Iran’s Former President Ahmadinejad Narrowly Escapes Assassination Attempt, Faulty Car AC Triggers Suspicion

Former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad narrowly escaped an assassination attempt last week, the Iran International said. It further added that his vehicle was sabotaged.

On the evening of Monday, July 15, Ahmadinejad and his entourage were set to travel to Zanjan for the Muharram religious mourning ceremony. As part of the routine checks, his chief security officer inspected Ahmadinejad’s main vehicle, a Toyota Land Cruiser, and found that the air conditioner was still malfunctioning. He then requested the former president to use a different car.

The outlet said that some time later the driver of the Toyota Land Cruiser carrying Ahmadinejad’s associates and bodyguards suddenly lost control of both the steering and brakes while driving along the Karaj-Qazvin Highway.

The car spun three times in high-speed traffic, swerved left and right twice, hit the central divider and collided with another vehicle in Ahmadinejad’s convoy. It then struck the barrier again before finally stopping after hitting a Peugeot car.

A passenger in the Peugeot sustained minor injuries and was taken to the hospital and was discharged after outpatient treatment.

Two days before the trip, Ahmadinejad’s security team had submitted his primary vehicle, the Toyota Land Cruiser, to the presidential institution’s repair unit to fix a malfunctioning air conditioner.

The news outlet said that after Ahmadinejad’s Toyota Land Cruiser was handed over to the presidential institution it was seized by “special security agents” and taken to an undisclosed location rather than the usual repair shop.

It said that the vehicle was sabotaged before being returned to Ahmadinejad’s security team and the repairers falsely claimed that the air conditioner had been repaired.

The security team protecting high-ranking officials like Ahmadinejad, the Ansar-al-Mahdi Protection Corps, is part of the IRGC. This corps is a subset of the IRGC Intelligence Protection Organization, led by Brigadier General Fathollah Jomeiri.

The report did not identify which organisation the “special security agents” who took the vehicle belonged to.

It said that high-ranking members from one of three IRGC subdivisions—the IRGC Intelligence Organization, the IRGC Protection and Intelligence Organization, or the IRGC Vali-e-Amr Corps—have the authority to retrieve Ahmadinejad’s vehicle from the presidential repair unit without involving the Ansar Protection Corps.

This could have allowed them to carry out the alleged sabotage without raising security concerns, the report said.

Ahmadinejad registered to run in this year’s presidential election but was disqualified by the unelected Guardian Council. He did not endorse any candidates.

According to sources from Iran International, five days after the failed assassination attempt, Ahmadinejad’s office informed the “responsible authorities” about the incident and filed complaints regarding previous attacks. There have been prior indications of attempts on his life.