Arrest of “An Israeli Spy and Several Other Spies” in East Azerbaijan

An Iranian Ministry of Intelligence official says several people were arrested last year on espionage charges in East Azerbaijan. He did not specify the exact number of those arrested or the precise timing of the arrests, but said one of them was spying for Israel.

Iranian news agencies reported on Monday, April 6, quoting the intelligence director of East Azerbaijan province that intelligence officials succeeded last year in identifying and arresting several spies linked to “security services of various countries” in the province.

Some sources identified one of those arrested as an Israeli spy, and some, such as the Tasnim news agency, called him an “Israeli spy.” The senior Ministry of Intelligence official, whose name was not disclosed, did not provide further details about these arrests.

The news conference held by the intelligence director of East Azerbaijan was held on the occasion of the week of “Anonymous Soldiers of the Imam of the Time.” This is a title used for security personnel of the Islamic Republic.

Exactly one year ago, Israel’s domestic intelligence and security service (Shin Bet) announced in a statement that a 50-year-old Israeli citizen had been arrested on espionage charges for the Islamic Republic.

Shin Bet announced that the arrested individual had been in contact with Iranian officials abroad and had received money and encryption facilities from them. The person was arrested in March and was formally charged in court on April 7, 2020.

Execution of an Iranian Accused of Spying in Syria

In July last year, a man named Mahmoud Mousavi Majd was executed in Iran on charges of spying for Israel and American intelligence services (Mossad and CIA).

The Islamic Republic’s judicial system accused Mousavi Majd, who had been residing in Syria, of providing information about Iranian military personnel in Syria and forces under its support to foreign intelligence services.

In recent years, the security and intelligence agencies of the Islamic Republic have increasingly reported the arrest of individuals accused of contacts with foreign intelligence services, particularly Israel, but typically little information is released about their trials.

The Islamic Republic has also repeatedly blamed Israel-linked operatives for sabotage at nuclear facilities and the killing of individuals described as “nuclear scientists.”

Scandal of Forced Confessions from Those Accused of Spying

In 2012, the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic arrested several people, including Maziar Ebrahimi, on charges of involvement in the “assassination of nuclear scientists,” and some time later television confession videos of some of these defendants were also broadcast.

Ebrahimi was released two years later after proving his innocence and confessions obtained under torture, and in 2019 after leaving Iran began to expose the torture and pressures that forced him to make false confessions.

Despite this scandal, occasional claims by officials of the Islamic Republic about “arresting spies” have continued, although in most cases either more details about these claims are not released, or as in Ebrahimi’s case, there are serious doubts about the accuracy of the charges.

Ministry of Intelligence and “Surprising” Arrests

Mahmoud Alavi, minister of intelligence under the twelfth administration, two years ago while admitting that there had never been “enemy proximity to friendly elements” in the Islamic Republic as much as today, claimed that officials were “surprised” upon receiving reports of “discovery” of some spies.

One of the most recent operations that Islamic Republic officials attribute to Israel and its agents in Iran is the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a key and behind-the-scenes figure in this country’s atomic and military programs.

On December 27 of last year, Fakhrizadeh came under gunfire in the vicinity of Absard, Damavand, at a close distance from the capital, while his bodyguards accompanied him in two vehicles. The gunfire came from a remote-controlled weapon planted along his route.

Ali Rabiei, the government spokesman, announced several days after this incident on a television program: “The Ministry of Intelligence, through its efforts, had become aware of certain activities and had almost gained control of the area. The Ministry of Intelligence identified those who had brought the weapon and used certain technologies.”

The Ministry of Intelligence, which had claimed it had previously warned the protection team about this operation and even its exact location, on December 29 in a brief statement claimed that through “the intelligence operations of the anonymous soldiers of the Imam of the Time, clues about the perpetrators of this terrorist attack were obtained,” and that additional information about it would “subsequently be presented to our noble nation.”

Four months have passed since this promise, yet no significant explanation has been provided about these “intelligence operations” and the clues that were said to have been obtained.

Source: DW