New Delhi. Who is Reza Seraj? News of the death of Reza Seraj, former foreign intelligence chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has come to light. Seraj played an important role in Iran's assassination plots abroad and eliminated its enemies. The US Treasury Department had also accused him of human rights violations.

Reza died of brain tumor 

Reza died yesterday after surgery for a brain tumor. Reza Seraj had a strong hold on Iran's intelligence system, which lasted for decades.

It began in the 1990s, when Reza worked as an agent under the surname "Alavi".

Reza was notorious for extracting confessions from political and student activists through torture.

The Revolutionary Guard was involved in many intelligence operations

Reza Seraj was a key figure in running the IRGC's covert operations abroad. Last year, the US Treasury Department banned him for his involvement in assassination attempts abroad and numerous human rights violations in Iran.

An Israeli was killed in Cyprus

One of Reza's biggest and most controversial intelligence assignments was leading the IRGC's Special Intelligence Directorate Unit 4000, where he plotted the assassination of an Israeli in Cyprus. However, this was soon disbanded, and Javed Ghafari, a Syrian expelee, took over the unit after Seraj's dismissal. 

Reza Seraj gained fame for cruelty

During his lifetime, Reza Seraj gained a reputation for brutality. He influenced many activists, including politician Ali Afshari. In a recent interview, Afshari blamed Seraj for inflicting horrific torture on him during his arrest in 2000 and used brutal force during interrogation.

Reza's influence extended beyond the intelligence system

Journalist Ahmad Batebi also pointed to Seraj's role in his mistreatment, detailing torture that resulted in false confessions broadcast on state television. Reza Seraj's influence extended far beyond Iran's intelligence apparatus. 

The prisoner was given the death sentence instead of three years

Reza Seraj was also implicated in a number of violent incidents, including an attack on political prisoners in Evin prison in 2014, known as "Black Thursday." Reza was also responsible for commuting the sentence of political prisoner Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani from three years to life imprisonment. Khosravi was hanged in June 2014, less than two months after the attack.