Iran Press: Iran Captures Jondollah Leader Rigi

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RPO DUBAI 000043 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2035/02/23 TAGS: PGOV IR PREL SUBJECT: Iran Press: Iran Captures Jondollah Leader Rigi (Supplemental - with Intelligence Minister Comments) CLASSIFIED BY: Charles Pennypacker, Consular Officer, DOS, IRPO; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Iran has announced its capture of Jundollah head Abdolmalek Rigi. While there are conflicting stories as to how and where he was captured, the Iranian Intelligence Minister in a February 23 press conference stressed Rigi's ties to US, UK and Israeli intelligence services and trumpeted the arrest as more proof of Iran's abilities to neutralize enemy plots. If true, Rigi's arrest is a significant development. The Iran Gov't is more concerned about insurrectionist activity from its Baluch minority than from any other, and Jondollah leader Rigi is 'public enemy number one' as far as Iran's intelligence/security officials are concerned, especially after the recent assassination of senior level IRGC commanders in Iranian Baluchestan. While it is unclear to what extent Rigi's arrest would decapitate or neutralize Jondollah, his capture (and that of his deputy),however it occurred, would be a major victory for Iran. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) According to February 23 Iranian press, Iran has captured Jundollah head Abdolmalek Rigi. Initial press indications are that he was captured as a result of an Iranian intelligence operation outside the country, then transported to Iran, although it is not yet clear how and where he was captured (see para 5 below). ¶3. (U) Initial press reporting was scant, with Press TV's initial announcement being that, "Abdolmalek Rigi, ringleader of the Pakistan-based terrorist group of Jundallah, has been captured." Rigi was reportedly captured on a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan. Jundallah's number two man was also arrested." Other initial reporting ascribed Rigi's arrest to the efforts of Iranian intelligence officials (referred to euphemistically as 'the Unknown Soldiers of the Lord of the Age.') ILNA reported that "the Intelligence Ministry has announced the capture of Abdolmalek Rigi, head of the Eastern Iran Terrorist Group. The Intelligence Ministry's Public Relations Department said in an announcement that "the Unknown Soldiers of the Lord of the Age [i.e. Intelligence officers] in an important operation have captured Abdolmalek Rigi the head of a terrorist group in Eastern Iran." ¶4. (U) In later press comments, Interior Minister Najjar told 
Iranian press that "Abdolmalek Rigi, who was traveling in order to plan new evil and conspiracies, was detained outside the country and has been transferred to Iran." Najjar credited the capture to the awareness of military, security and intelligence officials, who captured him at an appropriate occasion. Najjar said this arrest shows Iran's intelligence and security dominance, and its control over regional security issues. He congratulated Supreme Leader Khamenei on the arrest, saying "with the net we had spread, we were able to capture him and now he is in the grip of Justice and the Iranian nation." He said that Iran had been following Rigi and his accomplices for a while and had sought to capture him alive. DUBAI? FORCED LANDING? HOSPITAL GRAB? ¶5. (U) Initial indications are that Rigi was captured early morning February 23, but it is still quite unclear as to how and where Rigi was captured: DUBAI-KYRGYZSTAN FLIGHT?: 'Javan' news service, affiliated with the IRGC, reported late morning that on mid-morning February 23 Rigi was transferred from Dubai to Iran, and that he had been captured by Iranian intelligence officials at the start of a flight from Dubai to Kyrgyzstan. 'Javan' also quoted Zahedan (capital of Iran's SIstan va Baluchestan province) Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor Mohammad Marzieh as telling press that Rigi's capture, the result of a 'surprise operation,' occurred early Tuesday morning with the intelligence and security participation, and that it was the result of a long-term intelligence operation. He said DUBAI 00000043 002 OF 003 Rigi was now in Iran and had been turned over to intelligence, security and judicial officials. PAKISTAN-GULF FLIGHT?: In comments to press Majlis Leadership Board member Mohammad Dehqan said that Rigi was captured on a flight from Pakistan heading to 'one of the Gulf countries.' Dehgan said the plane was ordered to make an emergency landing while over the Persian Gulf, and that after having done so Rigi was removed from the plane; HOSPITAL GRAB?: Various Iran news stories cite 'informed sources' as saying he was taken by Iranian intelligence from a Pakistani hospital where he was recovering from injuries; GIFT FROM PAKISTAN?: Some other Iranian news sites are speculating that Pakistan assisted Iran in his capture, either by passing his location to the Iranians or by handing over the detained Rigi to Iranian officials themselves. The website 'Iranian Diplomacy,' affiliated with moderate Sadegh Larijani, suggested that Pakistani intelligence, with the awareness and approval of the USG, turned Rigi over to the US. ¶6. (U) Commenting on his capture to press, MFA Spokesman Rahmanparast said that more details on Rigi's arrest would be soon forthcoming from intelligence and security officials. He described Rigi as the 'ringleader of a terrorist group that resorted to crimes and murders and who sought to create an uprising in Iran. He said America's support of this terrorist group is another example of the basic roots of the region's problems and lack of security stemming from other countries. ¶7. (U)In a February 23 press conference, Intelligence Minister Hojatoleslam Heydar Moslehi characterized Rigi's capture as another example of the capability of Iran's intelligence service to defuse foreign-based threats, and: - brandished a picture of Rigi "taken at an American base in Afghanistan within the last 24 hours;" - claimed that Rigi had met with the NATO Commander in Afghanistan in April 2008 in which the Commander spoke of a 'Greater Baluchestan' to Rigi, while also taking Rigi to an Al-Qaida camp in Afghanistan; - said that Rigi was captured inside Iran "without the help of any foreign country or intelligence service," although Moslehi did not provide operational details of Rigi's arrest; - wielding documents, claimed that the intelligence services of the US, UK and Israel, along with other European countries, were supporting Rigi, and that he was in contact with these intelligence services and those of 'some European countries;' - showed what he called Rigi's Pakistani identification card, his Afghan passport, and a picture of a Dubai visa for Rigi and his deputy 'Hamzeh' who was captured with him, as evidence that Rigi was traveling to various countries to cooperative with intelligence officials; DUBAI 00000043 003 OF 003 -claimed that in June 2009 Rigi with the coordination and help of the UK traveled to a European country to discuss with that country's officials terrorist acts against Iranian officials inside Iran. ¶8. (C) COMMENT: If true, Rigi's arrest is a significant development. The Iran Government is more concerned about insurrectionist activity from its Baluch minority than from any other, and Jondollah leader Rigi is 'public enemy number one' as far as Iran's intelligence/security officials are concerned, especially after the recent assassination of senior level IRGC commanders in Iranian Baluchestan. While it is unclear to what extent Rigi's arrest would decapitate or neutralize Jondollah, his capture (and that of his deputy),however it occurred, would be a major victory for Iran. END COMMENT. EYRE