Iraj Masjedi, the Iranian ambassador to Iraq and an adviser to the Iranian terrorist Qassem Soleimani

Brigadier General Iraj Masjedi, the Iranian ambassador to Iraq and an advisor to the Iranian terrorist Qassem Soleimani has a long history of targeting US troops and the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK Iran), according to Iran’s leading opposition group, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

The NCRI, which has the MEK as its biggest member, said that Masjedi, who is the third-highest ranking commander of the terrorist Quds Force, secretly operated as a terrorist by killing Iraqis who protested Iranian influence in their country.

The NCRI and MEK Iran said that Masjedi is now, essentially, the regime’s “secret governor of Iraq”, but that his role provides him with “both the authority and the diplomatic cover to order his agents to massacre” Iraqis who challenge Iran’s influence.

This should be no surprise as the Quds Force has a long history of killing Iranian protesters, mainly affiliated with the MEK Iran. It is also something that Iran does all over the world to place Quds operators into embassies in the Middle East and Europe, where they have diplomatic immunity to target Iranian dissidents.

#Live from @NCRIUS in #Washington : The Quds Force is the #IRGC‘s arm for terrorist operations and warmongering abroad. https://t.co/pWAOIL2tpr#IranTerror pic.twitter.com/DA3iO4r9OP

— MEK Iran (Mujahedin-e Khalq) (@MEK_Iran) November 2, 2018

In December 2018, Albania deported two diplomats [Quds operatives] for plotting to assassinate members of the MEK Iran in their new headquarters of Ashraf 3 in the Albanian capital; a place that the MEK Iran was moved to escape the persecution of the Iranian regime.

Earlier in 2018, European authorities uncovered an Iranian plot to bomb the MEK’s annual Free Iran conference in Paris that featured 100,000 people and 600 Western speakers, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, Donald Trump’s attorney. They arrested Asadollah Asadi, an Iranian diplomat [intelligence operative] in Austria who was apprehended outside of his host country.

The US killed Soleimani in a drone strike on January 3 after learning that he was planning attacks on US forces in Iraq that are fighting ISIS and trying to fully eliminate the terror group.

Again, this shouldn’t be a surprise. The NCRI reports that the Quds Force and Masjedi have played a critical role in attacks on US forces in Iraq since 2003, noting that between 2005 and 2011, the Quds Force deployed sophisticated roadside bombs to kill American troops, resulting in the deaths of 600 US troops.

However, there is perhaps some good news, as, according to Jim Phillips, a Middle East analysis at the Heritage Foundation, Masjedi, and the Quds Force could lose some influence now that Soleimani is dead.

Phillips said: “General Soleimani essentially operated as Iran’s viceroy for Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. All three of Iran’s post-Saddam [Hussein] ambassadors in Iraq were formerly members of Soleimani’s Quds Force, as were ambassadors in Syria and Lebanon. To the extent that General Soleimani’s demise undermines the perceived power and reputation of the Quds Force, Masjedi’s own influence is likely to be diminished.”