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TheMinistry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Persian:وزارت اطّلاعات جمهوری اسلامی ایران,romanized: Vezarat-e Ettela'at Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran), also known asMinistry of Intelligence and Security is the primaryintelligence agency ofIran and a member of theIran Intelligence Community. It was initially known asSAVAMA, after it took over theShah's intelligence apparatusSAVAK. The ministry is one of the three "sovereign" ministerial bodies of Iran due to nature of its work at home and abroad.[2][3][4]
Reliable and valid information on the ministry is often difficult to obtain.[5] Initially, the organization was known as SAVAMA,[6] and intended to replaceSAVAK, Iran's intelligence agency during the rule of theShah, but it is unclear how much continuity there is between the two organizations—while their role is similar, their underlying ideology is radically different. It is suspected that the new government was initially eager to purge SAVAK elements from the new organization, but that pragmatism eventually prevailed, with many experienced SAVAK personnel being retained in their roles. Former SAVAK staff are believed to have been important in the ministry's infiltration of left-wing dissident groups and of theIraqiBa'ath Party.
The ministry was finally founded on 18 August 1983, either abandoning, silently subsuming, or relegating to hidden existence many small intelligence agencies that had been formed in different governmental organizations. The five ministers since the founding of the ministry, have beenMohammad Reyshahri (under Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi),Ali Fallahian (under PresidentAli Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani),Ghorbanali Dorri-Najafabadi (under PresidentMohammad Khatami, resigned after a year),Ali Younessi (under President Khatami, until 24 August 2005),Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehei (under PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad, from 24 August 2005 to 24 August 2009) andHeyder Moslehi (under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, from 29 August 2009 to 15 August 2013).
In late 1998, three dissident writers, a political leader and his wife were killed in Iran in the span of two months.[7]
After great public outcry and journalistic investigation in Iran and publicity internationally,[8] prosecutors announced in mid-1999 that oneSaeed Emami had led "rogue elements" in Iran's intelligence ministry in the killings, but that Emami was now dead, having committed suicide in prison.[9] In a trial that was dismissed as a sham by the victims' families and international human rights organisations,[10] three intelligence ministry agents were sentenced in 2001 to death and twelve others to prison terms for murdering two of the victims. Two years later, the Iranian Supreme Court reduced two of the death sentences to life.[11]
Massoud Molavi Verdanjani, an online opposition activist, was shot and killed on a street inIstanbul'sŞişli neighborhood on Thursday, 14 November 2019. A Turkish security official later claimed Verdanjani's suspected killer had confessed to acting under the orders of two Iranian intelligence officers at the Iranian consulate inTurkey.[12][13]
On 20 April 2022, according to a statement by the semi-official Fars news agency, Iran's intelligence ministry claimed it had captured threeMossad spies.[14]
In November 2023, former European Parliament Vice-PresidentAlejo Vidal-Quadraswas shot in the face in Madrid. The attack, which he survived, is suspected to have connections to Iranian operatives, highlighting Iran's pattern of targeting dissidents abroad.[15]
In April 2025, the Dutch government summoned Iran's ambassador following the exposure of two assassination attempts linked to Tehran. These plots involved the use of criminal networks in Europe to silence critics of the Iranian regime.[16]
In May 2025, British authorities arrested five Iranian nationals suspected of plotting an attack on the Israeli embassy in London. The operation, described as one of the most significant counterterrorism actions in recent years, is believed to have been orchestrated by Iran's IRGCUnit 840.[17][18]
Masih Alinejad – Iranian agents have been accused of multiple plots to kidnap or assassinate Iranian-American journalistMasih Alinejad inNew York. These attempts underscore Iran's efforts to silence dissenting voices even on U.S. soil.[19][20]
Former U.S. officials – The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Iranian national Shahram Poursafi with plotting to assassinate former National Security AdviserJohn Bolton. This plot was reportedly in retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iranian GeneralQasem Soleimani in 2020.[21]
Yves Bonnet,Vevak, au service des ayatollahs: Histoire des services secrets iraniens, Timée-éditions, Boulogne-Billancourt, 2009.ISBN978-2-35401-001-0.(in French)
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