Former British Soldier Found Guilty of Collaborating with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

A British soldier was found guilty on Thursday, December 8, for gathering sensitive information for individuals linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and compiling names of special forces members. Daniel Abed Khalife is accused of collecting sensitive information between May 2019 and January 2022. According to Reuters, Mark Heywood, the prosecutor at Woolwich Crown Court in London, announced this at the beginning of the trial. Daniel Abed Khalife, who was discharged from the British Army last year after his connection to the IRGC was revealed, also attempted to plant 'fake bombs' at a British military base. He later escaped from Wandsworth Prison in London in September 2023 while awaiting trial for other charges. He managed to escape by strapping himself under a delivery van, leading to a short nationwide search operation. This 23-year-old was tried for 'gathering information that may be useful to an enemy,' in this case, Iran, 'accessing information that may be useful for terrorism, and creating terror through bombing.' He has denied all charges but admitted to escaping from prison during his defense, stating he wanted to be a 'double agent' for British intelligence. Khalife, whose mother was born in Iran, mentioned in his defense, 'I don't think I've ever met anyone living outside Iran who doesn't have animosity towards the Islamic Republic. My mother hates the Tehran regime, and this applies to my entire family... My family and I are against the Iranian regime.' Khalife also spoke about his trip to Iran, saying, 'Every day I was in that country, I wanted to come back; I hated it. I thought it was a terrible place... the weather, the government, the police, everything.' After more than 23 hours of deliberation, the jury found Daniel Abed Khalife guilty of charges related to the Official Secrets Act and the Terrorism Act. He was acquitted of the charge of creating terror through bombing.