Iran Arrests Two British Citizens on Security Charges

Iranian state media reported that officials from the Islamic Republic have arrested two British citizens accused of security crimes. The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) announced on Wednesday evening, February 24, without mentioning the identities of the detainees or the specific charges against them, that the two British citizens are being held in a prison in Kerman province. IRNA stated that Hugo Shorter, the British ambassador to Iran, met with these 'security suspects' at the public and revolutionary prosecutor's office in Kerman. IRNA also published images of this meeting, with the faces of the man and woman, who are likely the detained British citizens, pixelated and unrecognizable. The report indicated that Mehdi Bakhshi, the prosecutor of Kerman, and Rahman Jalali, the security and police deputy governor of Kerman, were also present at this meeting. A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office stated on Thursday in a statement to the Associated Press, 'We are providing consular services to the two British citizens detained in Iran and are in contact with local authorities.' The statement emphasized that the British Foreign Office has consistently advised British and dual Iranian-British citizens not to travel to Iran due to the serious risk of detention. Several other citizens from European countries are currently imprisoned in Iran. In recent years, the Islamic Republic has frequently exchanged these European prisoners with its desired prisoners held in Western countries. One of the latest cases suspected of prisoner exchange dates back to last month when Iranian officials released Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist, and four days later, Mohammad Abedini was released in Italy and returned to Iran. Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, who was accused by the U.S. of transferring sensitive drone parts to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was arrested at Milan airport in Italy on December 26, but the Iranian judiciary stated that his arrest was due to a 'misunderstanding.' Iran also executed Alireza Akbari, a dual Iranian-British citizen, two years ago, which caused outrage among Western governments, with Britain describing his execution as a 'barbaric' act. Alireza Akbari was a former deputy defense minister of Iran, and Iranian officials accused him of 'spying' for the British security service and 'involvement in the assassination' of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a well-known figure in Iran's nuclear activities.