The trans-regional power of Iran in dealing with villain opponents

WANA (Dec 6) – Amir Hossein Maqsoodlou, known as Amir Tataloo, a rapper popular among young fans in Iran but controversial due to his vulgar content, got arrested in Turkey due to complaints filed against him and handed over to Iran.

Reports from the Iranian police suggest that his arrest was executed at the behest of the Iranian judicial authorities. Tataloo faces charges primarily centered around the alleged promotion of drug use, particularly among the younger populace, emphasizing psychotropic substances.

Tataloo, whose track record includes numerous offenses both within and outside Iran, likely never envisioned being apprehended in Turkey and subsequently repatriated to Iran.

Amir Tataloo. Social Media / WANA News Agency

However, the Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly shown that it can bring rioters, violators, and transgressors of its national security back to the country and hand them over to the law.

For example, in 2019, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Intelligence Organization was able to bring “Ruhollah Zam” from France to Iraq with a sophisticated intelligence trap and then arrested him and executed him after going through judicial procedures.

Ruhollah Zam was one of the famous opponents among the opposition who was able to attract a lot of attention by launching a telegram channel called “Amad News.”

Ruhollah Zam, Social Media / WANA News Agency

Similarly, the operator of a well-known gambling site, “Milad Hatami,” faced extradition from Turkey to Iran in 2021 and is presently navigating the legal process in Iran. Also, about Milad Hatami, few people thought that Iran could return him to his country one day.

But the peak of the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran was demonstrated in the capture of “Jamshid Sharmahd,” the leader of the “Tondar” terrorist group.

Sharmahd, who was involved in the killing of dozens of people and several children in a religious ceremony, is a person who lived in America and never believed that Iran’s security forces would catch him. A sophisticated operation conducted by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence led to his arrest and subsequent transfer to Iran, where legal proceedings are ongoing.

Jamshid Sharmahd, a terrorist group ringleader – Social Media / WANA News Agency

The arrest and execution of “Abd al-Malek Rigi,” the famous villain who was supported for years by the American, Israeli, and Saudi intelligence services, is another case that the Iranian security forces call a great victory. Rigi was finally executed on June 20, 2010, in the famous “Evin” prison.

Abd al Malek Rigi, Social Media / WANA News Agency

Other cases can also be mentioned in this list. While some argue that Iran intends to instill fear among its adversaries abroad, others believe that most of the detained individuals are not merely political or social dissidents but rather individuals perceived as disrupting the internal peace of Iran.

Most of the prominent anti-Iranian people have been arrested, supported by the West, Israel, and, in recent years, supported by some Arab countries. Iran has always been willing to tolerate external political pressures yet not allow its evil opponents to challenge its national security or to carry out subversive actions against itself in other countries freely.

With these arrests, Iran wants to send two important messages to the other parties:

• First, to assert its security prowess globally and,
• Second, to caution opponents that nowhere is beyond Iran’s reach for arrest and extradition.

The recent history of numerous extraditions shows Iran’s effective coordination between its security service and foreign counterparts. This could be terrifying for the opposition, although it is hard for them to believe.

The intriguing part of this story is that to humiliate its opposition, Tehran has repeatedly announced that the non-arrest and extradition of some opponents is because some opponents aren’t worth that much to arrest or extradite.