Blaming foreign enemies after intelligence ministry agents murdered dissident writers in 1998
In late 1998 agents of Iran's intelligence ministry killed opposition leaders Dariush and Parvaneh Forouhar and the writers Mohammad Mokhtari and Mohammad Jafar Pouyandeh. Khamenei said the killings could not have happened without a foreign scenario. The alleged mastermind, reported to be a Khamenei confidant, died in custody, and victims' families called the later trial a sham.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Dariush and Parvaneh Forouhar killed, followed by two writers - BBC News and PBS Frontline reported that Dariush Forouhar, leader of the Nation Party of Iran, and his wife Parvaneh were stabbed to death in their Tehran home. Days later the Writers Association members Mohammad Mokhtari and Mohammad Jafar Pouyandeh were abducted and strangled. Iran's Chain Murders: A wave of killings that shook a nation
- Intelligence ministry admits its own agents carried out the killings - PBS Frontline and Iran International reported that the intelligence ministry issued an unprecedented statement admitting that 'rogue' staff had carried out the murders. Iran International noted that the ministry operates under the Supreme Leader's authority, and that the limited admission raised questions about what he knew. The Chain Murders: Killing Dissidents and Intellectuals, 1988-1998
- Khamenei says the killings were impossible without a foreign scenario - IranWire reported that three days after the ministry's admission, Khamenei said it was 'not possible' that the assassinations happened 'without a scenario led from abroad'. Iran International reported that he and his supporters initially blamed 'foreign enemies', including Israel. Decoding Iran's Politics: The Chain Murders of Dissidents
- Alleged mastermind Saeed Emami dies in custody - BBC News and RFE/RL reported that the judiciary said Saeed Emami, a former deputy intelligence minister accused of masterminding the killings, had killed himself in prison by drinking hair remover. IranWire reported that Emami was a confidant of Khamenei and that many analysts have long doubted the official suicide account. Iran's Chain Murders: A wave of killings that shook a nation
- Military trial that victims' families called a sham - BBC News and RFE/RL reported that 18 intelligence agents were tried; three received death sentences later commuted to prison terms, others were jailed and three were acquitted. Victims' families rejected the process, and RFE/RL said the trial was seen as a sham amid suspicions that those who ordered the killings never faced justice. Iran's Chain Murders: A wave of killings that shook a nation