Iran replaces IRGC's intelligence chief
Taeb's apparent dismissal comes after Israeli media outlets identified him as masterminding plots against Israeli citizens in Turkey.
Iran has replaced the head of the intelligence unit for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Taeb, the IRGC confirmed on Thursday.
“Guard Corps chief Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami appointed Gen. Mohammad Kazemi as the new head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization,” spokesman for the IRGC Ramezan Sharif said in a statement.
Kazemi had previously run the IRGC’s Intelligence Protection Organization. Iran's state broadcaster IRIB reported Thursday that Taeb will now serve as an adviser to IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami.
Taeb’s apparent dismissal after 12 years as intelligence chief comes days after Israeli media linked him to alleged Iranian plots to kidnap or kill Israeli tourists living in Turkey. Tehran had vowed retaliation for a string of suspicious deaths attributed to Israel, including the apparent assassinations of two Iranian aerospace officers. Iran also blamed Israel for the killing of IRGC Col. Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, who was shot dead outside his home in May.
