The opposition news outlet IranWire reported Saturday that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) planned to kidnap Babak Eshaghi, an Israeli journalist working for the Saudi-funded opposition channel Iran International.
According to IranWire, the IRGC devised a scheme to lure several Iran International journalists to a border region near Iran and abduct them into Iranian territory. The outlet based its report on details from the interrogation of Mohammad Hashemzadeh, a former Iranian political prisoner currently detained in Armenia.
The investigation revealed that members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard pressured Hashemzadeh and an associate to lure several Iran International journalists to a border city near Iran, where they would be abducted into the Islamic Republic.
Hashemzadeh, originally from the southeastern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, relocated to Armenia after working in Antalya, Turkey.
During his interrogation in Armenia, he disclosed that while imprisoned in Iran, Revolutionary Guard operatives tried to persuade him and his cellmate—who was formerly a friend of Eshaghi—to entice Eshaghi and another Iran International reporter to travel to the border city for the abduction. According to the report, the plan failed due to the refusal of Hashemzadeh and his cellmate, Mehdi Behnam, who had been sentenced to five years in prison in Iran.
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In response to Ynet, Eshaghi said: “This is not the first time the Islamic regime in Iran has tried to harm Iran International journalists. We are the free, true and independent voice of news in Iran and the world. A few months ago, regime operatives stabbed my colleague Pouria Zarati in London, and last year, there was a revealed plan to attack our channel’s building and harm our journalists. As an Israeli journalist, I trust my country’s intelligence and security services. I will continue my work with the channel.”
Iran International has long been a target of the Iranian regime, particularly since its intensive coverage of the widespread protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in September 2022. The channel’s satellite broadcasts allowed it to reach audiences inside Iran, further amplifying its influence.
According to the Daily Mail, Tehran labeled the channel a “terrorist organization” in December 2022. That same month, British broadcaster ITV revealed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard had plotted to assassinate two Iran International TV hosts, Sima Sabet and Farhad Farahzad, in 2022, in knife attacks outside their homes, similar to the stabbing of Zarati.
The Daily Mail reported that the assassins were offered more than £150,000 for the job, but the plot was thwarted when one of the would-be attackers turned into a double agent.