Zolnoor: Two More Members of Iran's Nuclear Negotiation Team Accused of Espionage

An Iranian parliament member announced that besides Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani, "two other members" of the Islamic Republic's nuclear negotiation team who have left Iran are also "accused of espionage." Mojtaba Zolnoor, a representative from Qom, stated in an interview with the Young Journalists Club website affiliated with state media on Thursday, October 12, that one of these two is currently in Canada and the other has also left the country. Zolnoor did not mention the names of these two individuals or their roles in the Iranian nuclear negotiation team. He also reacted to statements from government officials claiming that Dari Esfahani is not a spy, asserting that "the reality of his case is different from what these individuals say." These comments come as the recent sentencing of Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani to five years in prison has been a topic of discussion between Hassan Rouhani's government and the judiciary. Dari Esfahani was sentenced to five years in prison for espionage and providing information to foreign entities. However, Mahmoud Alavi, Iran's Minister of Intelligence, stated on Wednesday, October 11, that Dari Esfahani did not commit espionage and even cooperated with the anti-espionage department of the Ministry of Intelligence. The judiciary's news agency described the Minister's comments as "strange" and entirely "incorrect." Iranian Foreign Ministry officials have stated that Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani was not a member of the nuclear negotiation team but merely provided consultation to it. Previously, Javad Karimi Qodosi, a representative from Mashhad, claimed in his questioning of the Minister of Intelligence that Abdolrasoul Dari Esfahani was simultaneously receiving a salary of £7,500 per month from the "PW" institute in London while being part of the nuclear negotiation team and pursuing the lifting of banking sanctions, to maintain those sanctions against Iran. It is reported that Dari Esfahani holds dual Iranian-Canadian citizenship and has been a non-executive member of the board of Asia Insurance and an advisor to the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran.