20 foreign intelligence agencies involved in Iran riots: Authorities

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
20 Jun 2023 12:47
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Commander of the Islamic Republic Guard Corps specified UAE, Saudi Arabia, the US, and the UK to be among those who intervened in the protests.

An anti-riot police officer waves a representation of the Iranian flag during a street celebration after Iran's national soccer team defeated Wales in Qatar's World Cup, at Sadeghieh Sq. in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Nov. 25, 2022 (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Brigadier General Mohammad Kazemi, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps IRGC's Intelligence Organization, revealed that the intelligence agencies of 20 foreign countries were involved in the recent riots which swept over the country.

“Among the countries that have been active in these areas are the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Austria, Albania, Australia, Iceland, Italy, Kosovo, Norway, Bahrain, New Zealand, as well as the occupying Zionist regime,” he said in an interview with Khamenei.ir.

In a report by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the highlights of Kazemi's interview were synthesized.

French diplomats in Tehran worked to gather on-filed information in regard to the progress of the riots as well as the condition of the Islamic Republic's security apparatus; as well as exchanging information with intelligence officers.
Several European and Non-European foreigners living in Iran were employed to gather information which led to the arrest of 40 individuals from one neighboring country (a French-Irish national was arrested in Khorasan Razavi province, and a German national was arrested in Ardabil province).
The CIA supported the creation of cyberspace platforms for disseminating news of the riots as well as to facilitate efforts to send technical equipment, and escape tools, and lifting restrictions on mobile communication devices.
The CIA pitched the idea of forming a joint team with the Israeli Mossad and the British MI6 to target Iranian scientists.
Meetings between the Emirati and Israeli intelligence agencies were regularly held to discuss means of supporting the protests.

Iran’s High Council for Human Rights (HCHR) published a report late May that detailed various instances of violence against Iranian security forces during recent riots in the country. The report highlights the role Western countries, their agents, and collaborators had in orchestrating and directing the riots through the promotion of propaganda campaigns that took advantage of Mahsa Amini’s death in September 2022.

Press TV had direct access to the 83-page report and revealed some of its details.

According to the report, rioters employed tactics of extreme violence against Iranian civilians and security forces. For instance, two students were stabbed to death by rioters in the city of Mashhad. In addition, 7,000 officers were injured in the line of duty during the riots, including some who were brutally murdered.

The report stresses the fact that security forces were instructed not to carry any deadly weapons or firearms, in an attempt to curb further agitation and provocation against the Islamic Republic. This opened the door for rioters to brutally torture and murder some security officers.

As stated in the report, “The death and injury of members of security forces come as, according to official instructions and available documents, they did not even carry any firearms to defend themselves against rioters and armed terrorists. On the other hand, rioters and terrorists took to the streets with firearms and shot security and police forces and even passers-by, killing many of them.”

Furthermore, the report sheds light on various cases, in which unarmed Iranian security forces were sadistically tortured, gunned down, and stabbed to death by terrorists.

Reza Zare’ Moayyedi, Davoud Abdollahi, Esmaeil Cheraghi, Seyyed Hamidreza Hashemi, Mohammad Amin Abdarshekar, Ali Beik Darzi, and Mohammad Amin Aref were all gunned down by armed rioters.

The Council revealed that the security forces were able to recover and confiscate 8314 weapons from rioters, including 6314 firearms.

Others were stabbed to death, like Hossein Ojaghi, Mohammad Rasoul Doust-Mohammadi, Mehdi Zahedlouei, Hossein Zeinalzadeh, and Danial Rezazadeh Motlagh.

In the case of Arman Aliverdi and Seyyed Rouhollah Ajamian, the two were ruthlessly tortured to death.

When put into context these events cannot be viewed as isolated incidents of violence. Indeed, they fall under a well-worked plot to cause civil unrest in Iran, in an attempt to serve separatist agendas in the country.

On February 5, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei pardoned or commuted the sentences of a large number of rioters. He also issued a general amnesty on the 44th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which covered all prisoners except for murderers and terrorists.

It is noteworthy that countries that have condemned Iran for the security measures it adopted during periods of unrest, such as France, have dealt viciously with recent protests.