Ambiguity Surrounds Murder of Iranian Arms Dealer in Italy

Ambiguity still surrounds the murder of Iranian arms dealer Said Ansary Firouz in Formello in Rome’s northern outskirts. (AFP)
Ambiguity still surrounds the murder of Iranian arms dealer Said Ansary Firouz in Formello in Rome’s northern outskirts. (AFP)
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Ambiguity Surrounds Murder of Iranian Arms Dealer in Italy

Ambiguity still surrounds the murder of Iranian arms dealer Said Ansary Firouz in Formello in Rome’s northern outskirts. (AFP)
Ambiguity still surrounds the murder of Iranian arms dealer Said Ansary Firouz in Formello in Rome’s northern outskirts. (AFP)

Ambiguity still surrounds the murder of Iranian arms dealer Said Ansary Firouz, who was shot dead last week at his office in Formello in Rome’s northern outskirts.

Italian police reports said Firouz was killed by his driver, 47-year-old Foloty Kave, who shot his employer before turning the weapon on himself.

Recent investigative data showed that Kave’s motive was blackmail. The gendarmerie reports said Firouz was shot dead in the head and that the relationship between the two men had worsened since last year after Kave was fired from his job.

The reports said the murderer had blackmailed the victim and demanded large sums of money in exchange for information he knew about him.

Firouz was under investigation for a shipment of arms destined for Tehran, police sources said.

The son of a former Iranian ambassador to Italy during the Shah era, Firouz was the middleman and a crucial link connecting supply with demand.

Other Italian news outlets said the victim had ties with the Calabrian or 'Ndrangheta mafia, which may have been behind the assassination and Kave’s suicide attempt. The driver was connected to this criminal organization, which is the most violent in Italy.

Days before his death, the Special Investigative Department (ROS) of the Carabinieri had issued Firouz an indictment notice for international trafficking in weapons of war.

Nine others of Iranian and Italian nationality were also being investigated.

Il Messaggero reported that in 2016 Firouz met in London with Safarian Nasab Esmail, who is under investigation in Rome for international terrorism.

Firouz ran a profitable business selling and renting vintage cars to celebrities and football players.



Ukraine Urges Investigation into Alleged Russian Chemical Weapons Use

The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
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Ukraine Urges Investigation into Alleged Russian Chemical Weapons Use

The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
The logo of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is seen during a special session in the Hague, Netherlands June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

Ukraine asked the global chemical weapons watchdog in The Hague on Tuesday to investigate the alleged use of banned toxic munitions by Russia against its forces.

A request to establish an investigation was submitted by Kyiv to the governing body of the organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

It followed Dutch and German intelligence agencies on Friday saying they had evidence of widespread use of illegal weapons by Russia along the frontline.

Agency chief Fernando Arias said in a statement to the OPCW's Executive Council that in view of the alleged frequent use of dangerous chemical agents his office would step up monitoring of activity along the Russia-Ukraine conflict line, Reuters reportf.

He invited Ukraine to discuss its proposal with member states, a majority of whom may be needed to support such an investigation.

The OPCW created a similar team in 2018 to examine accusations of chemical weapons use in Syria. The Investigation and Identification Team found that Syrian government forces and Islamic State militants had used banned chemical weapons in the civil war that began in March 2011. The United States first accused Russia in May last year of using chloropicrin, a chemical compound more toxic than riot control agents and first used by Germany during World War One. The OPCW, a disarmament agency in The Hague with 193 member states, said last year that initial accusations levelled by both countries at each other were "insufficiently substantiated".

Both sides have denied using chemical weapons in the conflict, which escalated when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

"Ukraine hereby requests the Director-General of the OPCW to take steps towards establishing an independent and impartial mechanism (to) investigate cases of alleged use of chemical weapons in Ukraine," a copy of the request shared with Reuters said.

It asked that the mechanism be empowered to "collect additional evidence and identify perpetrators, organisers, sponsors of such use."

It was submitted at the beginning of four days of closed-door meetings by the 41-country Executive Council of the OPCW. The disarmament body had no immediate comment on the request.

At least three Ukrainian deaths have been tied to chemical weapons use, the Dutch Military Intelligence Agency said, while more than 2,500 people injured on the battlefield reported chemical weapons-related symptoms to Ukrainian health authorities.

On Monday, Britain targeted two Russian individuals and one Russian entity as part of its chemical weapons sanctions regime, in its latest effort to punish Moscow for the war in Ukraine.