Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Iran media: Revolutionary Guard accuses diplomats of spying

Iranian media reported on Wednesday that the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners of “espionage” and taking soil samples from prohibited military zones

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 06 July 2022 16:11 EDT
Iran
Iran (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Iranian media reported on Wednesday that the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard has accused the deputy ambassador of the United Kingdom and other foreigners in the country of “espionage” and taking soil samples from prohibited military zones.

It was not immediately clear if the diplomat and other foreigners were detained. The country's state-run IRNA news agency reported that the foreigners had been arrested, but did not say when or whether they were currently in custody. Iran's state TV ran footage purporting to show the foreigners collecting samples from the ground in restricted areas.

The news outlets said the deputy head of mission at the British Embassy, Giles Whitaker, and other foreigners faced “spying” charges after visiting various forbidden zones in the country while the Guard was carrying out ballistic missile tests.

The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the Guard, claimed that Whitaker was expelled from the city after offering authorities an apology.

There was no immediate comment from the U.K. Foreign Office about his reported detention. The reports come as the British public is transfixed by the political fortunes of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is facing growing pressure to step down after defections from his cabinet.

Iranian media also identified Maciej Walczak, a Polish scientist at Copernicus University in Poland, as one of the accused foreigners. It similarly said he took samples of soil, water and salt from a forbidden area during a missile test in the country's south.

The report added that the Guard’s intelligence unit also had detained the husband of Austria’s cultural attaché in Iran after he took soil samples in Iran's northeast.

Iran has in the past arrested dual nationals and those with Western ties, often on widely criticized espionage charges, and leveraged them as bargaining chips in talks over other issues, such as nuclear negotiations. Tehran denies using detainees for political ends.

Talks to revive Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal with world powers have stalled for months. A recent effort to break the deadlock between U.S. and Iranian negotiators ended without a breakthrough in Doha last week.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in