{"id":250698,"date":"2021-11-13T03:59:35","date_gmt":"2021-11-13T08:59:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=250698"},"modified":"2023-02-01T04:38:59","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T03:38:59","slug":"irans-diplomat-charged-with-assassination-in-norway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/terrorism-a-fundamentalism\/irans-diplomat-charged-with-assassination-in-norway\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s Diplomat Charged With\u00a0Assassination\u00a0in Norway\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Iranian-Embassy-Oslo-Norway-min\"
Iranian Embassy, Oslo, Norway<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Lebanese national and a former\u00a0senior\u00a0Iranian diplomat\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0regime\u2019s\u00a0embassy in Oslo have been accused of involvement in the assassination of a Norwegian publisher. The\u00a0news is another grim reminder of the dangers\u00a0posed by Tehran\u2019s network of espionage and terrorism in Europe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK),\u00a0Kripos,\u00a0the Norwegian National Criminal Investigation Service has been investigating the assassination case of William Nygaard for 12 years since it was resumed in 2009.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nygaard was the former head of the Norwegian publishing company\u00a0Aschehoug, and former chairman of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation\u00a0that\u00a0was responsible for publishing the Norwegian edition of Salman Rushdie\u2019s novel, The Satanic Verses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"william-nygaard-norwegian-publisher\"
William Nygaard, Norwegian publisher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Based on a fatwa by Ruhollah Khomeini, the Iranian regime\u2019s founder and first Supreme Leader, against Salman Rushdie<\/a>, Nygaard was targeted in 1993 by several fanatics for publishing Rushdie\u2019s novel.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to NRK, a Lebanese national, Khaled\u00a0Moussawi, who lived in Oslo in the 1990s, along with Tehran\u2019s first Secretary at the regime\u2019s Embassy in Oslo, are the primary suspects of the assassination of Nygaard.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to NRK, Tehran\u2019s diplomat, whose name has not been mentioned by the NRK,\u00a0came to Norway shortly after \u201cSatanic Verses\u201d was published and left the country four days before the assassination.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0participation\u00a0of\u00a0the Iranian regime\u2019s\u00a0embassy in\u00a0Oslo\u00a0with\u00a0terrorism and espionage\u00a0was not unprecedented. In November 2018, Swedish authorities arrested Mohammad\u00a0Davoudzadeh\u00a0Lului\u00a0for his cooperation with the regime\u2019s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS).\u00a0Davoudzadeh\u00a0was involved in a terrorist plot against Iranian Arab citizens in Denmark.\u00a0Davoudzadeh\u00a0had obtained refugee status and later Norwegian citizenship.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Davoudzadeh<\/span><\/a>\u202fwas in regular communication with the regime\u2019s embassy in Oslo and\u00a0then-ambassador Mohammad Hassan\u00a0Habibolahzadeh.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On November 9, 2018, the Norwegian media published his photo at a meeting in the ceremony of the regime\u2019s embassy\u00a0celebrating\u00a0the Iranian New Year of 1397. In this photo,\u00a0Davoudzadeh\u00a0is seen sitting on the front row next to Norway\u2019s then-Minister for Fisheries Per Sandberg, and another MOIS agent named Bahareh\u00a0Heidari\u00a0(Letnes),\u00a0as well as\u00a0the regime\u2019s ambassador.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"norwegian-minister-iranian-mois-agent\"
Former Norwegian Minister for Fisheries Per Sandberg, and MOIS agent, Bahareh\u00a0Heidari\u00a0(Letnes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"norwegian-minister-iranian-ambassador-oslo\"
Per Sandberg, and MOIS agent, Bahareh Heidari (Letnes) in the ceremony of the regime\u2019s embassy celebrating the Iranian New Year of 1397<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Later, the Norwegian minister\u00a0had to resign after it became evident that he had fallen in Tehran\u2019s honey trap, married\u00a0Letnes, and traveled to Iran without the consent of the Norwegian government.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But Tehran\u2019s ability to target the European countries\u2019 security apparatus using its trained agents is not new.\u202f\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In September 2021, Swedish newspapers, including Aftonbladet and Expressen,\u202f<\/span>reported<\/span><\/a>\u202fthat a former Swedish security police chief had been arrested for spying for Iran from 2011 to 2015. The arrested spy was Peyman Kia, 40 years old. He had obtained Swedish citizenship and worked as a director in the Swedish Security Police (SPO) and an analyst in a Swedish military organization while he was spying for Tehran.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Tehran\u2019s Spy Arrested in Sweden: A Grim Reminder of Rooted Terrorism in Europe#Iran<\/a> #ProsecuteRaisiNOW<\/a>
https:\/\/t.co\/249GnKoyDA<\/a><\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) September 27, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n