Iran Secret Service Chief Was Mossad Agent: Ex-Iranian President's Big Claim

Tehran: Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has alleged Israeli intelligence of infiltrating Iran's secret services.

In an interview with CNN Turks, the former president claimed that the chief of Iranian secret services established to counter Israeli operations turned out to be a Mossad agent.

Ahmadinejad further added that another 20 Israeli agents worked alongside him.

During the conversation, the Iranian leader said that the agents were responsible for several prominent intelligence operations in Iran, including thefts of documents related to Iran's nuclear programme.

"Israel organized complex operations inside Iran. They could quickly obtain information. In Iran, they are still silent about this. The man who was in charge of the unit in Iran against Israel - was an Israeli agent," Ynet reported Ahmadinejad quoting the CNN interview.

As per Iran's former president, these agents were the ones who managed to steal the Iranian nuclear documents and were also responsible for killing Iranian nuclear scientists.

This is not the first time when Israel has been charged with spying on Iran. In 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu disclosed that several documents of Iran's nuclear programmes were pilfered by Israeli agents. He also displayed many documents at high-profile speeches claiming that they were demonstrating the nuclear plans.

What is Mossad?

Mossad is the national intelligence agency of Israel. The country is known for its powerful intelligence agencies, including Mossad, Aman (military intelligence), and Shin Bet (internal security). Mossad is primarily responsible for intelligence collection, covert operations, and counterterrorism, with its director accountable only to the Prime Minister.

It is the second-largest spy agency in the Western world, following the United States' CIA. It was December 13, 1949, following a recommendation by Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion to Reuven Shiloah. Until 1996, the identity of Mossad's head was kept confidential. This changed with the appointment of Major General Danny Yatom, the former deputy commander of the Israel Defense Forces. Since then, the agency publicly named its head at the start of the five-year term.

Reports estimate its annual budget at approximately $10 billion, and it employs around 7,000 people, making it one of the world’s largest espionage organizations.