High-Ranking Iranian Diplomat Defects

January 27, 2026 by Hugh Fitzgerald

The first among an expected flood to follow.

He’s the first of what will in time, I suspect, become a flood, as the Iranian regime survives through mass murder, and the hatred for it grows and grows. A half-dozen Iranian diplomats defected after the “Green Movement” protest in 2009; this time there will be many more. More about this diplomat, the second-in-command of the Iranian mission to the UN’s headquarters in Geneva, can be found here: “Senior Iranian UN Diplomat in Geneva Defects, Seeks Asylum in Switzerland,” i24News, January 18, 2026:

A senior Iranian diplomat posted to the United Nations’ European headquarters in Geneva has reportedly defected and applied for political asylum in Switzerland, according to diplomatic sources cited on Sunday by the Iranian opposition outlet Iran International.

The diplomat, Alireza Jiranieh Hokambad, served as a minister-counselor, the second-highest-ranking position in Iran’s UN delegation in Geneva.

According to the report, he left his post and submitted an asylum request for himself and his family, citing fears of persecution should he return to Iran.

Sources said Hokambad’s decision was driven by concerns over the ongoing political and social unrest in Iran, as well as doubts about the stability of the Islamic Republic’s governing structure. Swiss authorities have not yet issued an official response to the asylum application….

His defection is both an expression of deep disgust with the Iranian regime, and a vivid vote of no confidence in its survival. The supreme leader may have temporarily used mass murder to suppress the protesters, and many of those who had been protesting on the streets have retreated to their homes, but their hate for the regime does not disappear; they harbor it in their hearts, where it grows and grows.

Defections by Iranian diplomats during periods of domestic unrest are not without precedent. In the aftermath of Iran’s 2009 “Green Movement” protests, a number of senior diplomats posted in countries including Norway, Finland, Italy, and Belgium resigned and sought asylum, publicly condemning the Tehran government’s violent crackdown.

Source: https://www.frontpagemag.com/high-ranking-iranian-diplomat-defects/