November 01, 2019
Albanian police say they have uncovered a plan by the Qods Force, the branch of the Pasdaran that operates outside Iran, to attack members of the Mojahedin-e Khalq in Albania.
Police Chief Ardi Veliu said October 23 the Qods Force, headed by Major General Qasem Soleymani, operated an “active terrorist cell” targeting Mojahedin-e Khalq members who now live in Albania.
He did not say what the alleged plot involved. Nor did he say whether any arrests were made.
A police statement alleged that two Iranian security officials led the cell from Tehran. It also said the network was linked with organized crime groups in Turkey and used a former Mojahedin member to collect information in Albania.
Veliu said an earlier planned attack by Iranian government agents was foiled in March.
Last year, Albania expelled Iran’s ambassador and another Iranian diplomat over alleged illegal activities threatening Albania’s security.
Some 2,500 members of the group moved to Albania from Iraq in 2014 after the Obama Administration convinced the Albanian government to accept them. The United States had been working since 2003 to get all the Mojahedin-e Khalq members out of Iraq. They now live in a camp in a rural area outside Albania’s capital.
