Iran's Charge d'Affaires in London Denies IRGC's Efforts to Recruit 'Spies' Among British Muslims

Following the publication of a report in a British newspaper regarding the recruitment of some Muslims residing in the UK for 'espionage' activities by the Islamic Republic, the Charge d'Affaires of the Iranian embassy in London issued a statement denying it. Mehdi Hosseini-Matin claimed in a message on social media platform X that the Daily Mail's report is a 'Hollywood-style adventurous story' aimed at 'entertaining the audience and increasing sales over the weekend.' He referred to the Daily Mail as 'an ordinary newspaper' and labeled the published report as 'foolish and baseless accusations' that have been 'repeatedly' denied by Iranian officials. The Daily Mail, a London-based newspaper close to the Conservative Party, reported that Iranian security agencies, under the guise of diplomatic and religious activities, have been 'hiring spies' from among Muslims living in the UK. According to the Daily Mail, Khosrow Ahrabi from the 'Alliance Against a Nuclear Iran' think tank stated that IRGC recruiters prefer British Shiites of Pakistani, Iraqi, and Lebanese descent over Iranians for espionage. Another source told the Daily Mail that the reason the IRGC uses organized crime networks and British Muslims for espionage is that it is very difficult for Iranian spies to operate in the UK. This is not the first time that the activities of a network funded and recruited by Iranian security and military agencies in Europe have become public. According to the Belgian judiciary, three individuals of Iranian nationality (Amir Saadouni, Nasimeh Naami, and Mehrdad Arefani) conspired with Assadollah Assadi, the third secretary of the Iranian embassy in Vienna, to attack a conference of the Mujahedin-e Khalq organization (in the outskirts of Paris) in the summer of 2018, for which they were arrested, tried, and sentenced to prison. According to the British 'anti-terrorism police,' the IRGC uses the information collected by these spies to carry out certain attacks, with the Iranian government attempting to 'kill or harm at least 15 of its opponents' in the UK since 2022. The British weekly 'The Economist' also reported on Thursday, February 8, about the renewed increase in the Islamic Republic's 'malicious activities' against its opponents abroad, especially in the UK. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly been accused of networking forces outside its borders to spy on opponents, carry out sabotage operations in other countries, and abduct or physically eliminate critics.