News Agency Close to the IRGC Reports Five-Year Prison Sentence for a Member of the Nuclear Negotiation Team

The Tasnim news agency, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported the confirmation of a five-year prison sentence for "a member of the nuclear negotiation team" by the Tehran Court of Appeals. This news agency published the report on Wednesday, October 4, without naming the individual, citing an "informed source." Tasnim also added that this individual had previously been arrested on charges of "espionage" and was released on bail. In September 2016, media outlets close to the IRGC reported the arrest of a close member of Iran's nuclear negotiation team on charges of "espionage for the enemy." Subsequent reports identified this individual as "Abdul Rasul Darya Isfahani," but the Iranian Foreign Ministry denied the published reports regarding this matter. Mr. Darya Isfahani initially described the reports about his arrest as "ridiculous," but the website "Bank Mardom" and other websites that republished his interview deleted it from their pages shortly after publication. Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, had also informed Masoud Pezeshkian, the then Deputy Speaker of Parliament, that Abdul Rasul Darya Isfahani, based on the opinions of experts from this ministry, had not engaged in espionage. Alavi had previously warned that individuals who had not engaged in espionage should not be falsely accused of "espionage" for political purposes. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the spokesperson for the judiciary, also stated without naming Darya Isfahani that someone had been arrested as an "infiltrator in the Iranian nuclear negotiation team," but "the charge against him has not yet been proven." In November 2016, Iranian news agencies reported that Javad Karimi Qodousi, Rahmatollah Noorozi, and Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, three members of the then Parliament, who had accused Darya Isfahani of collaborating with the intelligence services of the US, UK, and Canada, were convinced after the Minister of Intelligence's explanations in Parliament. However, Mohseni Ejei later announced that a criminal charge had been issued against Abdul Rasul Darya Isfahani, and the case had gone to court. In its report today, Tasnim published the history of the mention of Darya Isfahani's name and the confirmation of his arrest and case formation by the judiciary spokesperson, stating that he had appealed the five-year prison sentence issued by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court. According to this news agency and based on the statements of an "informed source," Darya Isfahani's case was also reviewed in the Court of Appeals, and the appellate court upheld the initial ruling of five years in prison, making the defendant's sentence final. Abdul Rasul Darya Isfahani is currently a non-executive member of the board of directors 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 Iran's nuclear negotiation team, had denied Abdul Rasul Darya Isfahani's dual citizenship. Mr. Baidi Nejad also described the espionage allegations against Mr. Darya as an "insult" to Iran's security agencies, stating that each of the participants in the negotiations only had access to information within the scope of their work. The issue of "dual citizenship" officials became one of the critical issues for conservatives against the eleventh government after Hassan Rouhani took office. This group of conservatives names officials with "dual citizenship" as one of the most important channels of "infiltration" in the Islamic Republic of Iran and has repeatedly called for their removal from government positions over the years.