After repeated incidents showing widespread infiltration in its intelligence and security networks reportedly by Israel, Iran’s IRGC admitted its counter-intelligence was targeted. 

During a ceremony to introduce the new IRGC counter-intelligence chief on Thursday, Revolutionary Guard’s commander Hossein Salami acknowledged the experience and expertise of Israeli and Western intelligence agencies, saying that “the enemy seeks to strip us of our self-confidence and make us feel empty inside.” 

Calling on all commanders, officials and all the Revolutionary Guards to foil enemies’ plots, he said, “This is the most dangerous and mysterious kind of aggression... The enemy's most successful experience is in its intelligence operations."

“The Intelligence Protection Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is engaged in direct confrontation with all the experienced and skilled intelligence and security services,” Salami said, admitting that they “have the collapse of many regimes on their record.”

On Monday, Brigadier General Majid Khademi, the head of the Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Security, was appointed by the Supreme Leader to succeed Mohammad Kazemi as the new chief of the IRGC Intelligence Organization’s information security (SAS InfoSec).

Kazemi replaced the controversial cleric Hossein Ta’eb as chief of the IRGC Intelligence Organization (SAS). Ta’eb’s replacement after 13 years at the helm of SAS which was announced on June 23 came as a big surprise and fueled many speculations about the reasons for his dismissal.

The SAS IntelSec is responsible for protecting the IRGC against infiltration by undesirable political fractions and leakage of information as well as monitoring of the forces’ commanders and the staff.