IRAN: SECOND HAND SOURCE CLAIMS EPD'S ARE PACKED,

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 000365 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2018 TAGS: PREL PTER IZ IR UK SUBJECT: IRAN: SECOND HAND SOURCE CLAIMS EPD'S ARE PACKED, SHIPPED FROM TEHRAN TO IRAQ REF: A. A) LONDON 132 AND PREVIOUS ¶B. B) E-MAIL TO NEA/IR 2/4/08 Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor Maura Connelly for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (S/NF) Summary. Well-known Iranian expatriate broadcaster and long-time Embassy contact Ali Reza Nourizadeh passed to London Iran Watcher (Poloff) an allegation, parts of which Nourizadeh said he has independently confirmed, that an IRGC office in central Tehran is packing and shipping to Iraq large quantities of explosive penetrator devices (EPDs) for use against Coalition forces in Iraq; the information reportedly originates from a low-level IRGC employee claiming to work in the office. The employee claims the devices once packed are passed to a nearby SCIRI facility, from where they are sent to Iraq. End summary. ¶2. (S/NF) As discussed in previous Embassy reports (ref a), Nourizadeh frequently discusses with Poloff selections from the large volume of emails and phone calls he receives daily both from long-term contacts and from listeners inside Iran, sent in reaction to Nourizadeh's daily radio broadcasts inside Iran on Voice of America. Contacts's Source: Embittered IRGC Vet -------------- ¶3. (S/NF) Nourizadeh recently described to Poloff a listener with whom Nourizadeh said he has been in contact for over a year. The listener, a 41-year-old unmarried male, whom Nourizadeh refers to as "Reza," claims to be an IRGC veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, partially disabled by chemical weapon burns in his lungs. Nourizadeh says "Reza" works in an IRGC facility in Tehran, the Nasim Sabz Hayat charity, at 65 Taleqani Avenue where, Reza reports, former IRGC head (and current Expediency Council Secretary) Mohsen Rezaie also appears regularly. Nourizadeh reported "Reza," who like many of Nourizadeh's listeners call or email him with their frustrations with the Tehran regime, had over the past year complained to him about the poor treatment of wounded Iran-Iraq War veterans, who number in the hundreds of thousands. After Nourizadeh recently made strong on-air VOA comments on the plight of wounded veterans, in contrast with the luxurious lifestyles of senior IRGC figures such as Mohsen Rezaie, Nourizadeh said he had been bombarded with enthusiastic feedback from hundreds of IRGC veterans, endorsing his attacks on Rezaie and others. ¶4. (S/NF) Nourizadeh said that, as part of this deluge of calls, emails, and faxes from embittered veterans, his long-time listener "Reza" related his own wartime service under and personal contact with Mohsen Rezaie whom, Reza said, he and his comrades had once "worshipped" as an inspirational leader. Reza vividly described his own and his comrades' wartime sacrifices on Rezaie's behalf (Reza claimed he and IRGC comrades, operating in bitter winter weather in Kurdistan, had in an emergency warmed a hypothermic Mohsen Rezaie by holding Rezaie's fingers inside their own mouths), contrasting them bitterly with what "Reza" said is Rezaie's current luxurious lifestyle and indifference to the suffering of his former followers. In this context, "Reza" also volunteered details of his current work under Rezaie, evidently, according to Nourizadeh, to strike back at Rezaie for what "Reza" sees as a general betrayal by a wartime leader of former comrades. (Embassy comment: Notably, in separate comments about his former commander, Reza said Mohsen Rezaie had "like the Shah" been led astray by corrupt advisors. End comment.) ¶5. (S/NF) Nourizadeh told Poloff that, recognizing the potential importance of Reza's account, Nourizadeh had asked a close long-term personal contact living in Tehran to make contact with Reza to verify bona fides. Nourizadeh said his contact met "Reza," and confirmed his employment at 65 Taleqani, his severe lung condition (he described Reza as coughing blood),and his apparent sincerity. Packing, Shipping of EPDs -------------- LONDON 00000365 002 OF 002 ¶6. (S/NF) Nourizadeh said "Reza" reports a main function of the Nasim Sabz Hayat charity, where he reportedly works as a clerk, is the ongoing, large-scale packing and preparation for shipment of what Reza describes as sophisticated, hand-portable explosive devices designed for use by insurgents in Iraq against Coalition armored vehicles; Reza has not offered a more detailed description of the devices. Reza claims the devices arrive at 65 Taleqani by small Toyota trucks, blue in color. Once packed, the devices are supposedly transferred down the block to 75 Taleqani, a white building across the street from a confectionary shop. According to Reza, 75 Taleqani is the Tehran headquarters of Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (SIIC formerly SCIRI) organization. From these SCIRI offices, Reza claims, the devices are later driven away in small blue Toyota trucks, presumably to Iraq. ¶7. (S/NF) Nourizadeh said that, separately from Reza's account, 75 Taleqani is well-known locally as Hakim's and SCIRI's Tehran offices. Reza's own office, 65 Taleqani, is in a four-story building which, according to Reza, also contains offices for Majmae Nokhbegan, an IRGC entity Nourizadeh claims heads recruitment among Iranian graduates for graduate-level engineering and technical training abroad. Nourizadeh shared with Poloff a handwritten Farsi language note Reza had faxed to him (ref b),with some of the above details of the packing operation. Location Within Tehran -------------- ¶8. (S/NF) Taleqani reportedly is an east-west street; the 65 Taleqani address is located just east of Palestinian Square, and is on the block of Taleqani between Vali Asr Avenue, to the east, and Palestine Avenue, to the west. The former U.S. Embassy, according to Nourizadeh now used as the offices of the Tehran branch of the Quds Force, lies less than one kilometer to the west, and is also on Taleqani. Supreme Leader Khamenei's compound and Ahmedinejad's office reportedly are several hundred meters to the south, along Palestine Avenue. ¶9. (S/NF) As recited ref (a),Nourizadeh is well-known to Department; he has an interested view of events in Iran and has in the past been flagged by some USG officials for erroneous claims. Poloff depends on context and informed conjecture to judge the relevance and plausibility of this contact's claims on a case-by-case basis, and in this case judged the plausibility and detail sufficient to justify this message. Visit London's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/london/index. cfm TUTTLE