Iran's Ministry of Intelligence

"Steven R. Ward has written an introduction to Iran's shadowy Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS). MOIS is Iran's primary intelligence agency and focuses on tracking and countering domestic dissent and foreign-inspired sedition. Its organizational ethos emphasizes combating foreign influence and covert action to protect national identity and solidarity, adding the cultural realm to its intelligence mission. The ministry's checkered record of effective intelligence operations includes a history of assassinations and human rights abuses. Iran established the MOIS under the executive branch for accountability to the law and subordination to its system of elected and unelected rulers. MOIS missions overlap with other parts of Iran's expansive security apparatus, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which often overshadows the Ministry of Intelligence. Nonetheless, the ministry maintains a leading role in coordinating the multiple security organizations' activities and helps balance the system by serving as a check on IRGC power. This accessible book is intended for students of intelligence studies, national security practitioners, and general readers"--