Alavi Rejects Espionage Accusation Against Dari Esfahani: He Collaborated with the Ministry of Intelligence

Mahmoud Alavi, Iran's Minister of Intelligence, stated on Wednesday, October 11, that Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani, a member of the nuclear negotiation team, did not commit espionage. However, he emphasized that Mr. Dari Esfahani had "cooperated with the Anti-Espionage Department of the Ministry of Intelligence." Iranian judiciary officials claim that Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani has been sentenced to five years in prison on charges of espionage and providing information to foreigners. Meanwhile, the Minister of Intelligence told ISNA on Wednesday: "The authority to determine issues related to espionage is the Anti-Espionage Department of the Ministry of Intelligence." He added: "According to this department, Mr. Dari Esfahani not only did not commit espionage but also wisely resisted the attacks from some foreign services against him and cooperated with the Anti-Espionage Department of the Ministry of Intelligence." Mahmoud Alavi clarified that the Ministry of Intelligence was "responsible for the protection and safeguarding of Iran's nuclear negotiations" with six world powers in 2015. The Minister of Intelligence emphasized: "The negotiations were conducted in the safest environment in terms of information protection, and the ministry continuously reported on them to the country's high officials." In early September 2016, media close to the Revolutionary Guards reported the arrest of a member close to the Iranian nuclear negotiation team on charges of "espionage for the enemy." Subsequent reports identified this individual as "Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani," but the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied the published reports, and the Minister of Intelligence informed the Islamic Consultative Assembly that, according to the experts of the Ministry of Intelligence, Mr. Dari Esfahani did not commit espionage. Jawad Karimi Qodousi, in his questioning of the Minister of Intelligence, claimed that Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani, while being part of the nuclear negotiation team and pursuing the lifting of banking sanctions, was also receiving "£7,500 a month from the PW Institute in London to maintain banking sanctions against Iran." It is reported that Mr. Dari Esfahani holds dual Iranian-Canadian citizenship and has been a non-executive member of the board of Asia Insurance and an advisor to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran. Previously, Hamid Baidi-Nejad, an Iranian diplomat and head of the expert group of the Iranian nuclear negotiation team, had also denied the espionage accusation against Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani and rejected the claim of his dual citizenship.