Ahmadinejad's Claim about 'A Parliament Member's Meeting with a British Intelligence Officer'

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former president of Iran, while making the claim of 'the connection of one of the representatives of the eighth parliament with a British intelligence officer,' called for the judiciary to take action against officials he referred to as 'internal causes of sanctions.' In a video interview published on Tuesday, November 7, on the 'Dolat Bahar' website, Ahmadinejad stated that a week before the attack on the British embassy in Tehran, the representative of the UK in the European Union had proposed sanctions against Iran, which faced negative votes from other countries. He alleged that the British representative then stated, 'Next week something will happen in Tehran that will turn the tide in favor of the US and the UK.' The former president claimed that British officials were aware of the planned attack on their embassy in Tehran and welcomed it to attract the attention of other European countries for sanctions against Iran. Ahmadinejad also mentioned, without naming anyone, that an Iranian parliament member had several 'secret meetings' with a 'British intelligence officer' in 2011 and 2012, one of which took place in Munich 'without the presence of an ambassador, without the presence of a foreign ministry expert, and without an official translator.' He claimed that this 'British intelligence officer' told the Iranian parliament member in 2011, 'We know you have only 18 months left to take down the government; you need to hurry.' Ahmadinejad did not provide any evidence or documents to support his claims. He also stated that there is an 'official report' on this matter and that the judiciary was aware of it but did not take action. In 2011, during the eighth parliament's activities, which had a majority of principlist representatives, Ali Larijani was the head of the legislative body. On November 29, 2011, a group of Basij forces, whom Islamic Republic media referred to as 'students,' stormed the British embassy in Tehran and occupied it along with the Qolhak Garden for hours. This attack led to severe international reactions and resulted in the closure of the Iranian embassy in London. The embassies of both countries resumed operations in 2015. In this interview, Ahmadinejad accused Ali Larijani, the Speaker of Parliament, and some institutions under the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, including the state radio and television and the judiciary, of attempting to 'bring down' his government with the aim of influencing Western sanctions against Iran. He claimed that the reason for the UN and Western countries' sanctions against Iran was not his government's actions in developing Iran's nuclear program but rather ambiguities related to the potential military dimensions of the nuclear file, known as PMD, which occurred during the previous administration. Ahmadinejad's statements come at a time when during his eight years in office, Iran's nuclear program file was transferred from the International Atomic Energy Agency to the UN Security Council. During this period, the UN Security Council issued four resolutions imposing sanctions against Iran, and the European Union and the US also imposed unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The former president also claimed that he considered the UN sanctions against Iran to be a 'provocative' move but warned that the unilateral sanctions from the EU and the US were 'dangerous.' He stated that in meetings with the Supreme Leader, the Assembly of Experts, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and the Guardian Council, he explained the impact of Western sanctions and declared that 'sanctioning the central bank and oil is no longer a joke, and we must unite against it.' Regarding the possibility of an agreement with the West on fuel transfer 'without accepting the Additional Protocol,' the former president also mentioned that Iran was supposed to agree with Russia, France, the US, and the International Atomic Energy Agency 'without accepting the Additional Protocol' regarding the transfer of 3.5% of Iran's production and the delivery of 20% fuel to Iran. He stated that 'some did not allow that agreement to happen.' Mohamed ElBaradei, the then-director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, mentioned in his memoirs that Ahmadinejad accepted the fuel swap proposal at the recommendation of Ali Akbar Salehi, the then-head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, but could not convince other officials in the country to accept the proposal. The initial proposal for the nuclear fuel swap was put forward by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which was also supported by the US. According to that proposal, Iran was to send its less-enriched uranium to Russia, which, after further enrichment, would be sent to France, converted into fuel rods, and returned to Iran. Iran initially showed a positive response to this proposal but later opposed it. Tehran signed a similar agreement for nuclear fuel exchange with Turkey and Brazil, under which it would send its less-enriched uranium to Turkey. The nuclear fuel exchange between Iran and Turkey and Brazil was rejected by the P5+1 group, and further sanctions against Iran were approved by the UN Security Council. Ahmadinejad announced that his government had prepared 'five or six' plans to neutralize Western sanctions, but the Speaker of Parliament and opposing principlist political figures prevented the implementation of these plans. He added, 'Those politicians mocked that no, they want to give the leadership a cup of poison.' He also stated, 'In 2011-2012, if the leadership had not supported the government, they would have torn the government apart from within.' Ahmadinejad's statements come at a time when he had repeatedly referred to Western sanctions against the Islamic Republic as 'pieces of paper' during his presidency. In this video interview, referring to the attacks from 'official platforms,' radio and television, the parliament, and the judiciary against his government in 2011 and 2012, he said that these attacks were aimed at 'bringing down the government.' He claimed that these attacks were part of Israel and America's plan to 'influence' Western sanctions against Iran. Ahmadinejad's statements come at a time when the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and the institutions under his supervision had always supported him and his government until the issue of the dismissal of Heydar Moslehi, the Minister of Intelligence. After the dismissal of the Minister of Intelligence and the famous incident of Ahmadinejad's '11-day house arrest,' some close associates of Ayatollah Khamenei attacked Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.