Iran has fired the long-standing chief of the Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence, considered one of the country’s most powerful figures, as concerns mount over Israel’s covert war against Iran’s defense systems and nuclear program.
The removal of intelligence chief Hossein Taeb after 13 years in the post was confirmed in a Guards statement that did not explain why he had been fired. But analysts agreed that its failure to stop Israel from breaching Iran’s security network was at the heart of the matter.
“He had failed to stop Israel’s infiltration and was not very successful in retaliatory operations beyond its borders,” said Seyed Peyman Taheri, an analyst close to the Iranian government. “His removal is to bring in new blood and get both things under control.”
Israel and Iran have been mired in a shadow war for years – a series of covert operations spanning land, sea, air and cyberspace. But recently, Israel has escalated its attacks and expanded its targets beyond the people involved in its nuclear program. It has also carried out a number of drone strikes deep in Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett admitted to hiding Israel’s operations against the Revolutionary Guards in an exit interview with The Times on Monday, saying that when Iranians “attack us through proxies or directly, they will pay a price.” He outlined his so-called “Octopus Doctrine” to hit Tehran on the head instead of its tentacles.
“It turns out that these guys are more vulnerable than they seem,” he said. “The Iranian regime is rotten, corrupt – and incompetent.”
Mr. Taeb, a Shia cleric, was replaced by General Mohammad Kazemi, a high-ranking member of the Guards who headed the Revolutionary Guard’s Information Protection Unit, which oversees all operations of the force.
mr. Taeb, who in his role was considered almost as powerful as Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: The mere mention of his name sparked fear as he ordered a crackdown on dissent, executions, arrests and various intelligence operations.
Taeb’s removal is likely to lead to a major reorganization of the Guards’ intelligence unit, with a focus on finding Israel’s spies and cleaning the house, according to experts in Iran.
Just days before the resignation of Mr. Taeb was accused by Israeli media of supporting the plot to target Israeli tourists in Turkey. Turkey on Wednesday detained five Iranians in Istanbul on suspicion of involvement in an alleged plot to murder Israeli tourists in the country.
President Donald J. Trump designated the Revolutionary Guard as a foreign terrorist group in 2019 and imposed sanctions. It was the first time the United States government had blacklisted part of a country’s military as a terrorist organization.
The decision has since stalled negotiations with Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran has said it will not return to the table until the designation is eliminated, but the Biden administration has declined.
The Revolutionary Guards statement said that Mr. Taeb had been appointed as an adviser to the Supreme Commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Maj. Gene. Hossein Salami – a much lower position. It praised his years of service as intelligence chief and before that as head of the paramilitary Basij unit – a division of the Guards that acts as its domestic arm in suppressing dissent.
