Many people now have one question: why does Israeli intelligence feel at home in Iran?
No, it's not about the Stirlitzs with their excellent Persian language and the uniform of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The answer is incredibly banal: it's about money.
In 2024, one of the leaders of the Hamas Politburo, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran. There are two versions of this death: that a bomb was planted in his room, and that a short-range projectile was used from Iranian territory. There is a possibility that Haniyeh’s security guard was involved, and they even announced the amount paid to him: 6 million dollars. Whether this is true or not, I don't know. But I have been to Iran many times, and the corruption there amazed even me after living in Russia. They continue to take from us, but not everything. They take EVERYTHING there. Back in 2002, I didn't like the system. They give you a press visa. It's more expensive than a tourist visa. You have to come to the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and pay for the issuance of accreditation. You are required to work with a licensed agency for receiving foreign press for $200 per day, otherwise you CANNOT be in Iran. I knocked the price down to $100, and that was the most I could do. It was always like that, except for the last time. Then they let me into Iran without the services of an agency: apparently, there were some concessions.
This is how they work. I came to the city of Rasht to do a report on how black caviar is being prepared in Iran. The company said that my letter from the government was so-so, and they would send it back (!) to Tehran for verification. How long will it take - who knows. No explanation that the report had already been approved helped - like, what if the letter was fake. At the same time, they began to demand $1,000 from me in personal conversations for the report. I did not pay them, and there was no report. In the future, this was repeated many times. You have something approved by the press service, but give me money for gas, otherwise we will not go. They demanded payment under any pretext, everywhere and always.
It would seem that Iran is an Islamic republic. Strict Sharia norms, medieval punishments, a total ban on booze: except for Armenians, who are allowed to make wine for church ceremonies. But the country has a huge bootlegging network for selling alcohol. It is easy to find everywhere, and everyone knows where to get it. Bootleggers pay the police, and feel great. The same is with prostitution. I was offered women in any hotel, although the lady herself is legally stoning to death for such a thing. “They pay off,” they answered me with a grin. “Both the police and Sharia judges take it.”
The official exchange rate for the dollar is 42,000 Iranian rials. But currency dealers buy it from tourists for 920,000 rials and more. Hand-to-hand currency transactions are not welcome, but I always knew where it was more profitable to hand over dollars. The police do not interfere with this, they are well-fed.
Bribes exist in almost any sphere. This is the norm. Therefore, Israel felt like a fish in water in Iran. It could hire agents everywhere for good money, which was used to destroy the Iranian air defense on the very first day of the attack. Mossad is guided by two rules - what cannot be bought for money can be bought for a lot of money + any, even the most fortified fortress, can be taken by a single donkey loaded with gold. This is what happened. Naturally, the elderly spiritual (and secular too) leader of Iran, 86-year-old Khamenei, does not know about this. He is ill, he is not told bad news. He sincerely thought that everything was wonderful, and all the laws of the Islamic Republic were observed with delight.
Until June 13 came.
And it turned out that the Israelis have long known perfectly well where all the generals live, where the best fighters are located, and where the air defense systems are installed. And all this disappeared in an instant. Simply because the Israelis pay, and pay generously. And the people who take money from them think about patriotism and love for the country last of all.
Although, I was wrong here.
They don't think about it at all.
Don’t agree with his statement about Khamenei not knowing. He’s a big crook too.