Iran’s Intelligence Ministry announced on Tuesday (March 10) that it has arrested dozens of individuals engaged in spy activities for what it deems as the country’s “enemies,” including a foreign national.
The United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran on February 28, killing the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and nearly 50 senior officials and commanders.
Amid the ongoing conflict, Iran retaliated by launching attacks on several Gulf countries that are allies of the US and host American military bases.
According to Iranian state media reports, the Intelligence Ministry did not disclose the nationality of the foreign national it arrested, but claimed that this individual “was conducting espionage activities on behalf of the US and Israel, acting as agents for two Gulf countries.”
In recent years, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has arrested dozens of dual nationals, both Iranian citizens and foreign nationals, most of whom have been charged with espionage and security-related offenses.
Human rights organizations have accused the Iranian regime of arbitrarily arresting foreign nationals on security-related charges in an attempt to negotiate concessions from other countries, suggesting that these allegations may be fabricated. Tehran, on the other hand, denies that the arrests are politically motivated.
The Intelligence Ministry also stated that in the past few days, Iranian authorities have detained “30 spies, internal mercenaries, and operatives working for Israel and the United States.”
Additionally, Iran’s Police Chief, Ahmadreza Radan, told state television that around 81 individuals have been detained so far for “sharing Iran’s internal information with hostile media and enemies,” without providing further details.
(This article is based on reports from Reuters).