Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has reportedly appointed a new commander to its notorious Unit 840, the covert Quds Force organization linked to assassination plots targeting Israelis, American officials and opponents of the Iranian regime around the world. The unit has also been renamed Unit 600 following the exposure of its organizational structure and operatives.
3+According to a Tuesday report by the anti-regime outlet Iran International, Quds Force chief Esmail Qaani recently appointed 64-year-old Mojtaba Haq-Lesan to lead the organization. Haq-Lesan previously served as the unit’s intelligence chief. His predecessor, Yazdan Mir, also known by the alias “Haj Asghar Bagheri,” was killed in May during a strike attributed to Israel. Two sources close to the Quds Force told Iran International that the IRGC decided to rename Unit 840 after details of its command structure and personnel became public. According to those sources, the change was intended to allow the organization to continue operating under a new administrative framework.
3+Sources cited by Iran International claimed that the appointment of veteran personnel reflects a leadership crisis within the Quds Force following the killing or exposure of senior commanders. According to the report, doubts have also emerged within the organization over whether the IRGC can continue operating the unit effectively. Unit 840 was reportedly established during the first half of the 2010s on the orders of Qassem Soleimani, then commander of the Quds Force. It emerged from Unit 400, a special operations organization that maintained close ties with Hezbollah.
3+Over the years, Unit 840 has been linked to plots against senior American officials, Israeli citizens and opponents of the Iranian regime.
In 2022, the US Department of Justice announced that an IRGC member had plotted to assassinate John Bolton, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump. According to the report, the operation was directed by Mohammad-Reza Ansari, now identified as Unit 600’s deputy commander. Additional reports described foiled assassination plots targeting former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and two Israeli businessmen.
3+The organization also allegedly recruited criminals, drug smugglers and local organized crime networks to carry out operations across Europe and the Middle East. Among the reported plots were attempts to attack Jewish and Israeli targets in Germany, Sweden and Denmark, as well as a plan to target two Iran International journalists in Britain. The reported restructuring suggests that despite repeated intelligence exposures and operations against its personnel, the Quds Force is seeking to maintain its overseas covert capabilities under a new name and leadership.