.
Iranian close to Soleimani arrested in Syria
As per the source, Iranian security services apprehended a young Iranian residing in Syria, Seyed Mahmoud Mousavi Majd, on suspicions of divulging information regarding Soleimani’s movements to American authorities. However, President Raisi denied the existence of internal leaks and ordered the closure of the investigation into the matter. Subsequently, Mousavi himself was executed in Iran on charges of espionage for Israel and the United States.
The responsibility of handling the dossier was delegated to Ali Bagheri Kani, a senior assistant for foreign affairs, for further scrutiny.
Furthermore, former Defense Minister Mahmoud Alavi initiated a clandestine investigation into the issue within the Ministry of Security. This action contributed to his exclusion from the Assembly of Experts elections.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
