Georgian recruited in foiled Iran-backed assassination plot in Azerbaijan

A Georgian drug trafficker, Agil Aslanov, played a central role in a failed assassination plot allegedly directed by Iran’s Quds Force, according to a The Washington Post. The plot, which targeted a prominent Jewish leader in Azerbaijan, was thwarted earlier this year by the country’s security services.

According to Western and Middle Eastern security officials cited in the report, Aslanov met with an officer from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force in the fall. During the meeting, the officer handed Aslanov a photograph of Rabbi Shneor Segal, a well-known Jewish figure in Azerbaijan, along with detailed instructions on how to carry out the assassination. In exchange, Aslanov was promised a payment of $200,000.

The plan was uncovered and disrupted in early January by Azerbaijan’s State Security Service, which arrested Aslanov and a local accomplice. Both were charged with conspiring to commit a terrorist act, according to a statement by the agency and local media reports. Authorities also discovered that the plot extended beyond the assassination attempt, involving a planned attack on a Jewish educational center in the country.

The case is part of a broader pattern of Iran allegedly outsourcing violent operations to criminal networks across Europe and the Middle East. The Washington Post report notes that the IRGC has previously enlisted Sweden’s most powerful gang, Foxtrot, and its notorious leader known as “The Kurdish Fox,” to carry out attacks on Israeli diplomatic missions. These operations included shootings and grenade attacks targeting Israeli embassies in Stockholm and Copenhagen, carried out by teenage gang members recruited by the network.

Security officials say Iran’s use of organized crime groups for covert operations reflects a growing strategy by Tehran to strike Israeli and Jewish targets abroad while distancing itself from direct involvement. The incident has raised fresh

Azerbaijan’s swift response has been praised by Western allies, who see it as a crucial step in curbing Iran’s increasingly brazen activities beyond its borders.