Masoud Molavi

Masoud Molavi Vardanjani (Persian: مسعود مولوی وردنجانی; 28 April 1987 – 14 November 2019) was a cyber security specialist and Iranian dissident who leaked information about the Islamic Republic. Vardanjani was assassinated in Istanbul, Turkey, in what was widely alleged to be an operation carried out by Iranian intelligence. Vardanjani was reportedly involved in Iran's cyber defense program, working with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Ministry of Defense, before later becoming a critic of the government. He operated a Telegram channel called "Black Box", which claimed to publish documents exposing corruption within the Office of the Supreme Leader, the Iranian judicial system, and the Iranian armed forces. Reuters had reported that Iranian diplomatic officers of the Iranian consulate in Turkey helped assassinate him.