Iran's IRGC dismantles alleged spy network linked to Israel, US: What to know
The announcement comes as Iran and Israel are exchanging threats over the former’s nuclear program.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Wednesday that it has dismantled several espionage cells it said were tied to the United States and Israel in the country’s northern Mazandaran province in the latest such operation targeting suspected Israeli-linked individuals.
What happened: Speaking to the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Wednesday, IRGC commander in Mazandaran Brig. Gen. Siavash Moslemi said, “With precise intelligence monitoring, we have successfully dismantled infiltration and espionage networks associated with US intelligence, the Zionist regime and other hostile countries.”
“Many of these elements operate under the guise of foreign nationals or visitors, using the cover of commercial companies, cultural organizations or charities to gather intelligence or establish infiltration networks,” he added.
According to Moslemi, these agents operated under the guise of commercial companies, cultural centers and charities to collect classified information or form spying networks in Iran.
The commander did not provide evidence for the alleged ties to Israel or the United States, nor did he reveal the number of people arrested.
Background: The announcement comes one day after Iran’s judiciary announced that two British nationals were charged with espionage, accusing them of gathering data in several provinces of Iran. The couple, identified as Craig and Lindsay Foreman, were arrested in the southeast province of Kerman in January.
On Wednesday, IRGC intelligence forces detained an individual accused of being linked to Israel in the northwestern city of Ardabil, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. The person, who was not identified, was alleged to be promoting anti-Islamic propaganda and threatening religious scholars via social media.
Iranian authorities are carrying out regular operations against people suspected of spying for Israel, often without providing public evidence to substantiate these claims. These operations have increased following tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and Israel in April and October last year.
In January, security forces rounded up dozens of people in the southwestern province of Khuzestan for allegedly collecting data on sensitive facilities for an unidentified foreign spy agency.
In a similar operation last November, IRGC forces arrested seven people purportedly affiliated with Israel and killed four others in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchistan.
In December 2023, Iranian authorities executed four people convicted of spying for Israel.
Know more: Meanwhile, Iranian leaders are stepping up their threats against the United States and Israel amid reports that Israel is planning a preemptive attack against Iran’s nuclear program.
A statement Monday by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that Iran will not stand idle if its nuclear program comes under threat, reading, “Definitely we will not show any weakness in this regard.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in another statement carried by state media last week that his country can build a thousand nuclear facilities if Israel strikes.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned earlier this month in a speech, “If they threaten us, we will threaten them in return. If they act on their threats, we will act on ours. If they violate the security of our nation, we will without a doubt respond in kind.”
