A European citizen has been arrested in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah, according to the Iranian provincial chief prosecutor, who, according to the Tasnim agency, also added that the charge is espionage for Israel. The same charge has been leveled against three other people : a European citizen branded as a “spy” and arrested in Hamedan, in western Iran, and two Iranians arrested in the western city of Kermanshah, from whom several SIM cards and a large sum of money were confiscated. According to opposition sources abroad reporting through the channel Iran International, citing a statement attributed to the Islamic Republic's public security authorities, the Iranian police have arrested at least another 36 people in the country in the last few hours.
Tehran announced yesterday that it had executed a man accused of spying for Israel. Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh confessed to filming sensitive locations and sending threatening packages to people on behalf of the Mossad. The man had also collaborated with the Iranian dissident TV station Iran International, according to the judiciary website Mizannews, and had met with Mossad agents in a neighboring country. Shayesteh was arrested in late 2023 and was “the head of a cyber team affiliated with the Mossad,” according to the Tasnim news agency. The man was hanged.
In Iran, the hunt for real or alleged spies of the Israeli secret service has become a real obsession after the first bombings. For this reason, a hunt for collaborators of the Mossad is underway. The first Israeli raids, according to Israeli security sources, were made more effective by undercover agents who introduced weapons into the country and, for example, set up a base for explosive drones, then launched against missile launchers near Tehran.
That was enough – CNN wrote in recent days – to unleash the paranoia of the ayatollahs. The Ministry of Intelligence has asked the population to report any suspicious activity, issuing guidelines on how to identify collaborators. The suspects, according to Iranian authorities, could wear masks or glasses to hide their faces, drive pickups, carry large bags or film in military, industrial and residential areas.
