FARS News Agency Urges Islamic Republic Officials Not to Sell Morad Tahbaz Cheaply

This media outlet affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps wrote in a note, repeating the claims of Islamic Republic officials about the espionage activities of this environmental activist: “Tahbaz is a valuable pawn and exchanging him for $7 billion of Iran’s blocked funds in South Korea is detrimental to the Islamic Republic.”

This news agency, referring to a tweet by the central bank’s public relations director regarding Iran and South Korea’s agreement to release $7 billion of Iran’s resources, wrote: “Evidence suggests that the government intends to take these dollars and free Morad Tahbaz and possibly Baquer and Siamak Namazi, which makes this amount not worthwhile in exchange for this deal.”

Morad Tahbaz, who simultaneously holds Iranian, British, and American citizenship, has been imprisoned since 2017 on charges of espionage for the United States and Britain and was sentenced to ten years in prison. This environmental activist was supposed to be released last month along with Nazanin Zaghari and Anoosheh Ashoori and returned to Britain, but Iranian authorities refused to release him at the last moment.

Roxana, Morad Tahbaz’s daughter, has been staging a sit-in in front of the British Foreign Office starting tomorrow, April 13, and will ask the British Foreign Secretary to expedite the conditions for her father’s release.

Mohsen Rezaei, who is now Ibrahim Raisi’s economic deputy, previously said that we can generate income for the country by taking hostages from the West and receiving money in exchange for releasing them.

Source: Voice of America