Iran's Quds Force plots to assassinate rabbi in Azerbaijan

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attempted to orchestrate the assassination of Rabbi Shneor Segal in Azerbaijan by enlisting a Georgian drug trafficker for $200,000, according to reports from The Washington Post. The plot, which also included plans to target an educational center, was foiled by Azerbaijan's State Security Service in January. The drug dealer, Agil Aslanov, received instructions and a photograph of Segal during a meeting in Iran, facilitated by an Iranian national with ties to organized crime. Both Aslanov and his accomplice were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act. Segal, who remained unaware of the assassination attempt until informed by the media, expressed his surprise but reassured that he felt safe in Azerbaijan. This incident is part of a broader trend of Iran's use of criminal proxies for targeted killings abroad.