Severe Attack by Sadeq Larijani on Those Spreading Allegations of 'Espionage by His Daughter'

Simultaneously with the severe attack by the head of Iran's judiciary on those disseminating a report about the 'arrest' of his daughter on 'espionage' charges, the head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization also claimed that the publication of this report is part of 'projects by Western security organizations.' On Wednesday, October 4, Sadeq Larijani stated in a speech that recent rumors about his family 'are not worth responding to' while strongly attacking the disseminators of this report. According to the IRNA news agency, Sadeq Larijani referred to the disseminators of this report as 'the fleeing thugs of the 2009 sedition' and claimed that they have been 'identified.' The leader of the Islamic Republic and his close associates refer to the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election as 'sedition.' Larijani stated that the disseminators of this report are 'too despicable to warrant a response from us. However, we tell their masters that if your goal is the retreat of the Islamic Republic and judicial officials from serving the people and preserving the system, you are very mistaken.' The website Amadnews claimed on October 1 that after the exposure of the 'espionage' case of Zahra Larijani, Sadeq Larijani's daughter, for the British embassy in Tehran, she was arrested by direct order from Vahid Haqaniyan, an official in the office of the Supreme Leader, and by the forces of the 'IRGC Intelligence.' Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence of the twelfth government, denied this report on Tuesday, October 3, stating that this ministry 'has not observed any evidence of actions that could even raise suspicion of espionage regarding any of the family members of Ayatollah Amoli Larijani, the head of the judiciary.' Meanwhile, the head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization claimed that the publication of this report was carried out by Western security organizations and their allies in the region. Hossein Taeb said: 'Considering the effective legal actions of the judiciary in dealing with corrupt individuals and enemy infiltrators in recent years, especially the arrest and condemnation of dual-national spies linked to the U.S. and the U.K. and some regional cooperating services, such attacks and fabrications by enemy-affiliated elements are not unexpected.' He threatened that 'if necessary and at the appropriate time, more details' about 'the operators and internal collaborators and their financial support network' will be published. The head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization also claimed that based on 'information' from this agency, 'in the coming months, this trend of accusations and false case fabrications about other issues and personalities of the Islamic Republic will continue.' The Minister of Intelligence reported on Wednesday, August 9, that warnings had been issued to individuals linked to the Amadnews Telegram channel and that 'efforts to create psychological warfare against this channel have been initiated.' Media affiliated with the IRGC report that the Amadnews website is managed by Rouhollah Zam, the son of Mohammad Ali Zam, the deputy of the Free Zones Organization and a figure close to the children of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. However, Rouhollah Zam has stated that he no longer has a role in managing this website and its Telegram channel. Reporters Without Borders reported on September 6 that Mohammad Milad Zam, the brother of Rouhollah Zam, the founder of the Amadnews website, has been arrested since September 25. According to this report, two sisters and the wife of one of Mr. Zam's sisters had also been arrested and imprisoned for a period. In this context, the Minister of Intelligence of Iran denied the espionage allegations against the 'child of the head of the judiciary.'